HHS Freezes Child Care & Family Assistance Grants In Five States Over Fraud Concerns

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced it is freezing access to federal child care and family assistance funds for California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota, and New York, citing concerns with fraud. The freeze affects three programs overseen by the HHS Administration for Children and Families (ACF): Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Social Services Block Grant (SSBG).

The amount of funding affected across the five states is as follows:

CCDF: nearly $2.4 billion

TANF: $7.35 billion

SSBG: $869 million

HHS is requiring the five states to submit justification and . . .