Transcript

I'm Kim Johnson, Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency. Let's talk about these "ghost daycares." Let's be clear, right-wing voices are twisting data that they don't understand to claim there's a widespread crisis that is just not true. Here's what they're missing. There are a variety of reasons why a child care inspection report on the California Department of Social Services website may indicate no children were present at the time of a licensed facility inspection. When inspectors visit at 10am, school-age children are in school. Zero children present. That's a school day, not fraud. Kids on a field trip or at the neighborhood park, that'll also show zero at that moment. Some providers serve families that are working nights and weekends. An empty facility at noon doesn't mean it's empty at 7pm. These are snapshots in time, not the full picture. California serves 365,000 children a month with child care subsidies for those who qualify. We have rigorous fraud detection systems, and they work. And where we see potential fraud, we proactively investigate. The Trump administration and their allies are playing politics with working families. We won't let disinformation and distraction hurt the parents and the workforce who need these congressionally authorized supports and services.