Governor Abbott Investigates Potential Child Care Fraud in Texas

If you've heard anything in the news lately, then you most likely know about the investigations going on in Minnesota regarding potential child care funding fraud. Well, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has directed his attention to fraud right here in the Lone Star State with the help of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

Abbott's Investigation in Texas Child Care

In a letter to both entities written on January 5, Abbott doubled down on how essential it is to protect the state's child care services. One way in which this is done is by discovering potential fraud that is being overlooked in day-to-day operations.

The TWC and HHSC already have strong anti-fraud measures set in place, resulting in an impressive 0.43% of identified improper payments across the state. This is compared to the recently released 11% discovered in Minnesota.

Abbott Orders that Actions Must Be Taken

Texas' number of potential fraud is good, but any percent besides zero is too much, therefore Gov. Abbott has directed both entities to take the following actions ASAP:

• Work towards identifying high-risk participants in the Child Care Services Program by conducting more site visits to make sure they are all complying with state and federal regulations
• Review all data collected related to child care services and ensure they are all accurate and correct
• Ensure that the number of children enrolled in the Child Care Services Program are verifiable
• Conduct reviews and verify the standards set in place for all child care programs and take corrective action against those who fail to meet such standards
• Improve the online portals for all Texans to be able to easily report instances of child care fraud in the childcare system
• Submit all fraud investigations to the appropriate state or federal prosecutors

Gov. Abbott finishes the letter by saying that both entities are to send progress reports to his office on January 30 and once more on February 27 to check on their efforts in identifying fraud in the Texas child care system.