Walz Requests Money For Sensitivity Training To Fight Fraud

Massive child care center fraud was confirmed by the Office of Legislative Auditor.

Image Credit: Rep. Tim Walz

Fox 9 is reporting that Democrat Gov. Tim Walz is seeking $5.3 million to help him fight daycare fraud and enable a mandatory sensitivity training for staff.

Massive child care center fraud was confirmed by the Office of Legislative Auditor. Over 100 daycare carers are under review for fraudulent practices, pinpointing the fraud rate at 50% of the $217 million paid to these child care centers. The Minnesota DHS Inspector Carolyn Ham who was appointed by the administration of Governor Walz has been put on leave after the scandal broke.

Deputy DHS commissioner Chuck Johnson thinks cultural sensitivity is a worthy tool to solve this problem.

“We need to be effective at addressing the waste, fraud and abuse in the system,” Johnson said. “We need to do it in a way that partnerships with those interested in working with us, and not creating divisions when we don’t need to.”

This proposal is coming because of the child care centers uncovered by Fox9 are Somali run.  Republican quickly dismissed the sensitivity program as a distraction

‘“There is a competency problem in this government in taking fraud seriously,” said state Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria. “Fraud does not see skin color. Fraud is fraud. It doesn’t matter who is committing fraud.”

Republican have a bill for stopping payments untill fraud is resolved. Action 4 Liberty a conservative activist group is also calling for eliminating the Child Care Assistance Program releasing a statement

“Action 4 Liberty believes we need to eliminate CCAP. Half of the program is going to fraud and the other half is a massive welfare program. All the generations that came before us did not rely on government to pay for childcare. We are solving nothing by making Minnesotans depend on a government program. Meanwhile, we are taxing people to death. Kiplinger ranks us as the least taxpayer friendly state in the country.”

Alpha News Staff