OHIO — Two state representatives introduced a House Bill aimed at enhancing the integrity of publicly funded child care programs in Ohio, according to a spokesperson with the Ohio House of Representatives.
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State Representatives Phil Plummer (R-Dayton) and Tom Young (R-Washington Twp.) announced HB 647 in Columbus on Wednesday.
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The bill would give the Ohio Attorney General the authority to investigate and prosecute suspected fraud in publicly funded child care programs, the spokesperson said.
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It also enables the Department of Children and Youth (DCY) to suspend licenses and agreements under suspicion of fraud while providing funding for enhanced data analytics to improve accountability.
“The new antifraud measures in this bill will crackdown on the theft of taxpayer dollars and eliminate loopholes identified by the department,” Plummer said.
“A key aspect of this bill is there are 5,200 childcare centers being monitored and over 100,000 children a day,” Young said. “This bill will help create a system of advanced analytics to aid in the detection and the protection of taxpayers’ dollars. And I want to be clear what this bill does not do. The bill does not: (1) reduce eligibility for families currently receiving care, (2) eliminate transitional childcare, (3) target providers who are operating safely and lawfully, or (4) reduce childcare for working families.”
The legislation is currently awaiting a House committee assignment.
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