HHS freezes child care payments to Minnesota, requires photo evidence across country [View all]
Source: The Hill
12/30/25 6:17 PM ET
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pausing all child care payments to Minnesota, amid a sweeping federal probe into allegations of fraud within the state’s social services programs.
Citing a video released Friday by independent journalist Nick Shirley detailing his investigation into day care centers and other businesses, HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said Tuesday on the social platform X that the move is necessary amid “blatant fraud that appears to be rampant in Minnesota.”
In fiscal 2024, the federal government provided more than $172 million to Minnesota’s Child Care and Development Fund, according to the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families. The department noted that Minnesota spent more than $31 million of that funding to “improve the quality and availability of child care” last fiscal year.
O’Neill added that he has demanded an audit on the day care centers highlighted in Shirley’s video from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), including attendance records licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections. Additionally, starting Tuesday, HHS is requiring that all payments from its Administration for Children and Families to states across the country receive prior justification and a receipt or photo evidence.
Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5667412-federal-probe-minnesota-fraud/
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