Nesbitt Seeks Audit of Michigan Child Care Subsidy Program

Overview

• Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt sent a Jan. 2 letter asking Auditor General Doug Ringler to investigate the Child Development and Care program.
• The program, housed in MiLEAP, provides childcare assistance to low‑income families and, according to Nesbitt, received over $540 million in taxpayer support this year.
• A state audit released in November 2025 found roughly 8,200 providers were paid $692.5 million for services tied to 66,500 children between Oct. 1, 2022 and Mar. 31, 2024 and rated the agency “not effective.”
• Auditors reported about 60% of incoming calls to the program went unanswered due to staffing, hours, and phone‑system issues, and said the unanswered rate remained above 60% as of August 2025.
• Nesbitt framed his request in light of high‑profile Minnesota fraud cases and recent federal responses, including a pause in child‑care funding to Minnesota and HHS changes to daycare claim submissions, while MiLEAP did not comment and the auditor has not announced next steps.