The Trump administration has said it isΒ freezing child care fundsΒ to all states until they provide more verification about the programs in a move fueled by a series of allegedΒ fraud schemesΒ at Minnesota day care centers run by Somali residents.
All 50 states will be impacted by the review, but the Republican administration is focusing most of its ire on the blue state of Minnesota and is calling for an audit of some of its centers.
Minnesota Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement Wednesday that he was βexploring all our legal options to ensure that critical childcare services do not get abruptly slashed based on pretext and grandstanding.β
It is unclear how much more robust the verification process for states will be than it already has been.
Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim OβNeill called the decision a response to βblatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota and across the countryβ in a social media post announcing the change on Tuesday.
Here are some things to know about these moves:
More verification needed for all states to get child care funds
All 50 states will have to provide additional levels of verification and administrative data before they receive more funding from the Child Care and Development Fund, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson. However, Minnesota will have to provide even more verification for child care centers that are suspected of fraud, such as attendance and licensing records, past enforcement actions and inspection reports.
In his social media post on Tuesday, OβNeill said all Administration for Children and Families payments nationwide would require βjustification and a receipt or photo evidenceβ before money is sent, but the HHS spokesperson said Wednesday that the additional verifications only apply to CCDF payments.
Walz says Trump is politicizing the issue
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said in a social media post that fraudsters are a serious issue that the state has spent years cracking down on but that this is a political move that is part of βTrumpβs long game.β
State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy condemned the move in a statement Wednesday.
βRepublicans are playing sick games and winning devastating prizes,β Murphy said. βAnd now, tens of thousands of Minnesota families will pay the price as Donaldβs Trumpβs agents strip away crucial funding.β
Fraud investigations could stretch to other programs, states
The administration launched efforts in recent weeks to track down fraud in other programs in Minnesota and is looking at fraud in blue states such as California and New York, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an interview with βFox & Friendsβ on Wednesday.
The administration will continue to send officers to investigate βpotential fraud sitesβ in Minnesota and deport undocumented immigrants, Leavitt said, adding that the Department of Homeland Security is considering plans to denaturalize citizens.
The Department of Labor is also investigating the stateβs unemployment insurance program, Leavitt said. The administration this month threatened toΒ withhold SNAP foodΒ aid funding from Democratic-controlled states, including Minnesota, unless they provide information about people receiving assistance.
Attention focused on Minnesota
The announcement came a day after U.S. Homeland Security officials conducted aΒ fraud investigationΒ in Minneapolis, questioning workers at unidentified businesses. Trump has criticized Walzβs administration over theΒ cases, capitalizing on them toΒ target the Somali diasporaΒ in the state, which hasΒ the largest Somali populationΒ in the U.S.
In his post Tuesday, OβNeill, who is serving as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, referenced a right-wing influencer who posted a video last week claiming he found that day care centers operated by Somali residents in Minneapolis had committed up to $100 million in fraud.
Meanwhile, there are concerns about harassment that home-based day care providers and members of the Somali community nationwide might face amid the vitriol, includingΒ Trump’s comments earlier this month referring to Somali immigrants as βgarbage.”Β Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown released a statement saying, βShowing up on someoneβs porch, threatening, or harassing them isnβt an investigation. Neither is filming minors who may be in the home.β
Minnesota child care centers are alarmed
Maria Snider, director of the Rainbow Child Development Center and vice president of advocacy group Minnesota Child Care Association, said fear is rising among both families β many of which are living paycheck to paycheck β and child care centers that rely on the federal funding. Without child care system tuition, centers may have to lay off teachers and shut down classrooms, she said.
The Administration for Children and Families provides $185 million in child care funds annually to Minnesota, according to Assistant Secretary Alex Adams.
In Minnesota, the application process for the funding is complex and multilayered, Snider said. Her own child care center has been subjected to random audits, she said, and all centers are required to submit to licensing visits by officials.
βI donβt know what else I would provide,β she said.
Ahmed Hasan, director of the ABC Learning Center that was one of those featured in the video by the right-wing influencer, said on Wednesday that there were 56 children enrolled at the center. Since the video was posted, Hasan, who is Somali, said his center has received harassing phone calls making staff members and parents feel unsafe.
He said the center is routinely subject to checks by state regulators to ensure they remain in compliance with their license.
βThereβs no fraud happening here,β Hasan told The Associated Press. βWe are open every day, and we have our records to show that this place is open.β
