Taxpayer Dollars for Empty Daycares | Seattle News

Washington state is under fire after an investigation revealed hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer subsidies flowing to daycare providers who appear to be running empty facilities — with some sites receiving over $229,000 despite never operating as daycares. Journalists visited dozens of locations, finding vacant homes and residents denying any childcare ever took place. Critics, including the Attorney General, have accused reporters of harassment, while the State Auditor flagged $37 million in questionable payments — though fraud hasn’t been confirmed. Legislative efforts to curb abuse include a new law requiring daily attendance claims, but some fraud-prevention measures were stripped from bills. Meanwhile, the head of the state’s child services department says providers have faced death threats over media scrutiny, and the state has now released a list of grant recipients for facility upgrades — after initially withholding it. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/c6faa920914e6375