Minnesota Democrats Criticized for Not Taking Child Care Fraud ‘Seriously’ After Release of Second Report

A second report released last week by the non-partisan Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) found that the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ “program integrity controls are insufficient to effectively prevent, detect, and investigate fraud” in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). In March, the OLA released its first report on the issue, which found “pervasive” fraud in the program and confirmed that millions of dollars in government payments went to fraudulent child care centers. After the release of the report, DHS Inspector General Carolyn Ham (pictured, left) was placed on “investigate leave.” The OLA’s second report, released Wednesday, focused more specifically on the “internal controls” in place within DHS to prevent fraud. The 44-page report produced five key findings, including: DHS and county agencies did not sufficiently leverage independent, external data sources to verifying recipient eligibility for CCAP. DHS had weak processes to validate that CCAP provider billings aligned with actual child care provided. Among other functions, MEC² (the payment system for CCAP) was developed to accurately process provider billings and payments; however, MEC² lacked some key controls to identify errors to inhibit, track, and recover improper payments. DHS did not implement sufficient program integrity controls for licensing…

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Walz Administration Recommends ‘Sensitivity Training’ in Response to Child Care Fraud

Gov. Tim Walz wants staffers involved in Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to undergo “cultural sensitivity and implicit bias” training after a recent report confirmed widespread fraud in the program. As The Minnesota Sun has reported, the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s long-awaited report confirmed that millions of dollars in government payments have gone to fraudulent child care centers, and described a “serious rift” among CCAP officials. The report suggested that some “child care center owners have recruited CCAP eligible mothers by offering to pay kickbacks to entice the mothers to advise county CCAP staff that their children are attending a particular center.” Walz decided to intervene this week, and had Deputy Department of Human Services Commissioner Chuck Johnson deliver a set of recommendations to the Minnesota House Early Childhood Committee. Among them was a proposal to require staffers to “undergo training on cultural sensitivity and implicit bias,” Fox 9 reports. The recommendations are now included in a bill introduced by House Democrats this week. “The commissioner of human services shall develop equity and implicit bias training for state and county licensors and require all licensors to receive this training within 30 days of initial hiring and once every…

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Minnesota DHS Inspector General Placed on ‘Investigative Leave’ After Release of Child Care Fraud Report

Department of Human Services Inspector General Carolyn Ham confirmed Monday that she was placed on “investigative leave” following the Office of the Legislative Auditor’s report on fraud in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). Ham is the only inspector general in Minnesota, and her office is housed under the Department of Human Services. As such, she is responsible for investigating the DHS’s programs, like CCAP. Last week’s report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor confirmed that millions of dollars in government payments went to fraudulent child care centers, and described a “serious rift” among officials overseeing CCAP. It also revealed that some “child care center owners have recruited CCAP eligible mothers by offering to pay kickbacks to entice the mothers to advise county CCAP staff that their children are attending a particular center.” The report prompted multiple efforts from Republican legislators to subpoena Ham for testimony, but those efforts were repeatedly blocked, as The Minnesota Sun previously reported. Other Republican lawmakers called for Ham’s resignation, and raised questions about why her office reports to the DHS, since her main task is to investigate the department’s programs. “The child-care rip-off is the biggest scandal in Minnesota history, and the state…

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Efforts to Subpoena DHS Inspector General to Discuss Child Care Fraud Repeatedly Blocked

Minnesota House Republicans made multiple attempts this week to subpoena Department of Human Services Inspector General Carolyn Ham to discuss the fraudulent activity in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), but those efforts were repeatedly thwarted. On Wednesday, the Office of the Legislative Auditor released its long-awaited report on the fraud allegations against CCAP, confirming that millions of dollars in government payments went to fraudulent child care centers. The report also described a “serious rift” among officials running CCAP, and confirmed that some “child care center owners have recruited CCAP eligible mothers by offering to pay kickbacks to entice the mothers to advice county CCAP staff that their children are attending a particular center.” “I’m outraged at this, and so should Minnesotans be outraged,” Gov. Tim Walz told The Star Tribune in response to the report. “If we allow fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement, we’re depriving people on waiting lists and undermining trust in the system.” Republican lawmakers called for Ham’s resignation upon reading the report. Others raised questions about why her office is housed in the Department of Human Services in the first place, since her main task is to investigate the department’s programs, Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria)…

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Republicans Call on Minnesota DHS to Hand Over Information About Child Care Fraud

Newly-appointed Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Tony Lourey is facing pressure from Republican legislators over the department’s failure to respond to several data requests seeking information on the state’s alleged child care fraud. The fraud was first exposed in a May 2018 Fox 9 report, and has been a subject of concern for Minnesota Republicans ever since. Investigative reporters found that up to $100 million in suitcases had left MSP bound for the Middle East. Experts suspected that some of the money was being transferred through Hawalas, the unofficial banking systems of some third-world countries, which are generally compelled to hand over a share of the profits to Al-Shabab. The story resulted in a shock allegation from Republicans: Minnesota taxpayers, through widespread fraud in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, are funding foreign terrorists. The fraud scheme, according to Fox 9, generally included daycare centers across the state registering low-income families for their services so they could bill the state for a full day of care. In many cases, however, the children would never show up, while families in on the scam would receive shares of the profit. Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) and former Rep. Matt Dean (R-Ely)…

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SHOCK CLAIM: Minnesota DHS Whistleblower Says Politicians Received Kickbacks in Childcare Fraud

Minnesota lawmakers are pushing for answers on the state’s allegedly rampant childcare fraud, but officials within the Department of Human Services seem unwilling to provide any. The story was first exposed in May by investigative reporters with Fox 9, who found that up to $100 million in suitcases left MSP bound for the Middle East. Experts suspect that some of the money is being transferred through Hawalas, the unofficial banking systems of some third-world countries, a share of which is generally demanded by Al-Shabab. Fox 9 found that daycare centers across Minnesota would sign low-income families up for services and bill the state for a full day of care. But in many cases, the children would never show up. Video surveillance obtained by Fox 9 suggests that families in on the scam would even receive shares of the profit. Scott Stillman, a former investigator who spent eight years with the state’s digital forensics lab, was directly involved with the state’s investigation of fraud in daycare centers. He later blew the whistle on Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS), and during a Tuesday hearing at the State Capitol said the case has “the potential to be Minnesota’s Watergate.” “The door is…

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