Michigan’s auditor general will look into the performance of the state’s child care subsidy program. The Child Development and Care program offers childcare payment assistance to low-income families.
The audit comes after the request of Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt to investigate the program. In a statement, Nesbitt said the audit was “good news for legitimate, law-abiding child care providers and the many families who struggle to find affordable child care throughout our state.”
Nesbitt said previous investigations into the child care program’s call center found it wasn’t effective. According to findings from a November 2025 performance audit report, the Child Development and Care call center required “significant improvement to better meet the volume of CDC provider calls.”
“What the auditor general's doing is making sure that if there is any waste, fraud, and abuse that's reported, that we correct any issues that's in the program and that we make sure that every tax dollar that's spent is being spent efficiently and effectively,” Nesbitt said.
Every tax dollar lost to fraud makes it harder for law-abiding families to get the child care they need, Nesbitt said.
That concern is echoed by the federal government, which recently paused child care payments to Minnesota, Colorado, New York, California and Illinois, alleging fraud, though the administration has offered few specifics, and Minnesota officials said their investigation found child care centers accused of fraud were "operating as expected."
The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, which administers the child care program, said it has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and abuse of the system.
Laura Hirst, Michigan's deputy auditor general, said the audit will begin in March 2026 in a letter to Senator Nesbitt. She said the performance audit will identify areas of concern and opportunities to improve operations.
