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. [x] 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. [x]No additional fee is charged after a certain number of children. [x] 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: As part of the eligibility determination process the Lead Agency determines if the family is responsible for a co-payment. The Lead Agency does not assess a co-payment fee to families at or below 100% of the federal poverty guidelines, families with a child with protective needs where services are provided without regard to income and recipients of FIP and participants in approved PROMISE Jobs activities as they are below the federal poverty guidelines. Fees are assessed by using the gross monthly income according to family size and factoring in the number of children in care up to 3 children. The chart used for this determination can be found at (https://hhs.iowa.gov/media/12445/download?inline=). The fee is assessed per unit of care provided. When more than one child in a family is receiving child care services, the family's contribution, or fee, is paid based on the units of care received by the child in the family who receives the most care. The amount of the fee takes into account additional children in care but an additional fee for each child is not assessed. The family fee is assigned to the child receiving the most care (generally the youngest child) and is a set dollar amount per unit of care provided to that child. The family is notified of the co-payment fee on the Notice of Decision issued by the Lead Agency. The provider is responsible for collecting the co-payment fee directly from the CCA eligible family. ii. [ ] 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: [ ] Other. Describe: 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: Number of children in care. While the fee is paid based on the child that receives the most care (the most units of service); the amount of the fee is determined by the number of children in the family receiving care. 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: