What we know about a Minneapolis day care center that was highlighted in Nick Shirley’s video about alleged fraud | CNN

Quality Learning Center’s most recent inspection – which state officials say are done unannounced – was on June 23, the facility’s licensing record shows.

“There have been ongoing investigations involving several of those centers. None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud,” state Department of Children, Youth, and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown said Monday of centers covered in Shirley’s video, adding that new site visits would be conducted this week. The department did not respond to multiple requests from CNN for whether those additional visits have been completed and what the results were.

State DHS records show Quality Learning Center was cited for 121 violations from May 2022 to June 2025, including 10 in the most recent inspection, listed as a licensing review. Citations included having an unqualified substitute and failing to have proper documentation for children’s medicine. None of the violations suggest that the building was empty.

The state records also show correction documents were submitted and approved in response to the violations.

The citation focused on a lack of documentation for many children. “There were several children present who did not have files,” the letter says, adding that “staff were unable to provide the first and last names for most of the children present.”

Although it remained on conditional status for two years, Quality Learning Center was never suspended, according to state records. It has twice been fined $200 for allowing the background check on an employee to expire.

On Tuesday afternoon, the sidewalk in front of the facility had become a hive of activity – including the return of Nick Shirley – as media and Shirley supporters watched adults escorting children in and out. A CNN crew was kept back from the property, told by an unidentified person that being in the parking lot would be considered trespassing.

Determining exactly how many children are served by Quality Learning Center – now, or in the past – is difficult from state records. The facility is licensed to provide care for a maximum of 99 children, but Ali, the center’s manager, told KARE it serves anywhere from 50 to 80 children on an average day.

And as for that missing letter “n”? Ali told KARE it was a mistake by the graphic designer. By Tuesday, work on a fix was underway.