What to know about Trump administration freezing federal child care funds
PBS••nation
Key Points:
- Minnesota must provide enhanced verification, including attendance, licensing, and inspection records, for child care centers suspected of fraud before receiving additional child care funding, amid broader federal measures requiring all states to increase verification for Child Care and Development Fund payments.
- Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O'Neill described the changes as a response to widespread fraud in Minnesota and nationwide, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and State Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy criticized the move as politically motivated and harmful to families relying on child care services.
- The federal administration is expanding fraud investigations to other programs and states, including unemployment insurance and SNAP benefits, with particular scrutiny on blue states like California and New York, and has threatened funding cuts for non-compliance.
- Recent federal investigations
