# 119-s-4788: Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026

119-s-4788, Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL] (R-FL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-08).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4788
- As of: 2026-07-08
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4788
- Congress: 119
- Title: Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-16
- Sponsor: Sen. Moody, Ashley [R-FL] (R-FL)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Families
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-08

## Summary

**This bill would tighten fraud controls across federal child care and nutrition programs to stop scams and protect taxpayer funding.** It centers on **mandatory withholdings and permanent debarment** for providers found to commit fraud. - Families and children: Aims to keep more funds available for eligible families by requiring states to investigate fraud and to report suspected and verified fraudulent payments separately. - States and agencies: Requires states to publish plans for internal controls, cross-agency data use, and eligibility checks. States with CCDBG improper payment rates above 5% must submit corrective plans and face potential ineligibility after 2 consecutive years above 5% unless they show progress. - Providers and programs: Expands what counts as a final fraud determination and requires permanent debarment from Child Care and Development Block Grant funding. Debarment links to the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the bill removes authority to waive sanctions.

## Provisions PRIA read

- Three-year federal state reviews: benefit, medium. This bill would require the Secretary to review each State's CCDBG program every three years. The Secretary would label a State as high risk for repeated or unresolved adverse audit findings, failures to carry out corrective plans, or repeat noncompliance with State plan rules. High-risk States wou…
- New improper payment rules for States: mixed, medium. This bill would require States that get CCDBG money to report annually the dollar and percent amount of improper payments. Reports would break improper payments into categories such as suspected and verified fraud, non-fraud overpayments, underpayments, and system or technical errors. If a State's…
- Stronger fraud rules for providers: mixed, medium. This bill would require the Secretary to investigate suspected fraud in CCDBG financial assistance. It would make withholding CCDBG funds mandatory when fraud or noncompliance is found. Providers with a final determination of fraud would be permanently barred from CCDBG. The bill would also create…

## Related bills

- 119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025
- 119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-s-4328: FLEX Act

## Sources
- [119-s-4788 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4788)

## Related
- [119-s-2120: Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2120)
- [119-s-1541: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1541)
- [119-s-4952: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4952)
- [119-s-4378: Protecting American Taxpayers Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4378)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-s-4328: FLEX Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4328)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4788 (as of 2026-07-08).