By Janelle Stecklein | Editor
“I think we would disagree a little bit with the characterization that the agency is reluctant to criminally pursue. We do have a federal obligation to recover money that were spent as a result of fraudulent programs. The most efficient way, generally, to recover those funds, fill that federal statutory obligation, is to go after administrative action, not criminal prosecution, which is one of the reasons why the agency tends to, on paper, prioritize those actions.” - Jeffrey Cartmell of pursuing criminal charges for childcare fraud
The Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency presents lawmakers with a report on fraud in Oklahoma’s childcare subsidy program on Aug. 27, 2026 at the state Capitol. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By Emma Murphy
Oklahoma’s childcare subsidy system is likely to be resistant to large-scale, coordinated fraud, a state agency investigation found.
Prompted by millions of dollars of fraud discovered in Minnesota’s childcare subsidy system, Oklahoma’s Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency conducted an investigation into the state’s Department of Human Services to see how the state agency verifies eligibility and proper use of federal and state childcare dollars.
LOFT Director Regina Birchum said Tuesday while presenting the agency’s report to lawmakers that while risks for fraud and abuse are present, Oklahoma’s subsidy program is unlikely to experience “large-scale coordinated fraud.” The agency’s efforts to prevent and detect fraud are also often compartmentalized and when abuse is found, it’s usually not pursued criminally.
Barbed wire and fencing surrounding the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester is pictured on Sept. 5, 2025. (Photo by Emma Murphy/Oklahoma Voice)
By Barbara Hoberock
Oklahoma County killer James D. Pavatt is set to die Nov. 12 by lethal injection.
Wind turbines along west-bound Interstate 80 on March 29, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
By Cami Koons
An analysis of renewable energy siting bills across the U.S. during 2026 legislative sessions found the majority of introduced bills were aimed at restricting renewable energy infrastructure, though most of the enacted bills were permissive to the industry.
A ballot drop box sits outside the library at Virginia Avenue Park in Santa Monica, California, on July 14, 2026. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator)
By Jacob Fischler
Democrat-led states and voting rights groups re-filed lawsuits Wednesday to block the Trump administration from executing a new regulation to restrict mail-in voting, while a federal judge lifted a nationwide pause on the policy in line with this week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that handed the administration a procedural win.
A crew member uses a drip torch to ignite a prescribed burn in Southwest Washington. Leaders in Washington and other states want to empower more residents to lead burns like this on private lands. (Photo by Alex Brown/Stateline)
By Alex Brown
In the back row of a small community college classroom, I sip my coffee and consider a cumulus cloud, a puffy white pillar over an expanse of blue. I’m not staring out the window, but at a presentation on a screen at the front of the room.
ICYMI
Stitt move creating Oklahoma ballot measure is illegal, critics say | Barbara Hoberock
Oklahoma sees uptick in voter turnout for 2026 runoff elections | Nuria Martinez-Keel
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