CCMTL 123 (Publicly Funded Child Care: Five Year Rule Review for Eligibility and Payment Rules and New Program Integrity Procedures)
Child Care Manual Transmittal Letter No. 123
May 2, 2014
TO: All Child Care Manual Holders
FROM: Cynthia C. Dungey, Director
SUBJECT: Publicly funded child care: five year rule review for eligibility and payment rules and new program integrity procedures.

Background:

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) began issuing payments to child care providers in April 2010. Although the current JFS 01151 "Notice of Child Care Overpayment" is divided into separate sections for caretakers and providers, it has historically been a source of confusion. In addition, the repayment process outlined on the form has changed.

When ODJFS began issuing payments to child care providers, it was determined that the repayment process for providers no longer matched the repayment process for caretakers. The revision of the current form and the addition of a new form will ensure a more accurate identification and collection of overpayments.

The Office of Family Assistance has amended eligibility and payment rules contained in Chapter 5101:2-16 of the Ohio Administrative Code as a part of the five year review. These rules were in clearance in January 2013 and approximately fifty comments were received. Many of those comments were incorporated into these revisions including the removal of the proposed requirement for caretaker signature on daily attendance records.

Additionally, ODJFS spent the months since clearance fine tuning the new program integrity process and the rules to support the process.

The following amended and new rules and forms will be effective May 4, 2014:

Rule 5101:2-16-01 "Definitions for eligibility for publicly funded child care benefits" has been amended to remove the definition of "federal poverty level" as it is defined in another rule, and to correct the Ohio administrative code citation in the definition of "head start program."

Rule 5101:2-16-07 "County department of job and family services (CDJFS) responsibilities for the administration of publicly funded child care" has been amended to add language requiring the CDJFS to participate and cooperate in reviews/audits regarding the administration of publicly funded child care.

Rule 5101:2-16-34 "Income eligibility requirements for publicly funded child care" has been amended to remove language that is duplicative regarding calculating a family's gross income, and to add language that allows the CDJFS to determine a reasonable approved activity time allotment for the authorizations of applicants who are self-employed.

Rule 5101:2-16-35 "County department of job and family services responsibilities for determining eligibility for publicly funded child care benefits" has been amended to update the revision dates of two state hearing forms and to clarify reasons for denying or terminating a child care case due to the misuse of the Ohio Electronic Child Care (ECC) swipe card. Amendments also include allowing a caretaker to be the owner or owner's representative and from having their own child authorized to their center.

Rule 5101:2-16-35.1 "Caretaker eligibility requirements for publicly funded child care" has been amended to add language regarding authorizations ending due to nonuse, as well as reporting a change in authorization within a service week. It is also being amended to add language for possible termination of child care benefits when a caretaker does not use the Ohio ECC swipe card to record attendance. Amendments include not allowing an owner or owner's representative to have their own child (ren) authorized to their center, Type A Home provider or Type B Home provider, as well as any employee of a Type A Home provider or Type B Home provider may not have their own child (ren) authorized to the Type A Home or Type B Home where they are employed.

Rule 5101:2-16-42 "Payment waivers for children with special needs" has been amended to change the title, clarify language regarding the submission of requests for a special needs waiver and to revise the form.

Rule 5101:2-16-44 "Provider agreement for payment of publicly funded child care" is being amended to add language requiring use of the Ohio ECC swipe card and to add a new requirement for providers to maintain attendance records.

Rule 5101:2-16-71 "Child care improper payments" has been amended to clarify language regarding the utilization of the Ohio ECC swipe card, to update the title and revision date of the JFS 02827 "Public Assistance (PA) Quarterly Financial Statement" and to outline requirements to collect a child care improper payment.

JFS 01151 "Notice of Child Care Overpayment" has been revised to change the title and remove all of the child care provider sections. It is now titled, "County Notice of Child Care Benefit Repayment Requirements for Caretakers" and includes the reason the payment was issued on behalf of the caretaker, the applicable rule reference related to the repayment, the amount of the repayment, the repayment process options, and the caretaker's state hearing rights.

JFS 01231 "Request for Payment Rate for Special Needs Child Care" has been revised to change the title and clarify language to process requests for a special needs rate increase.

JFS 01261 "Publicly Funded Child Care Manual Claim for Attendance" has been revised to clarify the reasons for a manual claim for attendance.

JFS 01292 "Publicly Funded Child Care Request for Ohio ECC Payment Adjustment" has been revised to clarify the reasons for requesting adjustment to payments.

The following rule and forms are new:

Rule 5101:2-16-72 "Review requirements for publicly funded child care" is a new rule which contains the responsibilities and requirements that child care providers, caretakers, and the CDJFS must comply with during a program integrity review completed by the ODJFS. This new rule includes a form to request an appeal as a result of a review.

JFS 01172 "County Notice of Child Care Overpayment and Repayment Requirements for Child Care Providers" is a new form that will be issued to child care providers when an overpayment is identified. The form includes the reason the overpayment was issued to the provider, the applicable rule reference related to the overpayment, the amount of the overpayment, the repayment process, and the provider's right to appeal.

JFS 01173 "State Notice of Child Care Overpayment and Repayment Requirements for Child Care Providers" is a new form that will be issued to child care providers when an overpayment is identified by ODJFS.

JFS 01949 "Request for Appeal of Suspension of Child Care Provider Agreement" is a new form to request an appeal as a result of a review by the ODJFS.

The following forms are obsolete effective May 4, 2014:

JFS 01137 "The Child Care/Healthy Start and Healthy Families Supplement"

JFS 01137-SPA "Suplemento al Cuidado de Niños/Comienzo Saludable y Familias Saludables"

JFS 01139 "Child Care Application Status and Summary"

JFS 01291 "Publicly Funded Child Care County Request for Payment Adjustment"

JFS 01291-I "Publicly Funded Child Care County Request for Payment Adjustment Instructions"

Implementation:

Rule 5101:2-16-35.1: Effective May 4, 2014 the county agency shall no longer authorize the children of the owner or owner's representative of a child care center, Type A Home provider or Type B Home provider, nor the children of the employees of a Type A Home or Type B Home for care at that center, Type A Home or Type B Home. The county agency shall terminate all impacted authorizations on or before June 21, 2014 and should work with impacted families to find alternate child care.