Here's what's really happening with child care fraud in Minnesota
The 19th News••nation
Key Points:
- A viral video by right-wing YouTuber Nick Shirley falsely claimed widespread child care fraud in Minnesota Somali-run day cares, leading to extensive political fallout including frozen federal child care funds in five Democratic-led states.
- Investigations found no evidence of large-scale fraud at the day cares featured in the video; most centers passed unannounced inspections with children present, though some had unrelated licensing violations.
- Minnesota has a history of child care subsidy fraud investigations, but issues are not new or epidemic; improper payment rates are slightly above federal thresholds but do not necessarily indicate fraud.
- The Somali community has been disproportionately targeted amid unfounded allegations linking child care fraud to terrorism, resulting in harassment and safety concerns for immigrant-run centers.
- The Trump administration’s freeze
