Minnesota day cares brace for more compliance measures amid growing fraud scandal
As president of the Minnesota Association of Child Care Professionals, Hollee Saville says she's seen people ringing the alarm on day care fraud for years, only to see nothing change at the state level.
"I think fraud has been allowed to continue in our state," Saville said.
WCCO reviewed both state and federal documents showing Minnesota has struggled with finding a surefire way to fight day care fraud for more than 10 years.
Between 2020 and 2025, the state says it recovered $2.4 million in child care fraud, but a viral video by a conservative YouTuber put a national spotlight on the issue. In it, Nick Shirley claims Minneapolis area day cares were taking public funds but didn't have any kids.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families eventually said each day care in the video was operating "as expected" — but Republicans in the Minnesota House and the White House seized the moment, surging federal agents to the state.
On Monday, the department announced a partnership with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to do additional site visits and compliance checks.
"I've tried to reassure providers who are following the law and have kept up with their documentation you don't have anything to fear," Saville said. "I mean, this is what the system is supposed to do."
Seeing her child's day care in the news, a woman who spoke with WCCO said she's stressed and afraid.
"I know the day care has been getting a lot of threats, a lot of phone calls. It just feels like an unsafe environment for the kids," she said.
For two years, she has sent her kids to ABC Learning Center, which showed WCCO video evidence that children were coming and going from the center the day Shirley visited.
She's concerned about her kids being there if state investigators come knocking
The state says for now, funding for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) will continue operating as normal. But providers are bracing for impact after the Trump administration pledged to freeze that funding for all day cares across the state.
