c. Payee

Unless otherwise specified in this section, benefit payments shall be made to the order of the child care provider or to the provider’s fiduciary if the provider is a subcontractor or part of a network of child care providers. Benefit payments shall be mailed to the provider’s home or business address or issued through direct deposit, except that the department shall have the option of paying the parent directly for care that is provided in the child’s own home. In such cases, the benefit payment shall be issued to the parent’s home address. If the department elects to make benefit payments through direct deposit, parents and providers shall cooperate in establishing a bank account as a condition of payment eligibility.

Benefit payments issued by mail may be sent to a post office box address under the following conditions: if the provider is not a relative or in-home provider, and the provider’s business address is a post office box; or if the parent or provider has submitted adequate verification of residence and the postal authority confirms that mail is not delivered to the home address.

Benefit payments may be issued to an alternate payee under the following conditions if the individual acting on the behalf of the provider can verify that services were provided: if the provider is deceased at the time the payment is issued, payment shall be issued to the fiduciary of the provider’s estate appointed by the probate court; or if the provider becomes incapacitated or incompetent, payment shall be issued to a conservator appointed by probate court or other individual acting with power of attorney.

Benefit payments may be issued to the parent on an exception basis if an administrative error caused payment to be delayed for three or more months and the parent was required to pay the provider for the full cost of care while waiting for the department to correct the error. The parent and provider shall be required to verify that the parent has already reimbursed the provider for the services and that payment should be remitted to the parent rather than the provider.