Maine officials, child care providers and families were flummoxed and fearful Friday after the Trump administration announced this week a nationwide freeze on roughly $12.3 billion in child care funding.

The announcement came after a series of allegations about fraud at Minnesota day care centers, many run by Somali residents. A right-wing influencer made the initial allegations of widespread abuses.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill said on Tuesday that Minnesota’s access to child care funding had been frozen because of allegations the state has “funneled millions of taxpayer dollars to fraudulent day cares over the past decade.” 

HHS is seeking comprehensive audits of day care centers throughout Minnesota, including attendance records, licenses, complaints, investigations and inspections.

On Wednesday, department spokesman Andrew Nixon told ABC News that Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) recipients nationwide are required to provide HHS with “administrative data” for review.

It is unclear what HHS will be seeking for Maine, the other states and American territories to receive funds.

In a post on the platform X, O’Neill described the freeze as a “defend the spend” effort, saying that all Child Care and Development Fund payments will require “a receipt or photo evidence before we send money to a state.” 

The fund contains $8.75 billion in Child Care and Development Block Grant funds and $3.55 billion in Child Care Entitlement to States funds for fiscal year 2025. 

Maine’s share of CCDF funds totals just over $34.4 million.

Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine, D-1st District, said in a phone interview on Friday that it is unclear whether the freeze has taken effect and how Maine day cares might be affected.

“I can’t figure out right now if it’s blocked or if they’ve just made the announcement,” said Pingree, who serves on the House Appropriations Committee. “Very similar to many arbitrary and cruel things that this administration announces through an executive order, they often don’t have the ability or power to freeze the funds. They just make idle threats. … (But) even as a member of the Appropriations Committee, we don’t have any current or updated information.”

Lindsay Hammes, spokesperson for Maine Department of Health and Human Services, said the department has not received any communication from federal officials regarding new processes or expectations for accessing the federal funds. She noted that Maine’s Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) uses several funding streams including CCDF and state general funds.

“Maine utilizes CCDF to fund early care and education programs and services,” Hammes said, “Including … the Baxter Child Care Management System, Rising Stars for ME, the ECE Workforce Registry, child care licensing, child care background checks, Maine Roads to Quality Professional Development Network, the ECE Consultation for ME … Help Me Grow Maine and the TEACH Scholarship Program.”

Of 1,450 licensed child care programs in Maine — including 774 facilities, 646 family care programs and 30 nursery schools — 868 providers are approved to serve CCAP families.

DHHS pays child care programs biweekly for children receiving CCAP awards. Some 650 providers, roughly 45% of all licensed programs, have a child or children with a CCAP award enrolled in their program, Hammes said.

Lewiston-based Donna’s Daycare Center and Preschool will struggle to stay open should the funding freeze reach local providers, owner Donna Levasseur said Friday.

Her center receives about $6,000 a week in federal child care subsidies, which supports 34 families who would not otherwise be able to afford care, she said. About 80% of the center’s revenue comes from those funds and pays for food, utilities, maintenance and payroll.

Levasseur said she learned about the funding freeze from news reports and has not yet received any information from the state about how and when her center might be affected.

‘IT WOULD CLOSE US’

“But it would close us” if the funding is frozen, Levasseur said. 

More than just the families and center will be affected, she said, as 10 employees keep the 70-child program running. 

“I’ve got to look at all these employees and say, ‘I’m sorry, I cannot pay you.’” 

Portland’s Catherine Morrill Day Nursery — the oldest licensed child care provider in Maine, according to Executive Director Karen Peters — will also be severely affected if federal funding is frozen.

Founded in 1919, the nursery serves 32 low- to moderate-income families that rely on child care subsidies through Maine’s Child Care Affordability Program. Those families, which represent about 51% of those enrolled, would be directly impacted by the freeze, Peters said.

“It will have a devastating impact on the families and our program. It’s already Maine’s lowest-income families that really need this support,” Peters said. “They won’t be able to cover the full cost of child care (and) they will likely have to stay home with their children.”

Pingree said she has not yet seen any information about what states have to provide to HHS or what the criteria is for withholding funds.

Peters said her center maintains detailed records and isn’t concerned about possible audits, but she is concerned with how long the process will take. Not all child care facilities accept subsidies, in part because of delays in reimbursement, meaning families displaced by the funding freeze will likely struggle finding alternative child care, she said.

“The programs that do accept it — it’s going to be really devastating,” Peters said.

Echoing Peters’ sentiments, Levasseur questioned how large-scale fraud is possible, at least under Maine’s system, saying child care providers face extensive oversight and documentation requirements in addition to long waiting periods for reimbursement. 

“The amount of paperwork and proof that we have to give for each child — it’s impossible,” she said. “The state is here twice, sometimes three times a year and they’re so picky with everything as it is.”

PINGREE FORESEES LEGAL ACTION

Pingree said she believes the courts will likely block the freeze immediately because the Trump administration has “no grounds to do this to every state.”

“It’s very characteristic of the Trump administration to say they’re going to do something like this that they have no power to do,” Pingree said. 

“My message to Maine parents and child care providers is this: I know this uncertainty is stressful, and I am pressing for answers and for the immediate release of these funds. My office will remain closely engaged with state officials and providers to understand the real-world impacts and to push back against actions that jeopardize access to affordable, reliable child care.”

Gov. Janet Mills’ office responded to a request for a comment by saying Hammes made her statement on behalf of the administration. The offices of Rep. Jared Golden and Sen. Susan Collins did not respond to requests for comment on Friday night.

A spokesperson for Sen. Angus King, Matthew Felling, said the office is tracking the issue and working with state stakeholders and federal authorities.