Patriot Brief
What Happened: A licensed private investigator says he uncovered “ghost daycares” across California where state records listed enrolled children but inspectors found empty facilities.
Why It Matters: Shortly after these findings surfaced, a state directive was issued restricting public access to daycare related records.
Bottom Line: Critics say California officials are responding to potential fraud exposure by limiting transparency instead of investigating it.
Another California scandal is coming into focus, and once again, the state’s response is not answers but silence.
A licensed private investigator says he uncovered widespread “ghost daycares” across California after reviewing state records. According to his account, official paperwork showed facilities with dozens of children enrolled, yet when state inspectors arrived, there were no kids present at all.
“I’m a licensed private investigator in California, and I started looking into state records, and I found ghost daycares,” he said. “These are places where the state inspector showed up, there would be 28 kids enrolled, and there were no kids there.”
That alone raises serious red flags. Childcare programs receive significant taxpayer funding, often tied directly to enrollment numbers. If children do not exist, the money should not either.
But instead of opening the books, California did the opposite.
A new state directive is now in effect restricting public access to daycare related records, a move critics say looks like panic, not policy. The timing has fueled suspicion that officials are more interested in hiding the problem than fixing it.
The fallout lands squarely under the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration oversees the agencies responsible for licensing, inspections, and oversight. For years, Californians have watched fraud scandals erupt in social programs, only to see accountability disappear into bureaucracy.
From a common sense perspective, this is simple. If records say children are enrolled and inspectors find empty rooms, something is broken. Either the system is being gamed, or oversight has collapsed, or both.
Scripture tells us that the truth cannot stay hidden forever. When leaders respond to exposure by cutting off access to information, it does not restore confidence. It confirms fear.
Californians deserve answers. How many ghost daycares exist. How much taxpayer money was paid out. And why, the moment questions were asked, the state decided secrecy was the solution.
If there is nothing to hide, transparency should not be this scary.