The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has frozen over $10 billion in child-care funding for five Democratic-run states, including California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York. The move comes amid allegations of widespread fraud in these states' child-care programs.
According to HHS officials, the freeze is aimed at ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes, but critics argue that it will severely impact families in these states during the new year. The funding crisis could have long-term implications, particularly for low-income families who rely on child-care assistance.
The allegations of fraud center around several instances of supposed misuse of funds, including claims of programs sending money to undocumented immigrants. However, ABC News has been unable to verify any evidence of such wrongdoing in all of the affected states.
The HHS official cited instances of alleged fraud in New York, Illinois, and California, but these claims have not been independently confirmed. The allegations appear to be largely based on a single unverified online video from conservative influencer Nick Shirley, who claimed that child-care services in Somali communities in Minneapolis were involved in widespread fraud.
Minnesota has faced scrutiny in recent weeks due to years-long investigations and controversies surrounding alleged fraud in its child-care centers. In fact, federal charges have been filed against at least 70 people as part of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that exploited two federally funded nutrition programs to obtain over $250 million in fraudulent funding.
The Trump administration's decision to freeze child-care funding for these five states appears to be connected to an existing halt on funding payments for the state of Minnesota. While HHS officials have not provided clear details about the connection between the freezes, critics argue that they amount to a frontal assault on children and families in these states.
The impact of the funding freeze is expected to be severe, particularly for low-income families who rely on child-care assistance. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vowed to fight the decision in court, calling it an "impending threat" to her state's most vulnerable residents.
According to HHS officials, the freeze is aimed at ensuring that federal taxpayer dollars are being used for legitimate purposes, but critics argue that it will severely impact families in these states during the new year. The funding crisis could have long-term implications, particularly for low-income families who rely on child-care assistance.
The allegations of fraud center around several instances of supposed misuse of funds, including claims of programs sending money to undocumented immigrants. However, ABC News has been unable to verify any evidence of such wrongdoing in all of the affected states.
The HHS official cited instances of alleged fraud in New York, Illinois, and California, but these claims have not been independently confirmed. The allegations appear to be largely based on a single unverified online video from conservative influencer Nick Shirley, who claimed that child-care services in Somali communities in Minneapolis were involved in widespread fraud.
Minnesota has faced scrutiny in recent weeks due to years-long investigations and controversies surrounding alleged fraud in its child-care centers. In fact, federal charges have been filed against at least 70 people as part of a wide-ranging criminal conspiracy that exploited two federally funded nutrition programs to obtain over $250 million in fraudulent funding.
The Trump administration's decision to freeze child-care funding for these five states appears to be connected to an existing halt on funding payments for the state of Minnesota. While HHS officials have not provided clear details about the connection between the freezes, critics argue that they amount to a frontal assault on children and families in these states.
The impact of the funding freeze is expected to be severe, particularly for low-income families who rely on child-care assistance. New York Governor Kathy Hochul has vowed to fight the decision in court, calling it an "impending threat" to her state's most vulnerable residents.
This is crazy! Like, $10 billion just frozen? That's a lot of people who are gonna be struggling to find affordable childcare now. And it's not like they did anything wrong, you know? They're just trying to provide for their families and take care of the kids. But I guess some people don't want them to get any government help, even if it's just because they need a little extra financial support.
! I mean, I get where they're coming from with the whole ensuring taxpayer dollars are being used for legit purposes thingy... but 10 billion bucks to freeze? That's just gonna hurt families who need it most, you know? 
Low-income fams rely on that child-care assistance just to be able to work or go to school. It's like, they're already struggling as it is... this is just gonna add more stress and uncertainty 
Can't we have a more nuanced conversation about this without demonizing whole states or communities? 
. I mean, come on, shouldn't we be supporting these families instead of freezing their funding? 
It's like they're making a big mistake here. The fact that there might be some issues with the child-care programs doesn't mean we should just cut off all the funding entirely 
. We need to figure out what's really going on and fix it, not just freeze everyone out 
.
. And that one video from Nick Shirley? Like, where's the proof? 
. They need that funding to get their kids into quality care while parents are working or studying. It's like, we can't put a price on our kids' well-being, you feel? 
especially when the allegations of fraud are still being investigated and haven't been independently confirmed. 70 people have already been charged in Minnesota's case, which suggests that there might be more to these allegations than meets the eye 
. it's also worrying that low-income families who rely on child-care assistance will be hit hard by this freeze - what's going to happen to them? 
IT'S GONNA MAKE LIFE SO HARD FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES WHO NEED HELP PAIDING FOR KIDS' CARE!!! 
THIS IS LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF A DREAM MOVIE...BUT NOT A GOOD ONE!!! 
... I mean, what's really going on here? The US government just decided to freeze $10 billion in child-care funding for these five states and now suddenly there are allegations of widespread fraud? But haven't we heard this story before? Like, remember that time the Trump administration did something similar? And didn't they also accuse some African American politicians of being involved in a "criminal conspiracy"? It seems like a pattern to me... 
like what are they even doing? freezing all that funding just because of some shady allegations... and now low-income families are gonna be stuck without childcare cuz they cant afford it 
. It's not fair to families who already struggle to make ends meet. The fact that some people are saying there's fraud doesn't necessarily mean the whole system is broken 
.
. I hope New York Governor Hochul can get the court to stop this decision before it's too late 
.
. Either way, these families need help and they deserve better than to have their safety nets pulled away from them 
.
And it's not like we're talking about a few bad apples here, it's thousands of kids who will be affected by this decision. 
especially low-income ones who already struggle to make ends meet 
the hhs officials saying they wanna make sure the money is being used correctly but what about all the people who are actually using the program honestly? 