MADISON, Wis. -- A new audit finds Wisconsin's troubled child-care subsidy program shelled out as much as $18.5 million in improper payments last year.

Wisconsin Shares uses federal and state dollars to pay child care providers for watching children so their low-income parents can work. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this year ran a series of stories detailing abuse and fraud in the program.

The Legislative Audit Bureau reviewed the case files of 400 participants and a month of attendance records from 45 providers.

The review found problems in the files of 43 participants, which it said likely extrapolates to between $16.7 million to $18.5 million in improper subsidies.

The audit showed 21 providers received money for care they didn't give or weren't authorized to give.