3.2 Calculation of Co-Payment

Lead agencies must calculate a family’s contribution (or co-payment), taking into account income and family size, and Lead Agencies may choose to consider other factors in their calculation. 3.2.1 Family co-payment calculation a. How is the family’s contribution calculated, and to whom is it applied? Check if the fee is a dollar amount or if the fee is a percent of income below, and then check all that apply under the selection, as appropriate. i. [ ] The fee is a dollar amount and (check all that apply): [ ] The fee is per child, with the same fee for each child. [ ] The fee is per child and is discounted for two or more children. [ ] The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional fee is charged after a certain number of children. [ ] The fee is per family. [ ] The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [ ]Other. Describe: ii. [x] The fee is a percent of income and (check all that apply): [ ]The fee is per child, with the same percentage applied for each child. [ ]The fee is per child, and a discounted percentage is applied for two or more children. [ ]The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional percentage is charged after a certain number of children. [ ] The fee is per family. [ ]The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [x] Other. Describe: The percentage of income a family pays is determined by the ratio of the family’s gross income to the most recent poverty guidelines issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Family incomes are grouped into four tiers for determining what percent of income is assessed: 1) the copayment is waived for families at or below 10 percent of the poverty guidelines; 2) families above 10 percent and at or below 50 percent of the poverty guidelines are assessed a copayment of 3 percent of family income; 3) families more than 50 percent and at or below 100 percent of the poverty guidelines are assessed a copayment of 5 percent of family income; 4) families more than 100 percent of the poverty guidelines are assessed a copayment of 7 percent of family income. The family fee is assessed weekly and is rounded down to the nearest dollar. Due to this methodology, the actual percentage of income paid may differ from the nominal percent assessed. b. Does the Lead Agency use other factors in addition to income and family size to determine each family’s co-payment? (Lead Agencies may not use price of care or amount of subsidy payment in determining co-payments). [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, check and describe those additional factors below: i. [ ] Number of hours the child is in care. Describe: ii. [ ]Quality of care (as defined by the Lead Agency). Describe: iii. [x] Other. Describe: Family fees are not assessed for child care services when one of the following applies: Children in Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) custody, a parent who is 17 years of age or younger at eligibility determination, and when a family’s gross applicable income is at or below 10% of the poverty guidelines c. Describe any other policies the Lead Agency uses in the calculation of family co-payment to ensure it does not create a barrier to access. Check all that apply: i. [ ] Base co-payments on only a portion of the family’s income. For instance, only consider the family income over the federal poverty level. ii. [ ] Base co-payments on the number of children in the family and reduce a portion of the co-payments as the number of children being served increases. iii. [ ]Other. Describe: