The office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) today released the findings of their investigation into fraud within Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program. The investigation was prompted by a whistleblower who alleged that the amount of fraud topped $100 million each year.

Senator Mike Goggin (R-Red Wing) released the following statement:

“The results of the OLA audit are troubling but not surprising. According to the person in charge of investigating Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program, the fraud is pervasive. He even agreed with the whistleblower’s assessment that fraud could be in the range of $100 million per year. We will use this report as a road map to provide badly needed oversight and accountability over CCAP, because the Department of Human Services just isn’t getting the job done.”

Notable findings:

• OLA investigators believe that fraud is higher than the amount that has been proven in prosecutions over the past few years, but were unable to reach a reliable estimate. (Page 8)
• Investigators within the Department of Human Services generally agree with the whistleblower’s allegations about the scope of fraud in CCAP. Jay Swanson, manager of CCAP’s Investigations Unit, said fraud is pervasive and pegged the amount as being in the $100 million range. (Page 9-10)
• Per an email, the Supervisor and Manager of the CCAP Fraud Investigation Unit believe the overall fraud rate is at least 50% of the $217 million paid to child care centers in 2017. (Page 10)