WASHINGTON STATE — Washington Rep. Jim Walsh said his personal review of public documents and social media videos leads him to believe there is a potential misuse of funds at publicly subsidized child care facilities.
“The Attorney General has flubbed it early in the process here,” said Walsh, (R) Aberdeen, who is also the State GOP chair, in an interview at the Capitol on New Year’s Day. “This is a systemic problem, in my opinion, of how our state bureaucratic agencies are running the child care subsidy programs.”
The issue flared up in the past week after a social media influencer suggested, in a viral video, that multiple Minnesota-based Somali-run day care centers that received public funding were closed or had no children on site. That led to others, in Washington state, making similar claims.
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While Walsh says “one always has to be wary of the greater context,” and he’s not aware of any criminal investigation, there is enough that he’s seen to encourage the Attorney General to take a harder line when looking for fraud.
“This is significant money. Put it all together, and it isgetting into the billions. It’s a lot of money that the state of Washington is paying child care providers with not enough accountability for how that money is being spent, where it’s being spent, and that’s the empowering part of this controversy, and I think some private citizens are seeing that they can do something,” he said.
On Wednesday, Attorney General Nick Brown’s office acknowledged that formal complaints had been filed, responding in a statement, “We (and other state entities) are receiving harassment complaints and fraud complaints. We are in the process of going through them and do not have a specific number to provide.
We have a longstanding policy of not answering questions about potential investigatory matters. Our office has several tools to address fraud depending on the nature of what is alleged, but the state DSHS is the primary state agency that handles fraud allegations against childcare providers. In general, if there were a potential conflict of interest between the AGO representing different state parties with truly adverse positions, the office would ensure necessary screening and separation of functions.”
Representative Travis Couture told KOMO News on Wednesday that he’s already filed a bill calling for a third-party review of private entities receiving public funds.