3.3 Waiving Family Co-payment

3.3.1 Waiving family co-payment The Lead Agency may waive family contributions/co-payments for many families to lower their costs and maximize affordability for families. Lead Agencies have broad flexibility in determining for which families they will waive co-payments. Does the Lead Agency waive family contributions/co-payments? ☐ No, the Lead Agency does not waive any family contributions/co-payments. (Skip to question 4.1.1.) ☐ X Yes. If yes, identify and describe which family contributions/co-payments waived. i. ☐ X Families with an income at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level for families of the same size. ii. ☐ X Families with an income above 100% but at or below 150% of the Federal Poverty Level for families of the same size. iii. ☐ Families experiencing homelessness. Not applicable iv. ☐ Families with children with disabilities. Not applicable v. ☐ Families enrolled in Head Start or Early Head Start. Not applicable vi. ☐ X Children in foster care or kinship care, or otherwise receiving or needing to receive protective services. Describe the policy: Families with children who have been identified as, at risk of being, abused, neglected, or exploited may be exempt from paying a family fee for 12 months when the referral indicates that the fee is waived [Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Section 10291(a)]. Families with children who are receiving Child Protective Services may be exempt from paying a family fee for 12 months [WIC Section 10291(a)]. vii. ☐ X Families meeting other criteria established by the Lead Agency. Describe the policy: Families with an adjusted monthly family income below 75 percent of the state median income. [WIC Section 10290(e)(2)(B)]. Families receiving CalWORKs cash aid [WIC Section 10291(b)]. Families enrolled in the Federal Based Migrant Program and those receiving Child Care and Development Services for Children with Special Needs (CHAN) [California Code of Regulations, Title 5 Sections 18110 (c) and (d)]. Families “experiencing homelessness” are exempt from paying family fees in San Francisco County as stated in their Child Care Subsidy Plans which allow approved policy flexibilities to supersede state law (WIC Chapter 19 commencing with Section 10350 and Chapter 20 commencing with Section 10360). Additionally, families enrolled through the Children with Severe Disabilities program are exempt from paying family fees. 4 Parental Choice, Equal Access, Payment Rates, and Payment Practices Core purposes of CCDF are to provide participating parents’ choice in their child care arrangements and provide their children with equal access to child care compared to those children not participating in CCDF. CCDF requirements approach equal access and parental choice comprehensively to meet these foundational program goals. Providing access to a full range of child care providers helps ensure that families can choose a child care provider that meets their family’s needs. CCDF payment rates and practices must be sufficient to support equal access by allowing child care providers to recruit and retain skilled staff, provide high-quality care, and operate in a sustainable way. Supply-building strategies are also essential. This section addresses many of the CCDF provisions related to equal access, including access to the full range of providers, payment rates for providers, co-payments for families, payment practices, differential payment rates, and other strategies that support parental choice and access by helping to ensure that child care providers are available to serve children participating in CCDF. In responding to questions in this section, OCC recognizes that each Lead Agency identifies and defines its own categories and types of care. OCC does not expect Lead Agencies to change their definitions to fit the CCDF-defined categories and types of care. For these questions, provide responses that closely match the CCDF categories of care.