Additional Coverage:
- Questions remain, licensing site crashes as whiplash ensues in MN childcare fraud scandal (foxnews.com)
Minnesota Childcare Scandal Deepens Amidst Missing Records, Unanswered Calls, and Viral Videos
Twin Cities, MN – A swirling vortex of confusion, fueled by disappearing state records and a chorus of unanswered phone calls from officials, has engulfed several largely Somali-run childcare facilities in the Twin Cities, particularly one heavily scrutinized center. Adding fuel to the fire, a series of viral videos has ignited fresh questions about alleged systemic fraud within the state’s childcare assistance program.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) Commissioner, Tikki Brown, reportedly stated on Monday that the ten facilities highlighted by blogger Nick Shirley in his viral videos had indeed been visited by state officials at least once within the past six months. However, in the wake of the videos gaining significant traction, new checks are now underway, according to FOX-9.
Further exacerbating the situation, the renewed attention on the childcare scandal appears to have sent the typically unremarkable Minnesota Department of Human Services Licensing Information Lookup website into a tailspin, causing it to crash and remain inaccessible for several hours overnight. A FOX-9 reporter tweeted an image of the downed page on Monday, and while it was still down Tuesday morning, the site eventually regained functionality by midday.
Much of the recent scrutiny has zeroed in on License No. 1087038, linked to the Quality Learning Center. This facility, whose sign notably misspells its name as “Quality Learing Center,” reportedly received a staggering $1.9 million in state funding during fiscal year 2025.
Attempts to confirm whether the Quality Learning Center continues to receive funding were met with silence on Tuesday. Calls and emails to multiple offices within the Department of Human Services (MNDHS) and DCYF went unanswered. Fox News Digital reached out to MNDHS’ licensing division, “provider hub,” Commissioner Brown’s office, and MNDHS’ communications office, but none of the messages were returned by deadline.
Initially, the Quality Learning Center had informed officials on December 19 that it would be closing. However, by Monday afternoon, officials told FOX-9 that the center had reversed its decision and would remain open. While Fox News Digital could not independently confirm this, FOX-9 reported that Commissioner Brown stated none of the centers featured in Shirley’s videos – including the Quality Learning Center – had their state funding paused due to fraud concerns.
Despite reports of two of the featured centers being closed, the Quality Learning Center, as previously noted, reportedly continues to operate. A call to the number listed in official documents for the center could not be connected, but the center’s manager publicly affirmed on Monday that operations had never ceased.
Manager Ibrahim Ali addressed the public outside the center on Monday, asserting that “a lot of the journalism that has been going on in the last couple of days has been really dishonest.” He appeared to reference the viral video, suggesting the visit occurred outside of normal business hours and wrongly claimed the center was permanently closed.
“Are you trying to record that we’re doing fraud, or are you trying to put the Somali name in that fraud? That is what really hurt us in the last couple days,” Ali stated, emphasizing that Quality Learning Center has been open for eight and a half years and has not closed “once” during that period. Regarding the spelling error on the sign, Ali attributed it to a vendor “messing up” and assured that it would be replaced or corrected by the end of the week.
In a video posted by Fox News Digital on Monday, Commissioner Brown addressed attendees at a cyber-meeting, stating her department “care[s] about making sure that every dollar of the child care assistance program and other programs is going where it’s supposed to be going and used as intended.” She added that “several of these centers have been evaluated for program integrity in the past several years.”
Fox News Digital has also reached out to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz for additional comment on the unfolding situation.