Scammers plague Wisconsin child care program

Guilty or not, a Milwaukee-area woman today became the “poster child” for people ripping off social-service programs.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel today published an investigation showing the woman — Latasha Jackson — was running what police describe as “a child care ring,” and that Wisconsin officials didn’t stop it until they found out the newspaper was about to publish the story.

She has received more than $2.9 million dollars for child care, the newspaper said.

She’s apparently not the only one to get rich off the Wisconsin Shares program, which provides a subsidy for people providing childcare.

The story shouldn’t have come as a surprise to the people in government who say they’re surprised. The state’s Legislative Audit Bureau released a report in June saying nearly $19 million was improperly distributed via the program last year.