General Guidelines for Assessing the Monthly Copayment

The parent's copayment is based on the family's combined non-exempt income and family size at the time eligibility is determined with a new application or at the time of a scheduled redetermination.

Refer to Policy 04.03.01 for other potential costs to the parent.

To determine the monthly copayment, include income from all sources unless the income is on the exempt income list. (see section 01.02.03)

In general, the copayment shall be allocated to the child having the highest reimbursement from the state to avoid the need to allocate a portion of the copayment to multiple children or multiple providers.

When the family has only one provider, the copayment shall be allocated to the youngest child first. If the copayment exceeds the approved cost of care for the youngest child, the remaining amount shall be allocated to the next oldest child. This method shall be used until the full parent copayment has been allocated. For CCR&Rs or site providers entering cases, the child care tracking system will allocate the copayment automatically.

Payment will not be made by the State if the monthly copayment exceeds the approved cost of care for all eligible children. Add the following language to the approval notice until the form can be permanently changed: "If the assessed copayment exceeds the actual cost of care, then the parent pays the actual cost of care and no payment is made by the state."

Parents are responsible for paying the copayment directly to the provider. IDHS considers the collection of the monthly copayment to be between the parent and the provider.

To determine the monthly copayment, include income from all sources unless the income is on the exempt income list. (see section 01.02.03)

In general, the copayment shall be allocated to the child having the highest reimbursement from the state to avoid the need to allocate a portion of the copayment to multiple children or multiple providers.

When the family has only one provider, the copayment shall be allocated to the youngest child first. If the copayment exceeds the approved cost of care for the youngest child, the remaining amount shall be allocated to the next oldest child. This method shall be used until the full parent copayment has been allocated. For CCR&Rs or site providers entering cases, the child care tracking system will allocate the copayment automatically.

Payment will not be made by the State if the monthly copayment exceeds the approved cost of care for all eligible children. Add the following language to the approval notice until the form can be permanently changed: "If the assessed copayment exceeds the actual cost of care, then the parent pays the actual cost of care and no payment is made by the state."

Parents are responsible for paying the copayment directly to the provider. IDHS considers the collection of the monthly copayment to be between the parent and the provider.

Use IDEC CCAP Parent Co-Payment Rates webpage Table B only if: All the children in care are school-age (age 5 or older as of the month of September of each school year), and All the children in care are approved for part-day/school age rate (less than 5 hours per day) unless full time days are needed to cover week days the school is not in session (holidays, in-service days, snow days...). If any full time days are approved based on the client's activity schedule, chart A must be used,and The care is provided during the months of September through May.

Use IDEC CCAP Parent Co-Payment Rates webpage Table A in all other instances. Example 1: Ms. A has one school age child, and one child who is age 3. Use Table A Copayment for family size of 3 for all months of care. Example 2: Mr. B has 3 school age children who receive care during the month of April. Use Table B Copayment for family size of 4 for April and May. Use the Table A copayment for care provided in June, July and August. Example 3: Ms. C has 2 school age children who attend a school with a year-round schedule. School is in session in June, but not in December. Use Table A copayment for family size of 3 for care provided in June, July, and August. Use the Table B copayment for care provided in September through May including December.

CCMS will calculate copayment amounts based on family size and income. A copayment override will be needed for some cases to ensure the correct copayment has been assessed according to this policy.