The Ohio Department of Children and Youth said that the number of day cares who paid back overpaid funding is now higher than it initially sent to The Dispatch.
The Dispatch reported on March 20 that Ohio overpaid publicly funded day cares by $1.1 million in 2025, including 19 centers in Franklin County alone. Of the 61 providers, The Dispatch reported that only 25 overpaid providers had paid their outstanding balance in full and over $916,000 was still outstanding statewide.
Franklin County day cares received the majority of overpayments, with an average of $31,795 among 20 centers, although one center had its overpayment amount revised to $0.
Kari Akins, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Youth and Children, said on March 27 that it “appears that some of the figures related to certified overpayment cases may have been based on incomplete or outdated information.” Akins said the number of day cares that had paid back overpayments from the state is now higher than the information it initially provided to The Dispatch.
According to Akin, 28 of the overpayments now have been repaid. Eight more will be certified to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for collections between now and May 1, when they are 45 days past due, she said. Some of the day cares have not hit the time threshold for collections yet, she said. Akin did not provide an updated total for how many day cares are outstanding and haven’t paid anything back yet.
The Dispatch sought an interview with a DCY expert on March 17 to clarify questions about the data provided but the DCY said it could not provide one.
In a statement provided to The Dispatch, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine spokesperson Dan Tierney said the numbers provided to The Dispatch earlier in March were accurate, and the statement provided on March 27 was intended to give “a complete snapshot that was up to date, given the contentiousness of the issue.”
The Dispatch is also still awaiting records related to childcare providers the state has shut down, but has not received them since filing for them in January. A DCY spokesperson did not respond when The Dispatch asked for a status update on them on March 25.
More than 116,000 Ohio children benefit from state childcare subsidies across 5,600 childcare providers that qualify for public funding. The state plans to spend $1.18 billion in fiscal year 2026 for publicly funded childcare through the DCY.
But the state system came under scrutiny in late December and early January, when online allegations suggested Somali-run day cares nationwide reported nonexistent children to fraudulently claim public funding. Social media posts from conservative influencers started in Minnesota, home to the largest population of Somali immigrants in the U.S. and spread to Ohio, home of the second-largest Somali immigrant population.
The claims resulted in a string of viral videos that showed people attempting to film themselves entering Columbus-area day cares, often getting into arguments with adults on site. The incidents even resulted in multiple calls to Columbus police, but did not prove systemic fraud among Somali-run day cares in Ohio.
This story has been updated with additional information.
Cole Behrens covers K-12 education and school districts in central Ohio. Have a tip? Contact Cole at cbehrens@dispatch.com or connect with him on X at @Colebehr_report
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: DeWine admin says more day cares paid, referred to collections
Reporting by Cole Behrens, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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