Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Children and Youth Director Kara Wente gave an update on Ohio’s publicly funded childcare and measures that the state has in place to combat potential fraud, stating that payment is still ongoing in the state based on attendance.

“The government said today that the states can continue to pay based on attendance,”said Governor Mike DeWine.

”We will do whatever we can to stop fraud.”

“Ohio takes allegations of fraud in our child care system seriously,” said Governor DeWine.

“We have built multiple layers of accountability into our system, and we actively encourage Ohioans to report concerns so we can investigate and take action.”

The Governor said “we need to look at this not as a Somali problem but as a fraud problem.”

”We need to focus on what all of us can do to stop fraud.”

”We welcome tips. 124 tips of fraud were received in 2025.”

• DCY also conducts unannounced health and safety inspections and reviews family eligibility and financial management practices.In calendar year 2025, because of the Department of Children and Youth’s annual, unannounced visits, 38 childcare centers were closed and the efforts to close two more are going through administrative hearings.In total, last year, the Department of Children and Youth conducted over 10,000 unannounced visits to daycare centers in Ohio.
• Prior to the statement Governor DeWine released on December 31, 2025, the Department of Children and Youth had received 124 tips from the public. Of those tips, 61 have resulted in daycare centers being required to pay back overpayments to the State. They have also resulted in the Department of Children and Youth closing 12 programs. Further, it was found that 30 of the daycare centers identified through the tips are operating in accordance with state and federal laws. And, 26 are still in the final stages of review.

Last week Governor Mike DeWine issued the following statement confirming anti-fraud measures currently in place to prevent fraud in Ohio’s publicly-funded childcare system:

“People are rightfully concerned about what is happening with state-funded childcare facilities in Minnesota.  These are the essential facts about what we do in Ohio:

“There are almost 5,200 state-funded childcare facilities in Ohio.  With that number of facilities, there is certainly the potential for fraud. To counter that threat, Ohio does the following things, and has done them since the inception of DCY:

“The Department has previously identified additional safeguards that are scheduled to be implemented in January 2026 that include random monthly case reviews and targeted reviews for high risk practices.”

“Ohio pays facilities based on attendance — not on enrollment — paying only for the days a child is in care. Paying based on attendance only uses taxpayer dollars when a child is actually physically at the childcare facility. The Biden Administration required all states to pay by enrollment by August 2026.  Ohio has not switched to paying by enrollment.  The Trump Administration is currently reviewing those requirements.

“Since the creation of our Department of Children and Youth, they have verified attendance by requiring a personal identification number (PIN) with a photo confirmation or a location specific QR code;

“The Department has a comprehensive review process of childcare programs that receive state dollars that includes a review of family eligibility, unannounced health and safety inspections, and financial management reviews.

“The Department uses monthly cross-department data analytics to identify fraud, waste, and misuse of funds. They complete risk-based, data-driven, and referral-initiated monitoring reviews on monthly data and case specific concerns.

“The Department encourages the public to send in tips on potential fraud. DCY has increased public transparency through a “Report Fraud” tool on the website to complement the dedicated program integrity mailbox and toll-free number. In calendar year 2025, DCY has received 124 referrals from the public.  Because of these referrals, over half of them (61) have resulted in programs being required to pay back overpayments to the State.  They have also resulted in DCY closing 12 programs.  

Further, they found that 30 of the programs identified through the tips are operating in accordance with state and federal laws, while 21 are still in the final stages of review. 

“For example, DCY received a social media tip regarding a childcare facility in Columbus on State Route 161. This address has caused concern on social media because the Google Maps image of the address shows a tobacco shop and not a childcare facility.  After investigating the tip, DCY determined that the Google Maps image was from 2022.  The facility did not open as a daycare until earlier this year.  DCY inspected the facility in October of this year (the facility has not yet received public funds).

“In addition to enforcing policies driven by data to verify attendance, ensure proper payments and to review and act on allegations of the misuse of taxpayer dollars, DCY has a process in place to clarify and enforce policies. For example, in June 2025, DCY began a PIN-sharing enforcement process. More than 65,000 families were reminded that PINs must never be shared with providers.  As a result, over 7,500 families reset their PINs. 

“In November 2025, DCY implemented payment category reforms.  The Department updated part-time hours from seven hours per week to 10 hours per week and full-time hours from 25 hours per week to 33 hours per week to ensure the full needs of the family were met by one provider whenever possible.  This helps to ensure that providers do not move children to get a full-time payment for one child and a part-time payment for another child for the same classroom “slot.”  

“Further, in this past month, DCY closed a dual provider loophole.  The Department clarified that children may attend two providers only when care needs cannot be met by one.  As a result, DCY reviewed 1,200 cases and ended more than 900 authorizations.

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