CCMPL 129 (Updated Process for Providers Caring for School-Age Children in the Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC) Program)
Child Care Manual Procedure Letter No. 129
August 30, 2019
TO: All Child Care Manual Holders
FROM: Kimberly Hall, Director
SUBJECT: Updated Process for Providers Caring for School-Age Children in the Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC) Program

Background:

Section 5104.01 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) defines child care, in part, as "administering to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool-age children, and school-age children outside of school hours." The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) does not pay providers of PFCC for child care services that occur during the hours that a school-age child would typically be at a primary or a secondary school.

In addition, rule 5101:2-16-41 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) states that a provider's PFCC payment shall not include payment for services provided during the hours the child is in care in another federal or state funded program such as Head Start and Early Childhood Education (ECE).

Currently the child care automated system deducts school hours for all school-age children on any weekday during the school year, for any care between 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The standard number of school hours and the school year are both defined by ODJFS.

Caretakers with children of any age who attend other programs during part of their day in PFCC must enter additional in and out times to subtract the hours the child is not in PFCC.

Additionally, rule 5101:2-16-01 OAC currently defines a "School not in session" day as a day during the ODJFS defined school year when a school-age child is not able to attend school due to an official school closure. This feature cannot be used for days with a delayed start or early release. Child care providers must currently request a payment adjustment for the days with a delayed start or early release.

New Policy and Updated Process:

Beginning with care provided on September 1, 2019, the child care automated system will deduct school hours according to customized schedules entered by the provider for each of the provider's authorized school-age children. The new process allows school hours to be individually defined according to each child's school and ensures a more accurate count of the hours the child is receiving PFCC services from the provider. The ODJFS standard deduction (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) will be eliminated. The ODJFS defined school year of the first Sunday in September to the last Saturday in May will remain in place for determining school-age rates versus summer school-age rates.

Customized schedules in KinderConnect will not impact the eligibility system used by county agencies. The eligibility system will still use children's birth dates to automatically switch them to the school-age category if they turn five years old before October 1st of the current year. County agencies must still be notified if a five-year-old child is not attending elementary school or if a child under five is attending elementary school. Failure to notify the county agency may result in inaccurate payments.

Customized schedules may also be entered for a child of any age in care who regularly attends other programming during the day like Head Start or the ECE program. This will eliminate the need for caretakers to enter additional in and out times for each day. Providers are encouraged to enter customized schedules for any child who attends different programming during the day.

Rule 5101:2-16-01 OAC is being updated to include delayed start times and early dismissals in the definition of "school not in session."

Implementation:

On September 1, 2019, providers may begin entering customized schedules for their authorized school-age children, and for children also participating in other programming such as Head Start or ECE.

A provider will not be able to submit attendance for care provided the week of September 1, 2019 to a school-age child until there is a customized schedule entered for the September 1, 2019 service week for the child in KinderConnect. If the attendance is never submitted for a school-age child and is instead swept by ODJFS four weeks later, providers will not be paid for any school-age children without an associated customized school schedule in KinderConnect at the time of the sweep. Once attendance is swept, providers cannot add customized schedules for the swept service week or re-submit for payment. For care provided the week of September 1, 2019, this sweep will occur on October 6, 2019.

After September 1, 2019, providers of PFCC must have a customized schedule assigned in KinderConnect for each new authorization of care they receive for a school-age child. New school schedules will need to be entered before the start of each school year. Customized schedules for other programs like Head Start or ECE may be entered beginning September 1, 2019 but are not required.

The begin and end dates of each year's customized school schedules shall include the entire ODJFS defined school year but may begin earlier or end later. In cases where the child's actual school schedule begins later than the first Sunday in September and/or ends earlier than the last Saturday in May, the school out of session button should be used so that the customized school hours are not deducted. For example, the ODJFS defined school year begins September 1, 2019, but the child's actual school year start date is September 19, 2019, the customized schedule should start on September 1, 2019 and the "school out of session" button should be used until the child's actual school start date of September 19, 2019.

Beginning September 1, 2019, providers will be permitted to use the "school not in session" functionality in KinderConnect to prevent the full day school hours from being deducted from the child's attendance on a delayed start or early release day. Because no hours will be deducted, the child's parent will need to enter the time the child arrived at the program, the time the child went to school, the time the child returned from school, and the time the child left the child care program. There is no change in the functionality when a school-age child attends the child care program all day because the school is closed for an official school closure.

Training:

Training documents including written step-by-step instructions on entering customized schedules may be accessed at https://ohiocctap.info/programs/.

Providers may also contact the Control Tech Help Desk at 1-833-866-1708, option 9 or email SupportOH@Controltec.com for additional assistance.

Questions:

Please contact the Child Care Policy Helpdesk at 1-877-302-2347, option 4, if you have any questions about the new policy.