By Chelsea Bailey, Sarah Owermohle, CNN
(CNN) — In the days since the Trump administration announced it would freeze federal child care payments to Minnesota amid an alleged fraud investigation, fear and confusion have spread almost as fast as the viral video that launched the scandal.
Minnesota receives about $185 million annually in federal child care funding, supporting care for 19,000 children, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services. The state says the money helps cover the cost of routine child care for thousands of low-income families each month, allowing parents to work or attend school.
But HHS announced Tuesday it would freeze that funding – and it’s not clear if there are any alternate plans for families affected by the freeze.
“Funds will be released only when states prove they are being spent legitimately,” Deputy Secretary of HHS Jim O’Neill said Tuesday.
Now, families and child care providers are grappling with the cascade of consequences that may soon come if federal funding dries up.
“I’m a parent who receives federal funding for child care for my kiddo,” Deko Nor told reporters at a news conference at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul on Wednesday.
“I’m currently a medical student, I rely on child care, I work,” she said. “If child care is cut, I’m unable to go to work, or go to school.”
A pause stretched on as Nor, who had to skip school to attend the news conference, grew too emotional to continue her remarks.
The child care providers who spoke at the capitol Wednesday said they adamantly opposed fraud and supported efforts to investigate and address any claims of wrongdoing.
But they also said they felt compelled to stand in support of the Somali providers who may be too afraid to speak up after Nick Shirley’s video claiming to find widespread fraud at Somali-run child care centers went viral.
The child care centers featured in the video were operating as expected when visited by investigators, the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families said in a news release Friday.
The agency gathered evidence and initiated further review, noting the investigation into four of the centers was ongoing, the report stated.
Minnesota’s Twin Cities are home to the nation’s largest population of Somalis, a community that has recently experienced heightened tensions over increased immigration enforcement and disparaging remarks from President Donald Trump.
Amanda Schillinger, director of Pumpkin Patch Childcare & Learning Center in Burnsville, Minnesota, said she feels the community is being “unfairly vilified.”
“The truth is Minnesota has guardrails in place to make defrauding the child care system extremely difficult,” she said. “Fraud is never acceptable; but cutting off child care funding to everyone in the state is not the answer, and it’s not acceptable.”
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families doubled down on their commitment to preventing fraud and continuing to support families in the statement on Friday.
But, the agency warned, the distribution of “unvetted or deceptive claims and misuse of tip lines can interfere with investi