State audit finds limited cases of fraud in Idaho child care assistance program
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- State audit found 3.6% of Idaho child care providers noncompliant after a review.
- Investigators suspect fraud with 16 providers, each in the Treasure Valley.
- Legislature delayed funding and statutory changes amid oversight concerns.
As a clash over the amount of funding dedicated to a federally backed child care program for lower-income families plays out in the Idaho Legislature, a recent state audit led to 28 care providers facing enforcement actions, including terminations over suspected fraud.
Thrust into the national spotlight amid allegations of the misuse of hundreds of millions in taxpayer money in a similar assistance program in Minnesota, the Idaho Child Care Program, or ICCP, underwent a monthslong internal review after some lawmakers raised concerns about the possibility of comparable issues.
Through on-site visits and paperwork compliance verifications of the nearly 800 participating child-care providers throughout the state, 3.6% were found to be outside of program compliance, according to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare report released Monday.
“Of course would love to see this at 0% or zero cases,” Juliet Charron, IDHW’s director, said in an interview. “That being said, we are pleased to see the low rate of findings within the program given that this is our first 360-review of the child care program, which we hope to continue going forward. … We hope that this demonstrates to Idahoans and to our partners here in the Legislature that Idaho does not have the level of challenges that other states have seen.”
The violations documented by IDHW spanned inadequate record-keeping that resulted in temporary decertifications — two of which have already been resolved — to cases of “blatant fraud,” Charron said. Staffers showed up to providers for in-person visits, sometimes checking more than once, and found no child care taking place, which led to immediate termination from the program.
“There were no children on site, no children being served,” she said. “It was not spring break. It was not holidays. It should have been a time that children should have been there.”
Of the 28 cases, the audit found suspected fraud in 16 of them — about 2% of the total program. Among those 16 cases terminated for fraud, all were care providers in the Treasure Valley: nine in Boise, four in Meridian, two in Nampa and one in Caldwell, the letters to the providers showed. They ranged from small, private providers to larger care facilities, said Monty Prow, an IDHW deputy director.
IDHW is an executive branch agency that falls under the purview of Gov. Brad Little.
“Strong oversight is critical whenever public funds are involved,” Joan Vargas, Little’s press secretary, said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. “Gov. Little and his administration are committed to continuing to strengthen safeguards and ensure all programs operate with transparency, accountability, and integrity. This Idaho Child Care Program plays an important role for working families, and the thorough review helps ensure it remains responsible, effective, and worthy of the public’s trust.”
Last week, a bill that would have codifed Idaho’s existing program in statute and grant the Attorney General’s Office authority to investigate and prosecute providers for fraud failed to pass the Senate. The program dates to the 1990s. Senate Bill 1419 was described by lawmakers as a way to bolster requirements and strengthen program integrity to root out cases of misused taxpayer money for the program, which serves about 6,500 children.
For fiscal year 2025, the ICCP cost about $54 million, although just $2.3 million from Idaho’s general fund, with the reminder all federal dollars. The Senate last week also approved a fiscal year 2027 IDHW budget with $63 million in federal money toward the child care program, plus $1.2 million as a state match from the general fund. That bill now heads to the House for consideration.
Meanwhile, over standing questions about Idaho’s program, lawmakers pulled back $14 million in federal grant dollars approved last year to address a child care shortage by expanding the program. An additional $16 million request for the same purpose for 2027 has yet to receive a vote this session.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee is scheduled to have those dollars back up for review Tuesday at its regular meeting. But it comes days after the Senate rejected the bill to place the program in statute. That threatens its long-term prospects in years to come, some lawmakers said during debate of the bill last week.
”If we’re going to do child care, we don’t want to turn into Minnesota,” Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, said on the Senate floor. “So we’re going to keep doing it, I’m just not sure if codifying it through this bill is still the right move. I think there might be other things we can do next year.”
‘Hold state agencies accountable’
Several of the fraud cases in Monday’s report occurred while Charron’s predecessor, Alex Adams, a former longtime member of Little’s administration, was IDHW director from June 2024 to September 2025. In October, the U.S. Senate confirmed Adams to join the Trump administration as an assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he oversees the federal child care program.
At least nine other care providers were terminated because of suspected fraud during Adams’ year-plus tenure as IDHW director, according to previous agency data. Still other suspected fraud cases in the state child care program happened under former IDHW Director Dave Jeppeson, from January 2019 to December 2023, and Dean Cameron, its interim director from January 2024 until Adams took over in June 2024.
In a statement Monday evening, Adams said that rooting out fraud was a top priority from his time in the position, and he applauded the agency’s efforts to improve oversight.
“Fraud doesn’t just hurt the government — it hurts taxpayers,” his statement read. “That’s why when I took office as IDHW director, one of my first priorities was righting the ship of a child care program that was under investigation.
“Now at the federal level, I plan to use Idaho’s lessons learned to strengthen program integrity and stewardship of taxpayer dollars in federally-funded child care nationwide. Other states would be wise to follow IDHW’s example.”
Former Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, co-chaired the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee from 2023 until she stepped down early from elected office earlier this year. She said she reported potential fraud in the state’s child care program dating back to 2021.
“We do need to hold state agencies accountable for holding providers accountable,” Horman told the Statesman in January. “That’s why we do these audits to find out, for example, if there’s improper internal controls overseeing that money. But it really does fall on the processes and procedures of the state agency to make sure that that funding is going out to legitimate providers.”
Horman left her position — and Idaho — to go work for Adams in Washington, D.C. Today, she is director of the Office of Child Care in the Administration for Children and Families, and manages the federal grants disbursed to states for their statewide child care programs.
Reporter Sarah Cutler contributed.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 3:19 PM.
