Why the Alleged Fraud Narrative is Detrimental to Child Care Programs, Educators, and Families

A teacher working with students in a garden

For the past 6 months, policymakers have been perpetuating a harmful and unsubstantiated narrative about widespread fraud in the child care sector; and last week, the House passed a package of eight bills that would make detrimental changes to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), a federal program that helps make child care more affordable for working families. If approved by the Senate, this proposal would impose harsh new penalties for child care providers over minor errors like incomplete paperwork and create additional administrative burdens for states that could threaten funding to providers and families who are using funding as intended. In response, NAEYC submitted a letter to Congress in partnership with 200 organizations across all 50 states to point out the potential harms of the “Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026.”

While fraud in public programs should never be tolerated and should be promptly addressed where it exists, there is no evidence of significant or widespread fraud in CCDBG. Yet as policymakers advance proposals to address this narrative, they risk threatening families’ child care access and providers’ ability to participate in the subsidy program through attempts to freeze, delay, and create more barriers to access CCDBG, while drawing attention away from the need for increased investment and supports.

Actions by the Administration Threatened Child Care Funding and Fueled Response by Congress

Discussions around alleged fraud originated earlier this year in Minnesota when in response to a video shared on social media by a conservative influencer, the Administration announced plans to freeze or delay child care assistance funding to states and proposed regulatory changes to the child care subsidy program that could impact how states pay child care providers serving low-income families. NAEYC elevated the devastating impacts of delaying child care funding following the announcement, calling on the Administration to support states in improving existing safeguards without disrupting families’ and providers’ access to child care subsidies. Early childhood educators stepped up by joining NAEYC in meetings with their Congressional delegations to uplift their concerns and the impact on their communities. Courts have since ordered the Administration to continue payments to states.

NAEYC has also elevated educator voices about the importance of supportive payment practices in response to the proposed regulatory changes to CCDF that the Administration tied to the fraud narrative. Leveraging data from our 2026 Workforce Survey, we led a robust response to the Administration’s request for public comments centering the ways shifting provider payment practices would negatively impact provider participation in the subsidy system, leading to fewer child care slots for low-income families. While the Administration did, unfortunately, publish final regulations earlier this Spring, we continue to work with state partners and leaders to encourage the prioritization of payment practices that are supportive of the field and of families.

Additional Changes Proposed by the Senate Could Create New Challenges for Families and Providers

In addition to the bills that passed out of the House last week, in the Senate, a draft bill released by the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has proposed extensive changes to CCDBG that would, among other things, prevent states from paying providers based on enrollment and establish new financial penalties on states for administrative errors unrelated to fraud, reducing funding available to programs, educators and families. To elevate the potential impacts of these proposed changes, NAEYC submitted detailed feedback to the committee and pointed to the need for increased investments in early childhood education to address the real challenges families and educators are facing.

Conclusion

As fraud narratives continue to dominate child care policy conversations at the national level, NAEYC is working to ensure that the real experiences and voices of early childhood educators are centered and understood. Your work plays a critical role in supporting the development of young children, the security of their families, and the success of our communities. We are advocating for solutions that prioritize investment and support the workforce rather than add additional burdens and barriers. Join us and get involved:

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