Ohio Senator Jon Husted has expressed support for the recent decision by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to suspend an enrollment-based reimbursement mandate in federal child care programs. The change allows states to reimburse providers based on actual attendance rather than enrollment.
In a statement, Husted wrote, “The ACF’s action will help prevent fraud, protect taxpayers and ensure federal dollars only pay for care actually delivered to working families. A suspension of the enrollment-based reimbursement mandate allows states to reimburse child care services based on actual attendance, a system that the state of Ohio currently uses.”
Husted referenced recent incidents involving significant fraud in means-tested programs. “Revelations in recent months of billions of dollars in fraud and theft in means-tested programs, including to facilities allegedly providing child care services to falsely enrolled individuals in Minneapolis, Minnesota, support our decision to allow attendance-based reimbursement,” he said.
He further noted that while changing the reimbursement system is not a complete solution against misuse across all means-tested programs, it does create stronger oversight. “While attendance-based reimbursement for child care is not the only remedy to prevent bad actors from abusing other means-tested programs, like the recent home-health care fraud allegations in Ohio, it does create a verifiable attendance record and ensures taxpayer dollars are used for families utilizing program resources, and makes it much easier for states to protect program integrity,” Husted continued.
He concluded by calling on federal officials to maintain vigilance over public funds: “Federal legislators and executives have a responsibility to ensure that dollars spent on reimbursing child care and other means-tested programs go towards the families and providers that need it most. Your decision to end the enrollment-based reimbursement mandate will help better ensure the integrity of taxpayer dollars, and I look forward to working with you to continue protecting taxpayers from fraud,” Husted said.
A full copy of Senator Husted’s letter was made available.