(The Center Square) – In the wake of recent renewed media reports into allegations of potential daycare fraud in Washington, state officials are urging anyone with information to report claims to the office of Attorney General Nick Brown.
“We encourage people with claims of fraud to report them to the state. Our office has tools to address certain kinds of fraud,” wrote Deputy Communications Director for Washington State Attorney General’s Office Mike Faulk in a Thursday email to The Center Square.
As part of ongoing reporting on the issue, The Center Square recently obtained documents from a public records request to the Department of Children, Youth and Families about daycare provider subsidies that inspired investigations in 2025.
Among the documents obtained were investigations noting reports about providers accused of coordinating with parents to fraudulently obtain taxpayer subsidies, where the parents were part of the alleged scam.
“In some cases, children are not actually brought to care, but parents still sign them in so payments can be collected. UNNAMED PERSON reportedly gives 30% of the DSHS funds to the parents (mostly from Afghanistan) and keeps the rest. In addition, her husband runs another home childcare in their second house that located on where the same practice is occurring,” the report said.
DCYF responded to the documents provided to The Center Square.
“We take allegations of fraud seriously. If providers are not following the rules, we hold them accountable. Providers who are convicted of a criminal charge – resulting from being paid for benefits they are not entitled to – receive a lifetime ban from participating in the Working Connections Child Care subsidy,” wrote Nancy Gutierrez, director of external communications at DCYF.
Gutierrez said that the Department of Social and Health Services’ Office of Accountability conducts investigations for all potential child care criminal cases (fraud) for eligibility and payment.
OFA refers criminal cases to local prosecutors where evidence collected indicates that fraud occurred. Local prosecutors decide whether to bring criminal charges. Jurisdictions indict families or providers when they deem evidence likely to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt to a jury.OFA processes overpayments for cases that are not accepted for prosecution or returns the case to the referring department/program for follow-up action.OFA refers all overpayments to DSHS’ Office of Financial Recovery for processing and collection.
Gutierrez concluded by adding “DSHS would be the better contact for data on convictions.”
She was referring to The Center Square asking if childcare providers and parents receiving benefits, found to be defrauding taxpayers, would be held accountable.
Rep. Travis Couture, R-Allyn, who has been a sharp critic of DCYF over childcare fraud reports spoke to The Center Square on Wednesday about the document obtained by The Center Square.
“Fraud and how to commit fraud doesn’t see state lines, and if you can do that in Minnesota and California, you can certainly do it in the state of Washington,” said Couture.
The Center Square reached out to Attorney General Brown’s office about the daycare fraud allegations and asked if the office was familiar with the SEIU letter asking lawmakers to crack down on reporters investigating potential fraud.
“I’m not familiar with the policy you’re referencing. The AG’s 2027 legislative agenda is still in development, but it does not include anything like what you’ve described,” wrote Faulk.
“We would defer questions about specific incidents to the agency they were reported to. We advise DCYF as a client and can’t speak to matters that are potentially attorney-client privileged. As you know, we have a longstanding policy of not answering questions about potential investigatory and legal matters that involve our client agencies,” Faulk wrote.
The Center Square initially began reporting on allegations of potential daycare fraud late last year, and as reported this week, independent journalists are continuing to investigate allegations of daycare fraud.
State employee union advocates recently asked lawmakers to suppress investigative efforts to expose potential fraud.