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Title 13: Social Service Resources Page 92 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter G: Child Care Assistance Establishing Payment Rate Revised June 14, 2024 Days of Absence If a child care provider is closed during a holiday, and a family must use a backup child care provider, it may be acceptable for the primary provider to bill the CCA program for the holiday as a day of absence. When the provider bills private pay parents for the holiday, then it is acceptable for the provider to bill the Department as a day of absence. In this situation it would be appropriate to pay two providers for the same clock time. If the provider does not bill private pay parents for the holiday, it is not acceptable for the provider to bill the Department as a day of absence. See Limits on Payment. If a child care provider is closed because the provider is unavailable to provide care (ill or on vacation) and a family must use a backup provider, it is not acceptable for the primary provider to bill the CCA program as a day of absence. This is because the CCA program can only pay a provider for the absence of a child who is normally in care, not for the absence of the provider. Providers cannot bill for days of absence after care ends. Once care ends, there are no more regularly scheduled days for the child to be absent from care.

1. Mr. D normally works ten hours per day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. His children are regularly scheduled to attend child care those three days. Mr. D’s regular child care provider will be closed on New Year’s Day, Monday, January 1, 2007, but Mr. D is scheduled to work and must use a backup provider for that day. The regular child care provider does not charge private-pay families for the holiday. The regular provider cannot bill the CCA program for the day of absence for New Year’s Day, because CCA must pay for the backup provider. 2. Ms. B normally works Monday through Friday, eight hours per day. Her children are regularly scheduled to attend child care on these days. The regular child care provider will be closed on Labor Day, Monday, September 4, 2006, but Ms. B has to work and must use a backup provider. The regular child care provider charges private pay parents for the holiday. The regular provider can bill the CCA program for a day of absence for Labor Day. 3. Mrs. E normally works Tuesday through Saturday, seven hours per day. Mr. E normally works Monday through Friday, eight hours per day. The children are regularly scheduled to attend child care Tuesday through Friday. The regular child care provider will be closed on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2003. Neither parent will be scheduled to work on New Year’s Day, so the provider will be able to bill this day as a day of absence.