The word “fraud” has been thrown around lately, especially in connection with child care in Minnesota. It’s important to remember, this is an old and familiar tactic. Cry fraud, then use the cry of fraud to discredit a program. The goal being to defund the program.

With the current target being Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), the perpetuating of this “fraud” letter/rumor is with no care to if the fraud is real or not. The claim is that because a child care center has licensing violations and is receiving CCAP payments, it is somehow committing fraud.

As a child care center owner, I can personally attest that this is not true. I’ve seen licensing “violations” as frivolous as there not being a second dentist listed for a three-month-old child (has no teeth yet). If you have 60 children in your care and have not collected that second dentist on their paperwork, you could potentially get 60 violations. Or a “violation” for having 75 blocks in the classroom instead of 100.

Licensing and funding are not the same thing, but it is, unfortunately, very easy to make it seem like they are. That’s because categories are very broad. For example, “hazardous materials near children,” which could mean anything from baby wipes or Chapstick being within a child’s reach to a mop being unattended in the hallway. Neither of which constitutes grave danger to children.

Child care providers across the state are working to transform our child care system so that it is one in which providers, teachers, families, and kids can thrive. We can’t do that without robust public funding, and we certainly can’t do it when the authors and supporters of these letters/claims are working against us.

With funding, we can have a system that serves everyone and does so effectively with integrity. We all know our districts need child care funding, regardless of party. It’s time to stop politicizing child care and the children that are our future.

— Shea Ripley is owner of Building Blocks child care in Fairmont