Cantrell Keyes thought the Trump administration’s decision to freeze federal funding for child care was “fake news.”
On New Year’s Day, the Jackson-based child care provider said several of her colleagues in the business called her to ask if it was true: The federal government had decided to freeze funding that helps low-income families pay for child care – and keeps hundreds of Mississippi day cares like Keyes’ afloat.
The stated reason? Right-wing influencer Nick Shirley’s unverified and viral YouTube video that claimed Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota were taking the federal funds but serving no children – allegations that state has contended with and sought to address for more than a decade…