Minnesota must provide documents to US government in child care fraud probe by next weekMinnesota officials are rushing to provide information to the Trump administration about child care providers and parents receiving federal fundsByCHARLOTTE KRAMON /REPORT FOR AMERICA Associated PressJanuary 2, 2026, 6:18 PMMinnesota officials have until next week to hand over information on providers and parents who receive federal child care funds that the Trump administration contends have been used fraudulently or risk losing federal funding. State officials said Friday recent inspections showed several childcare centers accused of fraud by a right-wing influencer were “operating as expected.”In an email sent Friday to child care providers and shared with The Associated Press by multiple providers, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families said it has until Jan. 9 to provide information about recipients of the funds. The announcement earlier this week by the Trump administration that it would freeze child care funds to Minnesota and the rest of the states comes after a series of fraud cases involving government programs in which many defendants were Somali, as were many of those running spotlighted childcare centers. Allegations of fraud at the child care centers went viral recently when a right-wing influencer posted a video claiming there was fraud taking place, putting Minnesota and some other states in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.
