Should You Report a Parent Who is Cheating?
By Tom Copeland. Posted with permission.
What should you do if you learn that one of the parents in your program is cheating?
A family child care provider recently contacted me about a parent who is receiving financial assistance from her state's child care subsidy program.
The provider had learned that this parent was lying about her income to the subsidy program.
If the subsidy program knew the truth, it's likely that the parent would no longer qualify, and therefore the parent would probably not be able to afford to continue receiving care from her.
She wanted to know, "Am I legally required to report the parent to the subsidy program?"
There is a legal and ethical dimension to this question.
Legal Issue
There is no federal law that requires family child care providers to report fraud in child care subsidy programs. However, your state subsidy program may require child care providers to report fraud. Check out the contract you signed with your state or county (if you signed one). If you are not sure of your legal responsibility, you could call your state subsidy office and find out. You wouldn't have to give your name when you called.
If you are required to report fraud, or suspected fraud, you should clearly do so as soon as possible.
But what if you aren't legally obligated to do so?
Ethical Dimension
In my opinion, family child care providers do have an ethical obligation to report fraud in the child care subsidy program, or any other program that affects their business.
This means you should report parents who are cheating the IRS as well as other providers who are breaking Food Program rules, child care licensing rules, or grant program rules.
If you don't know for sure that a parent or provider is cheating, I believe you should still report your reasonable suspicions.
Parents who are cheating the subsidy program are preventing other parents from participating on the program who do qualify for it. It's a misuse of our taxpayer dollars.
There is a difference between report to child care subsidy program and licensing rules: licensing rules are there to protect children, and if any provider breaking that rules it can create a danger situation for the children. All providers are mandated to report, and have to report this to the licensing agency. It is a legal obligation. Report a parent that is doing fraud to subsidy programs is a moral obligation, but also consider your safety when doing it.
It's ethically compromising to continue doing business with someone who is breaking the law. It creates an unhealthy relationship that may lead you later to express resentment against the parent or child.
I don't think you should continue to provide care for a cheating parent because you don't want to lose the income if you lose the family, or because you believe you can provide better care for the child that someone else.
Imagine how you would feel if you failed to report the parent and later the parent was exposed. If you are asked by the subsidy program if you knew about it, you are faced with either lying or telling the truth and being embarrased at the very least. It's possible your failure to report the fraud could prevent you from being able to care for other subsidized families.
Do the right thing. Let your conscience be your guide.
What do you think?
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