MADISON, Wis. -- State officials suspended payments to 36 child care providers in October based on suspicions of fraud.

The state Department of Children and Families reported the latest figures to the Legislature's budget committee in a letter this week.

Of the 36 that were suspended under the troubled Wisconsin Shares program, 30 were in Milwaukee County. Two of the 36 that were suspended have since been reinstated.

The program is designed to pay child care costs for poor people so they can work. There are more than 60,000 children in the program statewide.

The Legislature earlier this month passed a bill designed to crack down on fraud and abuse within the system.