Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act

This Act may be cited as the Closing the Provider Fraud Gap Act of 2026.

The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study regarding fraud prevention measures in Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs that shall include an analysis of—

(1) the effectiveness of procedures and measures to prevent fraud carried out by providers of services under such programs;

(2) whether the data the Federal Government receives in connection with such programs (including through audits and reporting requirements) is—

(A) sufficient to successfully identify fraud carried out under such programs; and

(B) used effectively by the Federal Government to identify potential fraud carried out under such programs; and

(3) with respect to the Child Care and Development Block Grant program established under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.)—

(A) the program integrity results for States that have delegated responsibilities related to program management and administration to counties, local municipalities, or other entities; and

(B) whether any corrective action plans have been implemented by States to improve program integrity results, including any measurable outcomes from implementing such a corrective action plan.

Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this section, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committee on Education and Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate a report containing—

(1) the results of the study conducted under subsection (a); and

(2) any regulatory or legislative recommendations to improve fraud prevention measures in Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs.

For the purposes of this section, the term Federal early childhood education, child care, and child nutrition programs includes—

(1) Head Start programs (including Early Head Start programs) carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);

(2) the Child and Adult Care Food Program under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766); and

(3) the Child Care and Development Block Grant program established under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9857 et seq.).