Federal agents raided nine daycare providers across Minnesota last week—and now, a stunning new investigation reveals these same centers collected more than $67 million in taxpayer-funded child care subsidies over the last eight years.
That staggering sum flows from Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), a public safety net meant to help families who can’t afford child care. But the numbers tell a troubling story: in just two years, payments to these nine providers more than doubled, from roughly $8 million in 2023 to over $16 million in 2025—while the number of children served stayed flat.
No charges have been filed yet, so the full extent of potential fraud remains unclear. But former Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said the sheer speed of the growth should raise every eyebrow in the state. "If something grows that much, it makes sense to ask why," she noted, pointing to a central question: were services actually provided—or were taxpayers billed for nothing?
The frustration isn't partisan. "I think voters are very frustrated with the entire situation. I don't think it's Republican or Democrat—they're just frustrated," said Phil Krinkie, a former state lawmaker and small business owner. That anger boiled over last week when Democrats in the legislature blocked a bill designed to tighten oversight and increase fraud penalties for providers receiving large CCAP payments.
Federal agents executed 22 search warrants across day care and autism centers in Minnesota. The scale of the operation suggests investigators are hunting for proof that publicly funded services were never delivered—a pattern Swanson knows well from her years prosecuting Medicaid fraud.
The agency that runs CCAP, Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), initially ignored public records requests from local journalists. It took a state legislator—Rep. Kristin Robbins, who chairs the House Fraud Prevention Committee—to force the release of the damning data. Even then, DCYF remained silent, offering no answers about how so much money flowed to so few providers with so little oversight.
