Judicial Watch: Records Show Unsupervised Children, False Billing, Licensing Violations at Multiple Minneapolis Daycare Facilities

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it received 458 pages of records from the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families in a Minnesota Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that show a strong pattern of false billing, misstated attendance records, repeated licensing violations, grant fraud, and inadequate supervision of children across multiple daycare facilities in Minneapolis.

The records were obtained in response to a Judicial Watch December 2025 state FOIA request, and show that the Minnesota Department of Human Services conducted video surveillance comparisons, attendance record audits, and financial grant audits that identified fraudulent billing at multiple facilities with overpayments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars assessed, and in some cases, facilities continuing to operate and accrue new violations even after prior enforcement actions.

In August 2019, the Minnesota Department of Human Services issued a Correction Order to the Minnesota Child Care Center, citing staff qualification deficiencies: four staff persons did not have documentation on site showing they met the education and experience requirements for their teacher job classifications. The order states “This is a repeat licensing violation. The license holder was cited for a similar violation in a Correction Order dated April 25, 2017.”

Human Services in September 2019, ordered the Minnesota Child Care Center to pay a fine. The order states: “The Department of Human Services (DHS) is ordering you to pay a fine of $600 for three background study violations…. [Y]ou failed to request background studies for three staff persons before they began working in positions allowing direct contact with children served by your program.”

Human Services issued an Administrative Disqualification and Notice of Refusal to Pay against Minnesota Child Care Center in August 2022, finding the center “intentionally gave materially false information on billing forms and/or provided false attendance records.” State Child Care Assistance Program payments were immediately stopped, all authorizations were closed, and the facility and its principals were disqualified from receiving Child Care Assistance Program payments for three years.

A Department of Human Services investigation found significant discrepancies between video footage of children entering the building and its attendance records. In numerous 15-minute intervals across late 2018, attendance records showed children arriving when no children were observed on video.

The review also found that from 2018 through 2021, the center billed for multiple holidays that did not meet Child Care Assistance Program payment criteria, often claiming both holiday pay and regular attendance on the same day.

Analysis of six billing periods (November 19, 2018, through February 10, 2019) found that “361 of the 4,711 dates of [Child Care Assistance Program] billing reviewed, attendance records did not meet record keeping requirements” — including 187 missing sign-in times, 262 missing sign-out times, and 14 missing records entirely.

The center was informed:

What is the effect of being disqualified?

In addition to being disqualified from accepting [Child Care Assistance Program] payments for three years, a disqualification may also affect your ability to clear a background study, hold a child care license or certification, have direct contact or access to children in a child care setting, and/or participate in other Department of Human Services programs.

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In addition, because of the [Child Care Assistance Program]  violations, we estimate Minnesota Child Care Center Inc. was overpaid $24,480.38.

On August 22, 2022, a Notice of Overpayment was issued against Minnesota Child Care Center regarding the $24,480.38.

In October 2023, Minnesota Child Care Center was ordered to pay a fine. The order states: “The Department of Human Services (DHS) is ordering you to pay a fine of $1200 for six background study violations.” The six violations involved staff who had been working in direct contact positions without federally required enhanced background studies.

In April 2024, Human Services determined that Minnesota Child Care Center failed to complete a carpet replacement project for which it received a $9,990.40 Facility Revitalization Grant in June 2022. The facility received a 90% disbursement of $8,991.36 but failed to submit the required final report with before/after photos and expense documentation by the November 30, 2022, deadline. The Notice of Overpayment states:

You did not meet the requirements of the Facility Revitalization Grant for the March 2022 grant period as you failed to submit required project completion information and documentation by November 30, 2022. You will need to reimburse DHS for the recovery of the awarded grant money, totaling $8,991.36, for this grant period.

The Minnesota Child Care Center was issued a Correction Order in October 2024 that cited several violations. The order noted that this was a repeat offense that included:

Violation: Staff distribution requirements were not maintained. A teacher or assistant teacher did not directly supervise an aide.

An aide was working alone with three infant-aged children. A staff person with the qualifications of a teacher was required….

Two aide qualified individuals were alone with twelve school-aged children. A staff person with the qualifications of a teacher was required….

Repeat Licensing Violation: The license holder was cited for a similar violation in the following order(s): A Correction Order dated October 31, 2023.

In November 2024, Minnesota Child Care Center was ordered to pay a fine. The order states: “The Department of Human Services (DHS) is ordering you to pay a fine of $1600 for eight background study violations.”

Among the eight violations, one staff person (SP1) had a background study that expired December 31, 2022. After being ordered to remove SP1 in October 2023, the facility initiated a background study but failed to submit fingerprints within 14 days, causing the study to lapse. SP1 continued working at the center and was still present when Human Services returned in October 2024.

In October 2025, the state issued a separate Notice of Overpayment against Minnesota Child Care Center for $9,408 for billing irregularities during December 9, 2024, to January 5, 2025 — more than two years after the facility was disqualified from the program.

In December 2025, Minnesota Child Care Center was ordered “to pay a $200 fine for one background study violation.” The order documented a staff person (SP1), who had been employed since August 2001 and whose background study was repeatedly mishandled. An enhanced study was initiated in October 2023, but fingerprints were not submitted within 14 days, causing it to lapse. A second attempt was initiated in October 2024, but the same fingerprint submission failure occurred again. The facility had been informed three times in 2022 that enhanced studies were federally required.

In August 2022, Human Services disqualified Nuna Child Care Center (which shared the same address as Minnesota Child Care Center) from the Child Care Assistance Program after investigators found “materially false information on billing forms and/or provided false attendance records.”

Human Services cited numerous discrepancies between surveillance video of children entering the 312 W. Lake St. building and the center’s attendance records, with many instances where children were reported as arriving but were not observed on video. A review of six billing periods from November 2018 through February 2019 found:

For 1,250 of the 2,055 dates of [Child Care Assistance Program] billings reviewed, attendance records did not meet record keeping requirements for one or more of the following reasons:

• In 18 instances, no attendance record was provided;
• In 1,144 instances, the attendance record were missing a time in;
• In 1,187 instances, attendance record were missing a time out;
• Billing Record Does Not Match Attendance Record: 16
  • In 16 instances, children were billed in attendance (Regular), but attendance records show the children marked absent or vice versa.

Human Services also found improper holiday billing.

A Notice of Overpayment for $72,529.85 was issued against Nuna Child Care Center on August 22, 2022, for the period of November 19, 2018, through February 10, 2019.

In December 2024, Nuna Childcare Center was issued a Correction Order, documenting multiple supervision failures within a single afternoon visit. The order states:

Violation: Staff did not supervise the children at all times (School Age).

• At approximately 4:41 p.m., a child ran from the preschool classroom to the school age classroom alone….
• At approximately 5:05 p.m., a child ran from the preschool classroom to the school age classroom alone….
• At approximately 5:17 p.m., a teacher left three children alone in the classroom to grab something out of the lobby….

Three separate unsupervised-child incidents were observed within 36 minutes. This order was issued more than two years after Nuna’s 2022 Child Care Assistance Program disqualification, demonstrating continued operational deficiencies at the facility.

In April 2023, the state issued a Notice of Overpayment for $47,487.80 against Mini Childcare Center for the period of November 28, 2022, through December 25, 2022. The notice states:

1. In 709 instances, you failed to make attendance records available upon request.
2. In 26 instances, you failed to document the time a child was signed out of care.
3. In 27 instances, you submitted billing for children that indicated they were absent, when records indicate the children were actually present and receiving care.

Human Services issued a Notice of Overpayment in July 2024 for $76,000 against ABC Learning Center for four Financial Hardship Grants in 2022. The center was informed it failed to “meet the requirements of the Financial Hardship Grants … as the financial records did not reflect your claims on the Financial Hardship Grant applications. You will need to reimburse [Human Services] for the recovery of the awarded grant money …”

In November 2025, a Correction Order was issued against ABC Learning Center after inspectors observed children left without supervision. The order states:

At approximately 3:12 p.m., the [Dept of Children, Youth and Families] licensors observed seven school aged children unsupervised in the school age classroom while a staff person walked down to the toddler and preschool classroom.

Additional violations included menus that did not comply with U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional requirements, missing written parental permissions for administering medicine, electrical outlets that were not tamper-proof or shielded, crib safety checks not conducted in 2024 and 2025, and staff training deficiencies.

In June 2020, a Notice of Overpayment for $69,364.55 was assessed against Quality Learning Center for the period of April 22, 2019, through June 16, 2019. The notice states:

• In 770 instances, attendance records were not available on request.
• In 194 instances, the attendance records did not match the billing records.
• In 349 instances, the times in and/or times out were missing from attendance records.
• In 10 instances, the attendance records did not contain legible times in and/or out.
• In 940 instances, the names on attendance records did not match names on billing records.

In June 2022, the state placed Quality Learning Center’s license on conditional status for two years, following a May 2022 inspection that found 27 violations — 10 of them repeat violations:

On May 9th and May 10th, 2022, [Department of Human Services] licensors conducted a licensing review and follow-up visit at your facility located at 1411 Nicollet Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55403. As a result of this licensing visit, the DHS licensors determined that your program failed to comply with the laws and rules that apply to licensed child care centers, citing 27 violations. DHS has considered the nature, chronicity, and severity of these violations, as well as the health, safety, and rights of children served by the program

The order cites specific health and safety concerns including:

• Failure to comply with background study requirements (addressed in a separate Order to Pay a Fine on May 13, 2022)
• Failure to comply with requirements related to infant care including bottle labeling, items in a crib with an infant younger than one year of age, and crib safety inspections
• Failure to keep hazardous items away from children
• Failure to maintain adequate staff to child ratios
• Failure to comply with staff training requirements, including orientation, CPR, first aid, annual in-service, and child development and learning
• Failure to maintain children’s files
• Failure to maintain personnel records
• Failure to comply with handwashing requirements for children

In September 2022, the state issued a Correction Order against Sweet Angel Child Care, citing 25 licensing violations. The violations spanned staffing, supervision, recordkeeping, facility safety, training, infant care, and emergency preparedness requirements. Among other violations the order notes, “The DHS licensor observed the school age staff person leave sixteen children in the classroom unsupervised when another child left the classroom and ran out into the hallway.”

In May 2023, the state issued a Notice of Overpayment of $9,830.80 against Sweet Angel Child Care for the period of December 12, 2022, through January 8, 2023. The notice states: “In 184 instances, you failed to make attendance records available upon request.”

“The number of violations and intentionally false reporting committed by these facilities is staggering,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

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Source: https://www.judicialwatch.org/minneapolis-daycare-facilities/