ST. PAUL, Minn. (GRAY) – Recent claims of fraud made in a viral YouTube video prompted a response from Minnesota state leaders on Monday.
The video, posted by YouTuber Nick Shirley, has amassed more than 100 thousand views since it was posted over the holiday weekend. Shirley, in the video, visits several childcare facilities that appear to be empty despite receiving state money.
Tikki Brown, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, told reporters that despite concerns with Shirley’s piece, they were taking the allegations seriously.
“We are aware of a video that’s being circulated that has gained local and national attention about child care centers in Minnesota,” said Brown,” While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”
In the video, Shirley walks to several childcare facilities and is either unable to contact someone inside or is turned away at the door. He later interviews people who claim never to have seen children entering some of the buildings.
Brown explained that in multiple unannounced site visits to each of the sites shown in the video, children were present.
DCYF, according to Brown, conducts annual unannounced site visits to all facilities in Minnesota to evaluate each facility’s operations.
“Each of the facilities mentioned in the video has been visited at least once in the last six months as part of our typical licensing process,” she said.
Regardless, Brown confirmed that DCYF staffers were conducting additional site visits Monday in light of the new claims.
“Our staff are out in the community today to visit each of these sites again so that we can look into the concerns that were raised in the video,” she said.
In addition, Brown indicated that past investigations have yielded no findings of fraud.
“There have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers,” she said, “None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud.”
Republican lawmakers responded to Shirley’s claims by calling for the state to be more transparent with fraud oversight.
“[We would like Walz] to release the documents related to fraud that have been requested by the media and the fraud committee, as well as other legislators,” said Minnesota Speaker of the House Lisa Demuth (R-Cold Spring).
Demuth also requested that the administration release any available records related to inspections of the sites in question; redirect available resources to additional site visits; conduct a review of money directed to NGOs by state agencies; and stop payments in several high-risk programs.
Read more on https://www.keyc.com
