Minnesota must provide documents to US government in child care fraud probe by next week

Minnesota officials have until next week to hand over information on providers and parents who receive federal child care funds that the Trump administration contends have been used fraudulently or risk losing federal funding. State officials said Friday recent inspections showed several childcare centers accused of fraud by a right-wing influencer were ''operating as expected.''

In an email sent Friday to child care providers and shared with The Associated Press by multiple providers, Minnesota's Department of Children, Youth, and Families said it has until Jan. 9 to provide information about recipients of the funds.

The announcement earlier this week by the Trump administration that it would freeze child care funds to Minnesota and the rest of the states comes after a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which many defendants were Somali, as were many of those running spotlighted childcare centers.

Allegations of fraud at the child care centers went viral recently when a right-wing influencer posted a video claiming there was fraud taking place, putting Minnesota and some other states in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.

State officials said investigators did spot checks and reviews of nine centers this week in response to the influencer's video posted last week, and found no operational issues. One center was not yet open at the time, and there are ongoing investigations at four of them.

The email sent Friday instructed providers and families who rely on the frozen federal child care program to continue the program's ''licensing and certification requirements and practices as usual.'' It does not say that recipients themselves need to take any action or provide any information.

''We recognize the alarm and questions this has raised,'' the email said. ''We found out about the freezing of funds at the same time everyone else did on social media.''

Minnesota is a target

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing Wednesday to discuss the allegations of fraudulent use of federal funds in Minnesota. An HHS spokesperson said that the child care fraud hotline put up by the federal agency earlier this week has received more than 200 tips.

Minnesota has drawn ire from Republicans and the Trump administration over other fraud accusations.

Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex Adams told Fox News on Friday that his agency sent Minnesota a letter last month asking for information on the child care program and other welfare programs by Dec. 26, but didn't get a response. The state did not immediately respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump has also targeted the state's large Somali community with immigration enforcement actions and called them ''garbage.''

Minnesota Democrats say the Trump administration is playing politics and hurting families and children as a result. Minnesota's Department of Children, Youth and Families said in a press release Friday that inspectors conduct regular oversight activities for the child care program, noting that there are 55 related open investigations involving providers.

It is unclear how recipients will be impacted

Maria Snider, director of a child care center in St. Paul and vice president of advocacy group Minnesota Child Care Association, said providers currently get paid at least three weeks after services are provided. Some 23,000 children and 12,000 families receive funding from the targeted child care program each month on average, according to the state.

''For a lot of centers, we're already running on a thin margin,'' she said. ''Even centers where 10 to 15% of their kids are on childcare assistance, that's a dip in your income.''

Any child who attends a child care center with attendees who receive federal funding could be impacted, Snider said.

The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides $185 million in child care funds annually to Minnesota, federal officials have said.

HHS said five child care centers that receive funds from the child care program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families would have to provide ''specific documentation'' such as attendance, inspections and assessments, according to the email.

HHS said it would provide Minnesota with more information by Jan. 5, but the state agency wrote that it's unclear what kinds of funding restrictions it faces.