Rep. Onder’s Bill to Strengthen Accountability in Child Care Monitoring Passes the House

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 4th, 2026

Contact: Brooke Morgan

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Congressman Bob Onder (R-MO) released the following statement after the House passed his bill, H.R. 7722, the Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act, as part of H.R. 7726, the Stop Child Care Scams Act, a package of eight commonsense reforms to crack down on abuse, restore accountability, and protect taxpayer dollars from being siphoned off by bad actors.

The Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act strengthens oversight of federal child care funding by codifying the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) practice of auditing states’ CCDBG funds every three years. Also, under this legislation, any state with repeated audit failures would be designated as “high-risk” and subjected to enhanced monitoring as determined by HHS.

“Recent investigations in Democrat-run states have exposed widespread fraud in child care assistance programs, with millions of taxpayer dollars funneled to services that were never provided,” said Congressman Bob Onder. “This blatant abuse underscores the urgent need for stronger oversight, and the Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act will hold states with repeated audit failures accountable and help ensure public funds are spent responsibly. Families deserve child care programs they can trust, and taxpayers deserve full transparency about where their hard-earned dollars are going. I am proud that the House has passed this legislation as part of the Stop Child Care Scams Act, a package of eight commonsense reforms designed to crack down on fraud, strengthen oversight, and restore accountability to the child care assistance system.”

“Fraud is running rampant across our nation—and Americans are sick of it. That is why the Committee on Education and Workforce passed eight bills in March to fight fraud and restore Americans’ faith in our federal child care programs. Every dollar stolen by fraudsters is a dollar that cannot help innocent children in need. I am grateful to Rep. Onder for sponsoring the Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act, which is included in H.R. 7726. His bill implements common-sense accountability measures to ensure states are putting our children—and not fraudsters—first.”—Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI)

To read the full bill, click here: H.R. 7722

Background Information 

Enacted in 1990 and subsequently amended, the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act is the primary federal law providing child care assistance to low-income families. The law authorizes grant funding to state, territorial, and tribal lead agencies to help eligible families access child care services.

Following the passage of the Improper Payments Information Act of 2002, the CCDBG program was identified as being at risk for significant improper payments. In response, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established a three-year audit cycle for all grantees beginning in 2007.

Despite these oversight measures, misuse of CCDBG funds persists. In May 2025, the HHS Inspector General reported that 38 of 200 randomly selected child care assistance payments in Minnesota failed to meet requirements related to attendance and payment for services. A separate report from the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor also highlighted widespread noncompliance within the state’s child care assistance program.

The Child Care Integrity Monitoring Act is included in the House Education and Workforce Committee’s Stop Child Care Scams Act, a package of eight reforms designed to combat fraud, strengthen oversight, and increase accountability in child care assistance programs.

###