Sponsor
Mary E. Miller
Representative · R-IL
Representative · R-IL
The bill strengthens oversight, fraud detection, and enforcement to reduce improper payments and protect program integrity—benefiting taxpayers and improving child safety—but it raises administrative costs and enforcement risks that could reduce provider participation and disrupt access to subsidized child care for families, especially in small or low-capacity states.
Children and families receiving subsidized child care will face fewer instances of fraud and see more reliable, higher-quality care because states must strengthen internal controls, detect and recover improper payments, and debar fraudulent providers.
Taxpayers and program beneficiaries will benefit from reduced improper CCDBG/CACFP payments and recovered funds, improving stewardship and more efficient use of federal funds.
State and federal accountability and transparency will increase because States must track/report improper payments, submit corrective plans, and are subject to targeted reviews and monitoring.
Low-income families and children could lose access to subsidized child care or face service disruptions if states face automatic sanctions, provider debarments, or become ineligible after sustained elevated improper-payment rates.
State agencies (and ultimately taxpayers) will face increased administrative costs and resource diversion to implement standardized reporting, internal controls, corrective plans, monitoring, and new adjudication processes.
Child-care providers—especially small or nonprofit providers—may face higher compliance costs, increased risk of exclusion, and reduced participation, which can shrink supply and raise costs for families.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Tightens CCDBG and CACFP fraud controls by requiring State improper-payment reporting, mandatory HHS sanctions and debarments for fraud, corrective plans for >5% improper payments, and GAO study.
Requires States that receive Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds to report and reduce improper payments, strengthens federal enforcement against fraud, and permanently bars providers with final fraud findings from CCDBG and CACFP programs. It directs the HHS Secretary to make certain enforcement actions mandatory, requires corrective action plans and multi-year monitoring for high improper-payment States, requires 3-year comprehensive reviews and high-risk designations, removes certain waiver language, and tasks the GAO to study fraud prevention across federal early childhood and child nutrition programs and report back within two years.
Official title: Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026
Introduced February 26, 2026 by Mary E. Miller · Last progress June 4, 2026