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Legislative Update

Greetings, 

We are nearing the end of the legislative session and quite a few single-topic bills are coming to the floor of the House and Senate. In addition, earlier this week we heard Governor Walz provide his last State of the State address [ [link removed] ]. I must admit that I expected to hear more about his efforts to address fraud in Minnesota. Since he brushed it over, let’s dig deeper.

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An Overview and Update on Fraud 

Ironically, on the same day, the Federal Bureau of Investigations conducted 22 nearly simultaneous search warrants at multiple locations around the Twin Cities Metro area. If you visit YouTube, you can find detailed local reporting from Channel 5 News [ [link removed] ] and KARE 11 [ [link removed] ].  

Again, on the same day, the Minnesota House Fraud Committee held a hearing on Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). You can watch the full version here [ [link removed] ] or the abbreviated version (10:43) here [ [link removed] ].   

During this hearing the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown provided an overview of CCAP [ [link removed] ] (Child Care Assistance Program). She even highlighted the ongoing work of state law enforcement and federal law enforcement taking place during her presentation (22 search warrants). Furthermore, she highlighted the CCAP budget for State Fiscal Year 2025 (Calendar Year: July 1st, 2024 – June 30th, 2025) of $386M of combined federal and state tax dollars. During this timeframe, the program served 23,000 children and 12,000 families. As of January 2026, there are 3,509 registered providers able to accept CCAP.  

Next, Mr. Randy Keys, Department of Children, Youth, and Families Inspector General testified [ [link removed] ]. Mr. Keys has only been in this position for ten months. Prior to coming to Minnesota, Mr. Keys held a very similar role in Wisconsin. During his testimony, he highlighted that his office can discontinue payments with credible evidence of fraud, order corrective action when policies are violated, recoup overpayment when improper payments are made, and administratively disqualify a provider. Unfortunately, the DCYF Inspector General does not have law enforcement authority and must refer their cases to the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Potentially even more telling are the following statistics from calendar years 2019 – 2026: Investigations Opened: 1,131; Investigations Closed: 795; Administrative Sanctions (Corrective Actions, Payment Withhold/Stop, Disqualification, Overpayment Assessed [Repayment]): 466; Referrals to Law Enforcement: 41; Criminal Dismissal: 1; Criminal Conviction: 4.  In summary, under the current DCYF Inspector General system, where the DCYF Inspector General works for the Commissioner of Children, Youth, and Families, we have only *seen four convictions out of 1,131 cases opened*.  

Next, the committee heard from Mr. Jay Swanson [ [link removed] ], former manager of the DHS Childcare Investigation Unit. Mr. Swanson served as a Minnesota State Patrol Trooper for over 34 years. Following retirement, he was hired by the Department Human Services (before the creation of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families) to serve as the Manager of Recipient and Childcare Provider Investigations. He served in this role from 2014 until his resignation in 2019. Starting in 2017, his fraud unit started seeing a criminal enterprise beginning to pillage our Minnesota benefits system. Mr. Swanson goes on to describe how his team reported fraud [ [link removed] ], but it was not received well by the Department of Human Services leadership. Mr. Swanson describes how DHS leadership interfered and controlled the investigations unit which eventually resulted in the unit being moved out of the DHS building and Mr. Swanson’s resignation. 

This testimony highlights our frustration with the current fraud and overall investigative system within the current administration. Bad or uncomfortable investigation results are being suppressed by senior leaders within the executive branch. 

The solution is a new, independent Office of Inspector General (OIG). Senate File 856 [ [link removed] ] is the legislation initiating and funding this office. By pulling the investigative out from under the commissioners, Minnesotans will see an agency that can actually perform independent investigations much like the Office of the Legislative Auditor. The Senate passed this bill in 2025 on a vote of 60 to 7, which is an overwhelming affirmation of support for an independent Office of Inspector General. Our team has been working to move this effort through the House committee process this session and it just passed through the Ways and Means committee [ [link removed] ] late Wednesday night. Now, we look forward to seeing it moved to the General Register for a hearing and vote on the House floor before the end of session.  

I will definitely keep you posted! 






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Coffee with Tom

Coffee with Tom is now on break until after the legislative session concludes.

Please note that we will _not_ host Coffee with Tom during the month of May due to our uncertain legislative schedule. As we move towards the end of session on May 17th, 2026, we could be in-session all seven days of the week.

Currently, I am planning to host Coffee with Tom at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce on Friday, June 5th from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.

Next, I am planning to host Coffee with Tom at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce on Friday, June 19th (this is an update/correction from June 12th) from 12:00pm – 1:00pm.

The Waseca Chamber of Commerce is closed on June 12th due to their annual golf tournament. So, we decided to move it to the following Friday.

Thank you for your support and feedback, and please reach out if you need assistance in the meantime!






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I want to hear you

I am always here to listens to concerns or ideas of my constituents. I can be reached via email [email protected] or phone 651-296-5368. 

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2828 Centennial Office Building
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St. Paul, MN 55155 [email protected]
651.296.5368







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