Four Republican members of Minnesota’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Governor Tim Walz asking for the records and documents of 62 active Department of Human Services investigations into the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

Rep. Tom Emmer, Rep. Paul Stauber, Rep. Michelle Fischbach and Rep. Brad Finsted requested the information following a 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS report last week about those investigations.

RELATED: Minnesota lawmakers call for hearing, investigation into Child Care Assistance Program

A DHS spokesperson issued the following statement defending the agency’s oversight and regulatory actions involving child daycare centers in the CCAP program:

“People who steal and misuse public dollars intended to help low-income families pay for child care should be held accountable to the full extent of the law.  Recognizing the risk of fraud in the Child Care Assistance Program, DHS created a specialized investigations unit in 2013. Since then, DHS has conducted numerous investigations, including referrals to law enforcement and those leading to civil penalties and closure of child care centers.”

The statement also said DHS has, on average since 2021, opened 43 investigations per year into providers in the CCAP program.

DHS also said that 79 daycare providers have had their CCAP money discontinued, and 18 cases have been referred to law enforcement agencies for possible criminal charges since 2021.

The letter from Rep. Emmer, Rep. Stauber, Rep. Fischbach and Rep. Finsted can be read in full below.