WA attorney general calls daycare fraud allegations 'baseless' despite audit findings showing major oversight gaps

Washington’s Democratic Attorney General Nick Brown called allegations of fraud “baseless,” even as state audits document hundreds of millions of dollars in spending at the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) that auditors say lacked adequate controls.

During his first anniversary press conference, Brown was pressed by KOMO News reporter Chris Daniels on whether the growing body of audit findings warranted an outside investigation of DCYF. Daniels cited recent audits indicating roughly $500 million across two programs without adequate internal controls, $2 million in overpayments to providers, and a finding by the State Auditor’s Office that it went four years without provider-level records needed to trace payments.

Asked directly whether he would call for an outside audit, Brown declined. Brown said his understanding is that “there’s continuing audits that the auditor’s office is going to do,” and emphasized that his office represents DCYF and other agencies, with a role focused on ensuring they take audits “very seriously” and work to prevent future problems. He stressed the need to distinguish between criminal fraud and broader concerns about program efficiency and internal controls.

“That is very different in my mind from allegations of fraud,” Brown said, adding that Washington benefits from having an independent state auditor who produces transparent and thorough reports. He said those audits should continue and be taken seriously by agency leadership and the governor’s office.

When Daniels followed up by asking whether the Attorney General’s office had received fraud complaints related to DCYF, Brown acknowledged that it had. “Oh, sure. I mean, we all watch the news, right?” Brown said, noting that his office had received dozens of allegations. However, he characterized most of them as “pretty baseless,” while insisting they are still reviewed and taken seriously in coordination with client agencies.

Brown’s comments come amid a series of troubling findings from the Washington State Auditor’s Office, which has repeatedly flagged DCYF as one of the highest-risk agencies in state government due to its size, scope, and the vulnerable populations it serves. The auditor found that DCYF failed to maintain provider-level data for four consecutive years, making it “impossible” to trace payments to individual child care providers. In its FY24 audit, the office formally questioned more than $400 million in federal program costs, not because fraud was proven, but because documentation required under federal law was missing.

Separately, DCYF records showed 1,372 overpayments totaling just over $2 million between July 2024 and June 2025, largely tied to missing attendance records and overbilled hours. Investigative reporters have raised concerns about alleged “ghost daycares” and unexplained changes to DCYF data, while Rep. Michael Baumgartner (WA-05) has formally requested federal integrity reviews from HHS and USDA, citing Minnesota’s child care fraud scandals as a warning sign.

State leaders, including Seattle Socialist Mayor Katie Wilson, have similarly declined to pursue investigations and have criticized journalists examining the issue.