The leader of Ohio’s child care oversight agency assured lawmakers this week that while the system the state uses to check on facilities is always evolving, its defenses against fraud are firmly in place.

Ohio Department of Children & Youth Director Kara Wente also told the Ohio House Children and Human Services Committee that she supported one of two bills seeking to bolster regulations of child care agencies.

Following allegations of child care fraud in Minnesota that got the attention of federal officials, states like Ohio have come to the defense of their own systems, to reassure state residents that fraud within the system is a rare occurrence.

“This work is ongoing,” Wente told the committee this week. “We review data monthly. We conduct inspections daily. We complete annual and random eligibility reviews. We investigate referrals. We recover overpayments. And we refine safeguards as needed.”

Wente came to the committee the week after two bills were introduced, both seeking to give more law enforcement authority to state agencies checking into child care facilities accused of fraud.

Ohio House Bill 647 is a bill for which Wente already expressed support in a press conference with its co-sponsors, state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Dayton, and Rep. Thomas Young, R-Washington Twp.

Another bill, Ohio House Bill 649, sponsored by Republican state Reps. Josh Williams and D.J. Swearingen, also seeks to further regulate child care enforcement through the use of state agencies like the Ohio Auditor of State and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost submitted testimony supporting both bills, saying he shared the concern about “fraud, waste, and abuse.”

“While the Department of Children and Youth has investigated these claims, additional safeguards are reasonable to maintain the integrity of these services,” Yost wrote.

His statement urged the committee to “carefully consider” the role of state agencies involved in child care investigations.

“Whatever the legislature decides, it will be most helpful if each participating agency has clarity about the responsibilities designated to it under the bill,” Yost wrote.

Williams directed comments at the Ohio Department of Children & Youth in introducing his bill last week.

He said the agency has failed to provide all of the information about investigations into fraud and other child care facility issues the agency has conducted or is in the process of conducting.

The department told Williams, and confirmed to the Capital Journal, that they had turned down some public records requests from Williams because some investigations were still ongoing, and other information would have provided identifying information, even in cases where fraud was not found.

In the most recent department report, 124 referrals suspecting fraud were made to the department in 2025, and in total, 24 ended with the elimination of state funding for the facilities to provide Publicly Funded Child Care.

The 100 other investigations found no intent to commit fraud, according to the agency, and some required no further action by the department.

In total, $2.5 million was identified in “overpayments.”

Wente specifically explained to the committee this week the difference between “overpayments” and “fraud” when it comes to child care facilities.

Most importantly, the difference involves intent, and purposeful action to take more money than is intended for a facility.

“When we talk about overpayments, it means you made a mistake, could be paperwork,” Wente said.

“That means you don’t get to keep the money, you still have to repay it … but we’re not going to take an action on your provider agreement or your license.”

H.B. 649 hit a nerve in the committee last week as Williams proposed taking photos of the children being checked in to the child care facilities, so they could be stored and verified through a Department of Children & Youth database.

Both Democrats and Republicans on the committee expressed concern about the idea of storing pictures of children, though bill sponsors insisted the pictures would be stored securely, and would not be public records.

Wente was asked about the proposal this week, and said the system used for verification is “very secure” and hasn’t experienced a breach.

But she also said the sheer number of children in child care currently, more than 100,000, would create quite a workload for employees at child care centers.

She said the department may need to provide additional tablets, used to electronically check in the children, requiring more money from the department budget.

“There are some small adjustments, but not things we couldn’t make work,” Wente said.

However, the director didn’t respond to a question from the committee about whether she supported the idea of taking and storing the pictures of the children, rather than adults, as is the current method.

Other child care-related bills that passed or are up for consideration in other committees were also brought up during Wente’s time in the Children and Human Services Committee.

The director expressed support for a bill that would exempt child care facilities already licensed by the federal Department of War for use by military families from separate state licensing requirements.

“We see this as more access for kids and families, and want to support that in any way we can,” Wente said.

A measure that was passed via the most recent state operating budget created a “child care cred program” to split cost-sharing for child care between participating employers, employees, and the state.

While the law had the support of Wente and the committee’s chair, state Rep. Andrea White, both said the program was having issues getting off the ground because of its pilot-program status.

White said the fact that program is only funded for one year “has actually deterred people from using it,” so she supported creating more funding for the program in H.B. 647. According to Wente, 132 children are currently enrolled in the program.

“There’s been overwhelming interest from businesses, but the one year (funding) has posed a problem, because they feel like as soon as they start utilizing it with their employees, they’re going to be taking it away,” Wente said.