DHW ramps up work to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in Idaho Child Care Program

In response to national interest in child care program integrity, the Department of Health and Welfare has been working closely with Gov. Brad Little to take additional steps to conduct heightened reviews of child care subsidies that were previously disbursed. The department has been actively redirecting staff since late December to scale up resources to continue to support these reviews and necessary actions, including provider termination when appropriate.

The department aims to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse in all its public programs. In response to any concerns about child care fraud, DHW always has and always will take appropriate action to review concerns, conduct audits and investigations, and hold any fraudulent child care providers and participants accountable in accordance with state and federal laws.

"Safeguarding taxpayer dollars that support working families and vulnerable children is critical and an issue of public confidence we do not take lightly," said DHW Director Juliet Charron. "Every effort devoted to proactive prevention and detection efforts saves in recovery costs, ensures program integrity, and preserves vital services for those who truly need them. Any bad actors will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

DHW staff perform activities daily to prevent, detect, and report waste, fraud, and abuse concerns. The department has established processes for fraud and abuse identification and mitigation, and outcomes may range from correcting an overpayment to more serious consequences and referral for potential prosecution for intentional provider misuse. DHW takes action to resolve the concerns.

The evaluation of federal child care fund distribution to identify potential fraud, misuse, or noncompliance has been completed through targeted evaluations of 25% of a randomly selected sample of all participants. These evaluations reviewed provider eligibility, attendance records, and compliance with program requirements to verify that funds were used appropriately and in accordance with applicable regulations. As part of this process, discrepancies such as unsupported claims, or noncompliant expenditures were identified and documented. When overpayments were confirmed, corrective actions were initiated, including notification to providers and the processing of overpayment recoveries in accordance with established financial and administrative procedures.

Child care evaluation summary

Child care staff conducted 1,045 grant evaluations of 652 unique child care businesses.

Of the 1,045 evaluations conducted:

• 22 were of relative providers caring for six or fewer related children
• 87 were of family providers caring for six children or less
• 192 were of group providers caring for up to 12 children
• 53 were of small centers caring for 13-25 children
• 687 were of large centers caring for more than 25 children
• 4 were of school districts with multiple child care sites

Of the 1,045 evaluations conducted:

• 144 were completed in 2022
• 526 were completed in 2023 (the child care team hired one temporary staff to work on evaluations in 2023)
• 167 were completed in 2024
• 208 were completed in 2025

Staff made 93 referrals for training related to business practices. Most common issues encountered during evaluations:

• Failure to maintain records/ insufficient records of use of grant funds
• Attendance records are missing or incomplete
• Received funds for staff that were not eligible

Number of evaluations by county:

Child care regulatory actions summary

45 regulatory actions taken since 2022, with a steady increase in that timeframe:

• 2022- 5
• 2023- 6
• 2024- 9
• 2025- 25

Of the 45 actions taken:

• 8 were for Poor Business Practices (potentially including fraud)
• 8 were for Both Business Practices and Health and Safety Failures
• 29 were for serious Health and Safety Failures

Actions taken included:

• Daycare license suspension
• Daycare license revocation
• ICCP termination

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is dedicated to strengthening the health, safety, and independence of Idahoans. Learn more at healthandwelfare.idaho.gov.