Child Care Assistance and Federal Oversight

The Administration for Children & Families – Office of Child Care issued a bulletin on Monday, January 5, 2026, notifying five states that their Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) federal funding was suspended until those states could demonstrate oversight of the child care assistance program and to stop the fraud, waste, and abuse (FWA) within the suspected child care payment system. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and Social Services Block Grants provide critical funding to states, territories, and Tribes for child care, supporting working families nationwide.

The Trump administration has also introduced rule changes in recent weeks. States may verify attendance rather than pay child care providers based on enrollment alone. And states will be able to pay child care providers after care is delivered.

The scope and significance of federal funds being frozen for five states and upcoming rule changes have far-reaching effects for state administrators of their child care assistance programs and the clients they serve. States can implement proactive measures to ensure their child care assistance programs comply with federal and state regulations, prevent FWA, and address the needs of families, children, and communities.

Myers and Stauffer brings a broad scope of expertise in supporting child care assistance programs, and we can immediately help states implement these strategies to enhance program integrity and compliance:

• Attendance Records Reviews. We can help by auditing providers’ attendance records to identify discrepancies between child care assistance payments and actual attendance, ensuring funds are distributed appropriately.
• Enrollment Records. We can assist by reviewing enrollment records to ensure those beneficiaries receiving the child care services are eligible for enrollment. We can also verify beneficiaries in the attendance records that are included in the enrollment records.
• On-Site Inspections. Our team can conduct unannounced visits of child care providers to verify the actual presence of beneficiary children, confirm the facilities meet standards, and ensure the caregiver-to-child ratios meet requirements. We can compare on-site attendance observations to recent attendance and enrollment records to assess reliability and accuracy of the records.
• Audits and Reviews. We can help states regularly audit child care assistance programs to ensure adherence to federal and state eligibility and program requirements.
• Data Analyses. The Benefit/Program Integrity team can analyze data to identify aberrant billing patterns, such as unusually high claims or excessive charges for a single child. Data analytics can also identify duplicate payments within or across providers. Furthermore, analytics can highlight irregularities based on child care needs and beneficiary enrollment information.
• Policy Evaluation and Recommendations. Myers and Stauffer can help evaluate programs and recommend policy refinements that prevent fraud and minimize vulnerabilities of the child care assistance program.
• Fraud Prevention Plan Updates. Our team can help states by monitoring and recommending enhanced fraud prevention plans based on lessons learned from past cases or information shared by federal and state oversight agencies.