b. Provisions Applicable to all Providers

The department shall not be considered a licensing authority or the employer of the provider. The agreement to provide care is an arrangement between the parent and the provider and shall not be considered a legal contract between the department or the CCAP administrator and the provider. Parents shall be responsible for selecting a provider who can provide safe, appropriate and suitable care for their child. The Department or the CCAP administrator shall only determine whether the provider has submitted evidence of compliance with the requirements of section 17b-749-12 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and is therefore eligible to participate in the CCAP program. Neither the Department nor the CCAP administrator shall undertake any duty of care that can be reasonably relied upon by any person that a provider is suitable or appropriate to provide child care.

Neither the department nor the CCAP administrator shall be considered the employer of the provider. The Department or the CCAP administrator, by making benefit payments on behalf of an eligible family to a provider that has been selected by the family, does not undertake any of the responsibilities of an employer, including, but not limited to, tax withholding, unemployment compensation or worker’s compensation. The Department’s responsibility shall be limited to making child care assistance payments to providers who are eligible to receive payment for child care services provided on behalf of eligible families, in accordance with the terms, conditions and limitations of sections 17b-749-01 to 17b-749-23 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, inclusive.

Providers shall allow parents unlimited access to their children and to the location where child care is provided.

Providers shall certify that they will report any instances of suspected child abuse or neglect to the appropriate protective service agency in a manner required by section 17a-101a of the Connecticut General Statutes.

In order to maintain eligibility for payments, providers shall provide the following information to the CCAP administrator upon request: the name, address, photo identification, Social Security number and telephone number of the provider and all adults who work for or reside at the location where care is provided; the name and address of the child’s doctor or primary care provider and health insurance company; whether the child is immunized and has had appropriate health screens; and the number of children cared for by the provider.

Providers shall notify the CCAP administrator of any changes in the child care arrangements, including but not limited to changes in the hours of care, actual charges, changes in programs due to the age group of the child, the location where care is given and changes in licensing or accreditation status. Changes shall be reported in writing or by phone by the time the first invoice is submitted following the date of the change. This requirement shall not relieve the parent of the responsibility to report these changes to the CCAP administrator within ten days of the date of the change.

Providers shall report actual charges and attendance accurately in the format required by the CCAP administrator. Providers shall maintain records of such figures on-site for at least one year and make such records accessible to the department for inspection upon request.

Providers shall not charge or report charges for CCAP participants at a rate that is higher than the rate charged to a comparable family not participating in the CCAP program. The charges reported to CCAP shall be the actual amount charged to the parent for services, unless the child attends a state-supported day care center or school readiness program funded under section 8-210(b) or sections 10-16p(8)(c) or 10-16p(8)(d) of the Connecticut General Statutes respectively. For children attending such state-supported programs, the charges reported to CCAP for use in determining the benefit calculation and payment shall be the lesser of the provider’s full charge for the program or the approved cost of care as determined in subsection (a) of section 17b-749-13 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.

Providers shall not increase charges to CCAP parents to offset a reduction in payments due to an overpayment that was caused by the provider that is being recouped by the department.