Texas Launches Childcare Fraud Probe As North Dakota Center Reopens

For families across the country, finding reliable and affordable childcare is often a daily struggle—one that can make or break a parent’s ability to work, provide, and thrive. In recent weeks, two stories from the heartland have highlighted the challenges and the resilience that define America’s childcare landscape: the reopening of a vital daycare in Rolla, North Dakota, and a sweeping new initiative in Texas aimed at rooting out fraud and cutting red tape in early childhood care.

In Rolla, a small town nestled in North Dakota, the sudden closure of Home Sweet Home Daycare Center last November left working parents reeling. For two years, the center had been a lifeline for local families, but when the previous owner decided to focus on another daycare outside of town, the community was left scrambling. According to KFYR, parents faced an immediate crisis, with many forced to juggle jobs and childcare with little warning. The void was palpable. “It’s been a dream for my whole entire life just to be in a room with the babies and with the kids,” shared Dianna Juntunen, who stepped in to take the reins after the closure.

Word of Juntunen’s takeover spread quickly. Calls poured in from parents desperate for any news of reopening. “And she said, ‘I’m about to lose my job,’” Juntunen recalled, highlighting the high stakes for working families. The urgency was clear: Rolla needed its daycare back, and fast.

Juntunen, no stranger to working with children—she’s been at it since her teenage years—moved quickly. “I said, ‘I am going as fast as I can. I’m waiting on my license. I promise, I don’t care if I get my license in the middle of the month; I will open,’” she told parents. True to her word, she reopened Home Sweet Home last week, welcoming ten children on day one. The center, located right across from Rolla City Hall, is now licensed to serve up to 29 kids, from infants under a year old to children as old as 12.

But even as the doors reopened, the challenges facing families—and providers—remained. Juntunen sees it every day: parents who make just a bit too much to qualify for state subsidies but still can’t shoulder the full cost of care. “When parents go out there and try to get a job, well now, their daycare [costs] gets raised. Or they have to pay daycare out of their pocket because they don’t qualify,” she explained. It’s a gap that leaves many families in limbo, forced to make tough decisions about work, care, and finances.

Juntunen isn’t just focused on the basics, either. She’s determined to give kids more than just supervision. “I incorporated something in each room that they’re going to sit on a table and learn,” she said, emphasizing her commitment to teaching simple but essential life skills—like tying shoes and putting on backpacks. For her, it’s about preparing children for school and life, one small lesson at a time.

As of January 20, 2026, North Dakota Health and Human Services reported that there had been no new federal directives regarding changes to childcare assistance funding. Programs, for now, are operating as usual. But with the current administration reviewing federal childcare funding, some uncertainty lingers in the air—adding another layer of complexity for providers and parents alike.

Home Sweet Home is one of just three childcare facilities in Rolla, underscoring how precious—and precarious—each center is in smaller communities. Juntunen’s efforts are a testament to what can happen when someone steps up, but they also raise questions about the sustainability of a system where so much depends on individual initiative and community goodwill.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles to the south, a very different kind of childcare story is unfolding in Texas. On January 20, 2026, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took the stage at John A. Sippel Elementary School in Schertz to announce the formation of a new Early Childhood Education and Care Task Force. The move follows a scandal in Minnesota, where Governor Tim Walz ended his re-election campaign after a childcare fraud controversy came to light. Abbott wasted no time responding to the headlines. “Many so-called child care centers were recently revealed as scams,” he said. “I just launched an investigation here in Texas to ensure that our child care centers are all legitimate and that parents and taxpayers are not being taken advantage of.”

Abbott’s announcement wasn’t just rhetoric. Earlier in January, he directed the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to investigate potential childcare and Medicaid fraud. According to Nexstar, the investigation began around January 6-7, 2026, on the very day Walz announced his campaign’s end. A week and a half later, Abbott called for an even broader probe, tasking the HHS Inspector General with rooting out Medicaid fraud.

But the governor’s plan goes beyond cracking down on bad actors. House Bill 117, which passed both chambers of the Texas legislature with bipartisan support, establishes a Governor-appointed Task Force on Governance of Early Childhood Education and Care. The task force, as laid out in the bill, brings together heavy hitters from across the state’s education and health agencies: the Executive Director of HHSC, the Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency, the Chair of the Texas Workforce Commission, and division directors from each. It also includes public and private Pre-K teachers, representatives from the Texas Head Start State Collaboration office, DSHS, and the Texas Early Learning Council—plus several appointees with direct knowledge of early childhood education and care.

The task force’s mission is ambitious: prevent fraud, reduce bureaucracy, clarify standards of care, and lower costs to improve access for parents. Abbott put it plainly: “We must put an end to the endless bureaucracy, the unclear standards of care, and the inflated costs that make it difficult for parents to get the early childhood care and education that they need for their children.”

It’s a tall order, and the stakes are high. For parents in Texas and across the country, the prospect of fraudulent centers, inconsistent standards, and soaring costs is more than just a policy debate—it’s a daily reality. And while the Minnesota scandal may have provided the spark, the broader push for reform reflects a growing consensus that the status quo isn’t cutting it.

Both stories—Juntunen’s hands-on revival in Rolla and Abbott’s sweeping reforms in Texas—highlight the patchwork nature of America’s childcare system. In small towns, a single closure can upend lives overnight. In big states, the challenge is balancing oversight, access, and affordability on a massive scale. What ties them together is the recognition that childcare isn’t just a family issue; it’s a cornerstone of economic opportunity, community stability, and the future of the next generation.

As parents across North Dakota breathe a sigh of relief and Texas officials gear up for reform, one thing is clear: the fight for accessible, high-quality childcare is far from over. But with people like Dianna Juntunen stepping up and policymakers sharpening their focus, there’s hope that the system can become a little stronger—and a little fairer—for everyone involved.