Wisconsin Shares Fraud Recovery

If child care fraud was going on to the tune of $45 million, just think about the amounts of fraud that are going on in foster care and adoption.



$100 billion dollars in fraud, in the last few years seems about right.

Dept. of Children and Families: Secretary Reggie Bicha’s statement on Wisconsin Shares Savings
5/21/2010

Contact: Erika Monroe-Kane, Department of Children and Families, 608-266-9000

Today, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced $45 million savings in the Wisconsin Shares program. DCF Secretary Reggie Bicha issued the following statement:

We are excited to announce a $45 million savings in the Wisconsin Shares program. This savings is primarily a result of the Department’s work to find and stop fraud.

In addition to making child care safer for children, DCF is saving taxpayer dollars by preventing and stopping fraud.

Using just a quarter of these savings, DCF will improve the quality of care Wisconsin children receive by launching YoungStar, a child care rating and improvement system.

Background

The projected savings of $45 million in Wisconsin Shares payments is in the fiscal year 2010 of the biennial state budget.

The savings are primarily a result of DCF work to recover funds from fraudulent providers, from payments being stopped to providers suspected of fraud, and due to a deterrent effect of the DCF crack down on fraud.

The Department of Children and Families has rebuilt the foundation of child care in Wisconsin and is now building on this to improve the quality of child care. $10 million of the savings in Wisconsin Shares will be reinvested to improve quality, through the YoungStar program.