Mike DeWine says potential daycare fraud in Ohio is ‘cost of doing business’

GOP legislators are calling on state agencies to investigate Columbus area daycares, a region that has one of the largest Somali populations in the country. The calls come amid an ongoing fraud scandal in Minnesota involving members of the Somali community who have been accused of carrying out widespread fraud, including through government-funded daycare programs.

The call from some for investigation into alleged daycare fraud in Ohio comes after a viral video of a woman requested that Nick Shirley go to Columbus, Ohio to look into daycare fraud. She said Shirley would find “the exact same fraud” taking place that the independent reporter said he found in a recent viral 42-minute video report he published about Minnesota.

On December 30, Republican Ohio State Representative Joshua Williams called on the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to investigate suspected fraud at childcare centers in the Columbus area.

“We need round-the-clock, unannounced inspections of all childcare facilities receiving public dollars to make sure not a single Ohioan's tax dollars are being stolen,” Williams said. “What's happening in Minnesota is almost certainly occurring in Columbus— and Ohio needs to use every power we have under the law to put a stop to it.”

Despite those concerns, DeWine’s office said there is no evidence of a surge in fraud cases. According to the Columbus Dispatch, a spokesperson for the governor said it is “not accurate that we're seeing any sort of surge,” while acknowledging increased public attention on the issue.

"If people are out there who could not contemplate that people were trying to defraud the public through day care centers, I understand it's new to them ... but it's been known to the state for decades," the spokesperson said. "So therefore, we have robust anti-fraud measures to try and stop this, this is something that is unfortunately the cost of doing business."

The spokesperson declined to comment on allegations specifically involving Somali communities. He added that Ohio’s publicly funded childcare system uses an attendance-based payment model rather than compensating providers solely based on enrollment, which helps reduce fraud.

"Somebody out there believes there's information, they should report it," the spokesperson added. "When we see something independently on social media we'll look at it, and I believe the agencies are aware of what's been going on on social media."