Washington State's Daycare Fraud Problem Looks a Lot Like Minnesota's
One daycare licensed for 9 kids reported $750K in sales. Its business was dissolved two years ago. The Minnesota pattern is spreading. #Washington
The Minnesota Daycare Scandal Has a West Coast Twin
When President Trump called out Somali-run daycare fraud in Minnesota during the State of the Union, it made national headlines. But Minnesota isn't the only state with a problem. A National Review investigation found the same pattern in Washington State — and the numbers are just as suspicious.
The Numbers Don't Add Up
Washington's Somali population is roughly 15,000 — less than a quarter of one percent of the state's 8 million residents. But Somali-primary-language daycares account for a wildly disproportionate share of licensed childcare providers. About 249 of the state's 6,857 licensed providers list Somali as their primary language — roughly 20 times what you'd expect based on population. One nonprofit says it communicates with over 600 Somali childcare providers in King County alone.
Disproportionate representation in a profession isn't inherently suspicious. But the financials are.
Red Flags Everywhere
Consider Kismaya Family Childcare: licensed for just nine children, but reporting over $750,000 in sales in 2025. The state paid them $120,000, but here's the kicker — their business entity was administratively dissolved in 2023. So where's the money going?
Other red flags uncovered by the investigation: caretakers licensed for a handful of children reporting hundreds of thousands in earnings. Nonprofits receiving six-figure grants that don't even have working phone numbers. And as media scrutiny grew, providers began scrubbing their language information from the state database — the number listing Somali dropped from 283 to 249 during the investigation.
How It Happened
Washington's 2021 "Fair Start for Kids Act" poured over $1 billion into childcare, with subsidies up to $4 per child per hour. For a provider licensed for 12 kids, that's nearly $100,000 a year in taxpayer subsidies — with limited oversight. The state created a massive incentive structure and then barely watched where the money went.
This is a bipartisan governance failure. When you throw a billion dollars at a program and don't build in accountability, fraud follows. Minnesota proved it. Washington State is proving it again.