Stop Child Care Scams Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Senator Moody, Ashley [R-FL]
Introduced
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.
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- 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.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 2 mixed.
Three-year federal state reviews
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 would face extra federal monitoring as the Secretary decides.
New improper payment rules for States
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 improper payment rate for a fiscal year is more than 5 percent, the State would have to submit an approved corrective action plan and report progress. If the rate is over 5 percent for two years in a row, the State could lose CCDBG funding unless it shows it will cut the rate to 5 percent or shows significant progress the next year.
Stronger fraud rules for providers
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 cross-debarment so providers barred for fraud in the Child and Adult Care Food Program would be barred from CCDBG and vice versa. States would have to describe internal controls, fraud investigation and recovery processes, sanctions, eligibility checks, and data sharing in their CCDBG plans.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Moody, Ashley [R-FL]
FL • R
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov