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Ga. childcare provider arrested in fraud scheme

Childcare Fraud
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LAGRANGE, Ga. (AP) - A western Georgia child care provider has been arrested on charges of criminal solicitation and false statements.

Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning spokesman Reg Griffin says 33-year-old Nikki Alford Dennis, of LaGrange, is accused of contacting other childcare providers in the area and asking them to accept Childcare and Parent Services money for children who were not in their care.

The Childcare and Parent Services program provides subsidized child care to low-income families and serves about 48,000 children per month.

Griffin says Dennis was unlicensed and was unlawfully caring for children who were eligible to receive the funding. She planned to reclaim the children once she became licensed and the childcare providers she contacted refused to accept the money. It is unclear if Dennis has an attorney.