The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) is committed to safeguarding the compliance of child care subsidy payments and takes potential misuse of funds seriously.
If you suspect or would like to report potential child care subsidy fraud, please email ChildCareSubsidyFraud@dss.ca.gov.
When submitting a report, please include the following information, if available:
- Your name and contact information
- Date of incident
- Facility or provider name
- Facility or provider address
- Facility or provider license number
- Suspected fraudulent activity
What is Child Care Subsidy Fraud
Child care subsidy fraud can occur in a variety of ways. Generally, child care subsidy fraud involves intentionally providing false information or withholding certain information to obtain child care benefits that would otherwise not be received.
While not exhaustive, the following list are incidents…
Insurance fraud involves making false or exaggerated claims to an insurance provider.
- Hard Fraud: Someone deliberately causes a loss (e.g., setting fire to a warehouse or staging a car accident) specifically to collect a payout.
- Soft Fraud: More common and often viewed as “victimless” by the perpetrator. It involves exaggerating a legitimate claim, such as overstating the value of stolen items in a home burglary to cover the deductible.