Frontlines TPUSA reporter Jonathan Choe recently spoke with Washington State Senator Lisa Wellman after an event in Bellevue, discussing Senate Bill 5926 and odd statistics regarding daycare centers that are suspected of committing fraud.
SB 5926, which Wellman is backing currently, seeks to make a public records exemption for childcare providers.
This bill is contrasted with a Washington state House Bill 2058, which seeks to do the opposite through auditing.
HB 2058 states the following:
“Any private entity that receives public moneys through grants must hire a third-party auditor to conduct an audit of the entity. The third-party auditor must receive approval from the state auditor to conduct the audit,” the bill states.
Hereafter, several provisions stated what information is needed for an audit, such as budgeting and use of money by private entities (including daycare centers).
Wellman claimed that the state has a small percentage of Somali-ran childcare centers; a claim which contrasts with the amount of 539 Somali-language centers in the state.
“There are several different kinds of child care centers, businesses, etc. In almost everyone, that information is private,” she said.
For instance, one unaudited childcare business highlighted by Frontlines TPUSA, called Moalin Sahra Ali, made $753,053.00
Wellman also claimed there is “excellent oversight” in Washington child daycare centers. Choe corrected this with data from the website fiscal.wa.gov.
“DCYF [Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families] was audited by the state and it’s always the agency with the most concerns: untraceable money, funding, and these exorbitant payments to these Somali daycares,” Choe said.
Wellman then asked if Choe could send her this information because she was unfamiliar with it, and agreed to accompany him to visit daycare centers suspected of fraud.
“Since you went there I’d be happy to take a trip with you and we’ll go and you’ll point out the ones to me,” she told Choe.
