Mississippi spends millions on childcare without tracking attendance or outcomes
JACKSON, Miss. — Nearly $11 million in state Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds were spent on childcare services by nonprofits in Mississippi, with little oversight of attendance or outcomes, according to a report released by the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor.
The report found that nonprofits received the same payments regardless of whether children attended once a month or every day. State Auditor Shad White criticized the lack of tracking, citing the potential for misuse of funds. “The childcare fraud scandal in Minnesota has shown just how easy it is for nonprofits to receive government funds intended to help our poorest children and then light that money on fire,” he said. “It’s critical that Mississippi has effective oversight on childcare spending so we don’t repeat the mistakes we’ve seen in other states.”
During fiscal year 2024, the Mississippi Department of Human Services paid nonprofits for providing childcare, not for actual attendance. Many programs served fewer than half the children they committed to support each month but still received full funding. White emphasized the importance of ensuring taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and that children are actually participating in the programs.
The Department of Human Services did not collect attendance data from the centers but did gather participant information, which analysts found to contain errors such as duplicate entries, misspelled names, and incorrect addresses. Although nonprofits were required to collect outcome data on literacy and teen pregnancy prevention, the report states that MDHS did not reliably measure whether these programs achieved the required results.
This report marks the first in a series examining taxpayer-funded childcare programs in Mississippi. The full report is available on the auditor’s website under the “Reports” tab by searching for “Afterschool care.”
Source: Original Article
