Stop Child Care Fraud Act of 2026
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Stop Child Care Fraud Act of 2026 adds a program integrity and accountability requirement to CCDBG state plans. Each state plan must describe the state's internal controls to ensure program integrity and accountability.
The plan must also describe processes to investigate and recover fraudulent payments, impose sanctions on clients or providers in response to fraud, and document and verify eligibility. The description must explain how the state uses data within and across other state and local agencies that oversee child care providers serving children who receive CCDBG assistance. The bill focuses on state plan content and data use rather than setting a new payment amount.
Who Benefits and How
HHS child care plan reviewers benefit from required state descriptions of internal controls, recovery processes, sanctions, and eligibility verification. Federal taxpayers benefit if stronger state plan requirements reduce fraudulent payments. Families eligible for child care assistance benefit if program funds are protected for valid care. State child care program integrity staff benefit from clearer federal expectations for cross-agency data use. Honest child care providers benefit when fraudulent providers and clients face documented sanctions.
Who Bears the Burden and How
State child care agencies must update CCDBG plans with program integrity, fraud recovery, sanctions, and eligibility verification details. State data-system staff must explain use of data across child care oversight agencies. Clients and providers committing fraud face plan-based sanctions and recovery processes. HHS child care plan reviewers must evaluate the new plan descriptions. Local child care oversight agencies may need to share data with state administrators. State eligibility workers must document and verify eligibility procedures.
Key Provisions
- Requires CCDBG state plans to describe internal controls for program integrity and accountability.
- Requires descriptions of processes to investigate and recover fraudulent payments.
- Requires descriptions of sanctions on clients or providers for fraud.
- Requires procedures to document and verify eligibility.
- Requires explanation of data use across state and local child care oversight agencies.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires CCDBG state plans to describe internal controls for program integrity and accountability, processes to investigate and recover fraudulent payments, sanctions for fraudulent clients or providers, eligibility documentation and verification procedures, and use of data across state and local child care oversight agencies.
Key Policy Areas
Child Care, Fraud Prevention, Eligibility Verification
Primary Purpose
Requires CCDBG state plans to describe internal controls for program integrity and accountability, processes to investigate and recover fraudulent payments, sanctions for fraudulent clients or providers, eligibility documentation and verification procedures, and use of data across state and local child care oversight agencies.
Policy Domains
Bill provisions
Identified Gains
- HHS child care plan reviewers
- Federal taxpayers
- Families eligible for child care assistance
- State child care program integrity staff
- Honest child care providers
Identified Costs
- State child care agencies
- State data-system staff
- Clients committing child care fraud
- Providers committing child care fraud
- HHS child care plan reviewers
- Local child care oversight agencies
Legislative Progress
ReportedPlaced on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 511.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by the Yeas and Nays: …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Mr. Rulli introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Clients committing child care fraud, Providers committing child care fraud, State child care agencies
HHS child care program staff, State data-system staff
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "secretary"
- → Secretary administering CCDBG
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology