An enrollment banner hangs outside Willverines Childcare Center in Bakersfield, California, operated by the nonprofit William Law Foundation. (Photo: Adam Herbets / The Center Square)
A nonprofit daycare that claims to have “over 40 locations” across California and received an $18.2 million award “for more [than] 1,048 children in at-risk” communities” actually has just one facility providing care for no more than six children, an investigation by The Center Square found.
The William Law Foundation did not open its first daycare until October 2026, according to Executive Director William Edwards — more than three years after the nonprofit was awarded $18,216,131 through the California Department of Social Services’ 2022-23 General Child Care and Development Program grants.
“It’s been a slow start,” Edwards conceded to The Center Square in an interview earlier this month at his Bakersfield facility.
CDSS records show the William Law Foundation received the largest proposed award of any applicant during its 2022-2023 grant cycle, but the department has not answered how or why the organization qualified for such a large award despite having no experience running childcare programs.
The Willverines Childcare Facility in Bakersfield, CA is operated by the nonprofit William Law Foundation. Photo: Adam Herbets / The Center Square
The William Law Foundation’s latest tax returns from 2024 show Edwards was the only employee of the nonprofit and that he paid himself at least $540,000 with $180,000 in deferred compensation. The salary was apparently funded entirely by taxpayers. The nonprofit’s only revenue stream that year was $1,051,434 in government grants.
Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University, agreed to review the nonprofit’s tax filings for The Center Square as a neutral third party. He questioned the government’s oversight of millions in taxpayer funds.
“On what basis did they think that this was going to lead to success?” Mittendorf asked. “Not anyone can just open a daycare center… What did they do to justify receiving a grant for a very particular type of service being provided?”
CDSS spokesman Jason Montiel said the nonprofit has received approximately $2.2 million in startup funds. He did not answer questions about the department’s oversight and accountability efforts.
According to Edwards, he’s already spent all of the startup money.
Questioning the daycare’s existence
Edwards agreed to speak with The Center Square on Oct. 14, 2026 at his Bakersfield daycare, the Willverines Childcare Center, after an investigative journalist showed up to the facility unannounced to determine whether it actually exists. Edwards asked to not be recorded or photographed, but he allowed The Center Square to take photos of the facility itself.
“Today we only have one child,” said Sati Bachrun-Santillan, a site supervisor at the daycare. “The other five are sick.”
Records from CDSS show an active license at Willverines for up to 60 preschool-aged children, but the daycare’s own website doesn’t show any photos of the building or the children it claims to serve.
Instead, the website displays a cartoon wolverine mascot above a stock photo of smiling children. The Center Square found that same photo also appeared on the Long Beach Unified School District’s website, and the district confirmed the image was downloaded from Getty Images. According to Edwards, the photo was not intended to represent actual children enrolled at the facility.
The Willverines website also shows multiple videos created by artificial intelligence. The first video at the top of the daycare’s home page shows an AI-generated woman in a white dress shirt and pink blazer.
“From robotics to reading, pickleball to painting, or gardening to guitar playing, Willverines is where your child’s potential takes flight,” she says. “We can’t wait to welcome you into the Willverines family.”
The Center Square did not observe robots, guitars, gardening tools, or a pickleball court at the facility.
A video published by Willverines Childcare Facility advertises programs related to robotics, reading, pickleball, painting, gardening, and guitar playing.
“That’s for when we have more children,” Edwards said. “Obviously, I wish we got up off the ground faster.”
Another AI video claims the facility’s programs are “rapidly growing towards serving nearly 1,100 students” on elementary school campuses and at community churches.
Edwards said he published the AI videos prior to the daycare’s opening to communicate his vision for the families he hoped to serve. He also said the Willverines daycare was named after his father (William Earl Edwards Sr.), not himself. The building used to be a church where his dad served as a pastor. Kern County property records show the building was transferred to Faithbyworx, another nonprofit controlled by Edwards, in November 2024.
Taxpayers have spent at least $85,411 on repairs and maintenance, according to the nonprofit’s 2024 tax return, plus $1,186 spent on lodging and $104,000 spent on occupancy.
A classroom at Willverines Childcare Center in Bakersfield, California, operated by the nonprofit William Law Foundation. Photo: Adam Herbets / The Center Square
‘It seemed like a good idea at the time’
The William Law Foundation advertises itself as more than just a network of subsidized daycares. According to Edwards, the nonprofit uses “trauma-informed” learning techniques tailored for the children of divorced parents.
The nonprofit website also states the William Law Foundation strives to empower children who witness domestic violence, endure child abuse or suffer from homelessness.
“Over 40 Locations to Serve You,” the website states. “Our programs are located in 10 counties throughout California. Request more information below to find a location near you.”
Below that claim, the website includes 10 bullet points listing each county in which it purports to have a facility: Alameda County, Kern County, Kings County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Sacramento County, San Bernardino County, San Diego County, San Francisco County, and Solano County.
CDSS confirmed the statement is not accurate.
“William Law Foundation only has one licensed facility, the Willverines Childcare Center in Bakersfield,” Montiel said.
A screenshot from the William Law Foundation’s website. The nonprofit operates Willverines Childcare Center in Bakersfield, California. The website also advertises “Over 40 Locations to Serve You” across 10 counties in California, although the nonprofit’s executive director later admitted the nonprofit only has one location with six children enrolled. The website also shows a stock image of children not being served by the nonprofit. The Center Square has blurred their faces for privacy. Screenshot: William Law Foundation
When questioned by The Center Square, Edwards acknowledged that the William Law Foundation has never had 40+ locations across 10 counties.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time when I had nothing,” Edwards said. “We don’t promote that site anymore… I probably should modify that, and I will later today.”
More than a week later, the website remained unchanged. The site is still listed as the William Law Foundation’s official website on its tax returns.
Expansion that never came
According to Edwards, the bullet point list of 10 counties reflected where he “hoped” to operate despite the website presenting them as already existing facilities.
He blamed the nonprofit’s slow growth on lack of training and his difficulty in navigating cumbersome California regulations. For example, he said at least one church wanted to partner with his nonprofit to open a daycare, but the plans fizzled when the building didn’t have state-approved bathrooms or fire alarms. Edwards also said he received bad advice from CDSS.
“I could have gone up the ladder and complained,” Edwards said. “Maybe that’s on me… I’m still trying to work with the state to get them to give me what I need.”
Edwards said some outside organizations have not been willing to partner with him due to his lack of experience.
“If the school districts didn’t have the politics that they have, I would have been in all those locations,” Edwards said.
Sheila Weinberg, the CEO and founder of Truth in Accounting, credited those outside organizations for having more skepticism than CDSS.
“We have seen a lack of accountability, monitoring, reconciliation and compliance with CDSS,” Weinberg said. “They’ve had definite issues in relation to oversight and review… This is millions of dollars, and cumulatively billions of dollars, that have very little oversight and monitoring to ensure the funds are properly spent.”
The parent check-in area at Willverines Childcare Center in Bakersfield, California, operated by the nonprofit William Law Foundation. Photo: Adam Herbets / The Center Square
Edwards’ efforts to grow the nonprofit are unclear and unconfirmed. According to Edwards, he has had conversations with the “Compton School District” and “Galt Housing Authority” about the possibility of opening more daycares. He did not provide documentation.
The Center Square attempted to verify Edwards’ claims. The city of Galt has not responded to inquiries, and it does not appear to have its own housing authority. Instead, housing assistance programs for Galt are administered by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA). A records officer for SHRA said it conducted “an agencywide email search” for correspondence between the agency and William Law Foundation but couldn’t locate any records.
John Stouffer, a spokesman for Compton Unified School District, said he was not familiar with Edwards or the William Law Foundation.
“I’ve asked some of our key departments and they did not know anything that was going on with this group,” Stouffer wrote in an email to The Center Square. “Of course, we have a staff of nearly 2000 people at our school district, so someone might have talked to (Edwards).
Edwards declined to provide the names of any individuals he had been reportedly speaking with in Compton.
“I’m still trying to work with these people, so the last thing I need is you calling them and asking them questions,” Edwards said. “I actually presented at an event… They invited us to present. We’re on their agenda.”
Edwards said he would provide a copy of the agenda via email, but he has not done so. Edwards said he has not yet attempted to partner with local school districts in the Bakersfield or Kern County areas.
“I haven’t even tried,” Edwards said, “because I already know I can get on with them.”
The salary
Edwards is also a licensed bankruptcy and family law attorney. He defended his $540,000 annual salary despite the nonprofit helping zero children in 2024 and 2025.
“It’s not the kind of deal where you just have one person at the top of the pyramid making a lot of money,” he promised. “I put a pause on my (law) practice to get this thing up and going.”
The nonprofit’s tax return tells a different story. The William Law Foundation’s public filing disclosed zero employees. It also showed $33,500 in “other salaries and wages,” presumably to Edwards on top of his $540,000 salary.
Sam Brunson, a law professor at Loyola University Chicago, questioned if the salary made sense compared to other similar nonprofits.
“The question is: Is $540,000 the amount of money that someone running a similar charity would get paid, or is that drastically higher?” Brunson said in an interview with The Center Square. “$540,000 is a lot for a person running preschools… The preschool teachers and executive that I know make a lot less than that. So I think there is at least some risk that it gets treated as private inurement.”
Private inurement under United States tax law is a legal restriction preventing nonprofits from acting for the benefit of a private person rather than its charitable purpose.
Mittendorf described Edwards’ salary as “a hard thing to reconcile.”
“It’s hard to come up with an innocuous explanation. It doesn’t mean there isn’t one, but it just doesn’t come up very easily,” Mittendorf said. “If the (daycare) building got better, (Edwards) should not be benefitting from the building getting better.”
Edwards said he did not receive a salary from the nonprofit in 2025 or 2026.
When The Center Square asked for copies of his latest tax returns to verify that claim, Edwards did not provide documentation.
“I’ve also put a lot of my own money into this,” Edwards said.
If Edwards contributed his own money to the William Law Foundation, it has not been publicly documented. The nonprofit’s tax returns do not show contributions from Edwards.
Accountability
Brunson said he was concerned to see William Law Foundation advertising “over 40 locations” to the public when, in reality, there is one location.
He wants to know if Edwards made that same representation to the state when applying for the $18.2 million grant.
“If the (grant is) contingent on him serving 1,000 students, that strikes me as noncompliant and, also, not really legitimate,” Brunson said. “If he told them that (he has) 40 locations currently operating, and they gave him the money relying on him having 40 locations, then that hits most of the indicia that I can think of for fraud.”
Brunson said the nonprofit would likely not be prosecuted for fraud if it only lied in its advertising but told the truth to the government. The Center Square has filed a public records request with CDSS for grant documentation but had not received it as of the publication date.
“You are allowed to lie. Lying isn’t good. We shouldn’t be lying, but you’re allowed to lie as long as you’re not defrauding people out of money,” Brunson said. “The story could be fraud. It might not be fraud. The story could also be poor oversight by the state. The most sympathetic version could be: A guy tried to do good, and it turns out that it’s harder to do good than you think… If I were him, that would be my version too.”
CDSS provided a generic answer when asked how William Edwards Foundation was approved for the $18.2 million award.
“Received applications were reviewed by the Department for eligibility,” wrote Montiel, the CDSS spokesman.
For months, Montiel has declined multiple requests for an interview seeking information on how the state holds grant recipients accountable.
CDSS did not respond to questions from The Center Square surrounding Edwards’ salary or his claim of 40+ locations in 10 counties. Montiel also did not answer what level of experience, if any, is required for a nonprofit to be awarded grant money.
“The most disconcerting thing is that these issues have been pointed out before, but then nothing seems to happen,” Weinberg said. “The federal government still gives them money even though these problems exist… Based on our research across the country, this is most likely not an isolated incident.”
Edwards has acknowledged the $2.2 million in startup costs were “for the process of developing sites throughout the state.” He said he will not be eligible to receive the remaining $16 million in grant funds unless he is able to enroll more children.
“That dollar figure correlates with 1,000 children,” Edwards said. “In theory, I could leave money on the table… but give us six months and you’ll be very pleased.”
Even if $16 million goes unspent, Brunson said the public should still be questioning the state’s lack of oversight for the nonprofit’s startup costs.
“I mean, $2.2 million is still a lot of money… Maybe the state shouldn’t be giving $2 million to someone who’s never done this before,” Brunson said. “I can’t imagine they would give a multi-million dollar contract to one location for six kids.”
[Editor’s note: This story originally was published by The Center Square.]
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[ H/T WorldNetDaily ]
