作者：[戴安娜·斯坦西] 福克斯新闻
发布时间：2026年2月4日 美国东部时间下午3:22
Wonderschool首席执行官兼创始人克里斯·贝内特解释了科技如何打击日托系统中的欺诈行为。
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明尼苏达州社会服务系统中被指存在的欺诈计划，使得围绕日托中心的审查力度有所加大。
然而，根据为日托服务提供商和各州提供技术支持的平台Wonderschool的首席执行官兼创始人克里斯·贝内特表示，对于各州而言，识别欺诈行为颇具挑战——尤其是当相关机构仍在使用过时系统时，这些系统难以发现可能指向潜在欺诈的趋势和警示信号。
贝内特最近在接受福克斯新闻数字版采访时表示：“当所有这些数据分散在不同地方时，州政府很难确定哪里存在风险、哪里存在欺诈行为。此外，很多州仍然使用纸笔来收集信息，这使得管理员及其团队很难全面审查所有信息并确保定期跟进相关事务。”
贝内特指出，简化系统是识别账单行为和出勤数据中可能指向欺诈的任何非典型趋势的关键。
【财政部长宣布向明尼苏达州欺诈举报者提供现金奖励】
“最佳实践是转向现代化系统，建立一个所有数据集中存储且相互关联的系统，”贝内特说，“这样可以利用该系统识别风险、尽早标记异常模式，然后由人工进行调查。监督应该支持日托服务提供商，而不是惩罚他们。”
为推动这一目标，贝内特于今年1月牵头推出了Wonderschool监督项目——该项目依托Wonderschool与佛罗里达州、密歇根州和西弗吉尼亚州等州已有的合作关系，旨在集中各州机构的项目数据，以便在同一平台上评估入学、出勤、账单和许可信息。
贝内特表示，将这些信息集中起来，Wonderschool监督项目就能标记出需要人工审核的异常模式。
右翼影响力人物尼克·雪莉在12月发布了一段42分钟的视频，揭露明尼苏达州日托中心在获得数百万美元政府资金的情况下却处于“闲置”状态，这一视频使新闻周期发生了转变。
【共和党议员成立特别工作组 打击与明尼苏达州丑闻相关的欺诈行为】
“例如，我们可以分析每日出勤数据，标记出账单显示的出勤人数超过记录的出勤人数的情况，”贝内特说，“我们会审查账单行为是否存在异常，比如账单修正突然激增，这可能表明存在潜在问题。再比如，我们会将申报的出勤人数与许可容量、年龄组限制和所需人员配置比例进行对比，以发现可能存在的监管或安全违规行为。”
12月，右翼影响力人物尼克·雪莉发布了一段详细揭露明尼苏达州日托和学习中心涉嫌欺诈的42分钟视频后，日托欺诈问题受到了广泛关注。
美国卫生与公众服务部（HHS）于今年1月宣布，由于“对各州管理的项目中广泛存在欺诈和滥用纳税人资金的严重担忧”，将暂停包括明尼苏达州在内的五个州的部分联邦日托和家庭援助资金的使用权限。
几天后，联邦法官暂时阻止了特朗普政府至少两周内暂停资金冻结的决定。福克斯新闻数字版已联系HHS寻求置评。
明尼苏达州还面临其他涉嫌欺诈的计划。立法者牵头调查了明尼苏达州被指涉及“喂养我们的未来”项目的2.5亿美元欺诈计划，该项目涉嫌针对美国农业部在COVID-19疫情期间资助并由明尼苏达州监管的儿童营养项目。
【点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用程序】
至少有77人因该计划被起诉，该计划利用了美国农业部决定豁免某些联邦儿童营养项目要求的机会。
同样，明尼苏达州另一项涉嫌欺诈计划涉及住房稳定服务项目，该项目据称提供医疗补助覆盖住房稳定服务，试图帮助残疾人、精神疾病患者和药物使用障碍患者获得住房。
戴安娜·斯坦西是福克斯新闻数字版的政治记者，报道白宫相关新闻。
Alleged Minnesota childcare fraud schemes prompt calls for new oversight systems | Fox News
By [Diana Stancy] Fox News
Published February 4, 2026 3:22pm EST
Chris Bennett, CEO and founder of Wonderschool, explains how technology can tackle fraud in the childcare system.
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Alleged fraud schemes plaguing Minnesota’s social services systems have elevated scrutiny surrounding childcare centers.
But fraud can be challenging to identify for states – especially when agencies are using outdated systems that make it difficult to spot trends and red flags that could point to potential fraud, according to Chris Bennett, the CEO and founder of Wonderschool, a platform that provides technology support to child care providers and states.
“When you have all this data living in different place, it’s really difficult for a state to identify where there is risk and where there is fraud,” Bennett recently told Fox News Digital during an interview. “Additionally, a lot of states are using pen and paper still to collect information. So it makes it really difficult for an administrator and the administrator’s team to go through all of that and make sure that they’re keeping up with things on a regular basis.”
Children sleep during nap time at Minnesota Child Care in Minneapolis, Minn., on Dec. 30.(Renee Jones Schneider/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images)
Streamlining systems is key to identifying any atypical trends in billing behavior and attendance data that could point to fraud, Bennett said.
[TREASURY SECRETARY ANNOUNCES CASH REWARDS FOR MINNESOTA FRAUD WHISTLEBLOWERS]
“The best practice is moving to a modern system, moving to a system where all of the data is in one place and it’s all connected,” Bennett said. “So you can use that to identify risk, flag unusual patterns early, and then have humans go and investigate. Oversight should support child care providers, not punish them.”
To help do this, Bennett spearheaded Wonderschool Oversight in January – building upon Wonderschool’s existing partnerships with states including Florida, Michigan and West Virginia– that aims to centralize state agencies’ program data to evaluate enrollment, attendance, billing and licensing information in the same place.
Having this information in one spot allows for Wonderschool Oversight to flag unusual patterns that could require human review, Bennett said.
Nick Shirley upended the news cycle in December with a 42-minute video investigating Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive despite receiving millions of dollars in government funding.(Nick Shirley)
[GOP SENATORS LAUNCH TASK FORCE TO CRACK DOWN ON FRAUD TIED TO MINNESOTA SCANDAL]
“For example, we can analyze daily attendance data to flag cases where billed attendance exceeds recorded attendance,” Bennett said. “We review billing behavior for anomalies — such as sudden spikes in billing corrections — which can indicate potential issues. Or, in another example, we compare reported attendance against licensed capacity, age-band limits, and required staffing ratios to surface possible regulatory or safety violations.”
Childcare fraud has come under a microscope after right-wing influencer Nick Shirley shared a video in December detailing alleged fraud involving Minnesota childcare and learning centers.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in January that it would [put a hold on access] to some federal childcare and family assistance funding for five states – including Minnesota – due to “serious concerns about widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars in state-administered programs.”
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Hubert H. Humphrey Building in Washington on Monday, March 10, 2025.(Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Days later, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from halting the funding freeze for at least two weeks. Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment.
That’s not the only alleged fraud scheme the state is facing. Lawmakers have spearheaded investigations into Minnesota’s alleged “Feeding Our Future” $250 million fraud scheme that allegedly targeted a children’s nutrition program the Department of Agriculture funded and that Minnesota oversaw during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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At least 77 people have been charged in that scheme, which took advantage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s decision to waive certain Federal Child Nutrition Program requirements.
Likewise, another alleged fraud scheme in the state stems from the [Housing Stability Services Program], which allegedly offered Medicaid coverage for housing stabilization services in an attempt to help those with disabilities, mental illnesses and substance-use disorders receive housing.
Diana Stancy is a politics reporter with Fox News Digital covering the [White House.]
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