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Off Days should only be marked when a child is not regularly scheduled to attend (for example, a child that only attends 4 days a week), or a provider is not scheduled to be open and operating (for example, a provider that operates only Mon-Fri). Off days should NOT be used (for planned or unplanned days) that a child normally attends full-time. These will not count against the child’s 40-day absence total, and providers will still get paid.

Weeks with no attendance, and only Paid Closures, will still be paid in full. Providers receive 16 Paid Closure Days per calendar year for vacations, sick time, in service days, inclement weather, emergencies, etc. If a provider is closed for the whole week, then they would need to record 5 Paid Closure Days for that week.

Weeks with no attendance, and only Non-Paid Closures marked, will not be paid. Weeks with only some Non-Paid Closures marked will be prorated based on the number of Non-Paid days marked. Providers should use all 16 paid closure days before using any non-paid closures.

If a provider experiences portal or internet issues that last for more than four weeks, and prevent a provider from submitting absences, they should contact their Policy Consultant for help submitting a paper attendance for that period. PROVIDER PAID CLOSURES A provider has 16 paid closure days per calendar year (vacations, sick days, in-service days, inclement weather days, emergency closures, holidays, etc.). If a provider is closed for the whole week, then they would need to record five (5) Paid Closure Days for that week. Paid closures should all be used before selecting a Non-Paid closure. CONNECTING ATTENDANCE WITH A CCMS A Child Care Management System (CCMS) is designed specifically to support child care providers in automating their day-to-day operations, so staff have more time to spend with children and are able to monitor and manage their program proactively. CCMS tools will streamline enrollment and manage waitlists, track and report daily attendance, generate invoices and collect payment electronically, monitor and manage classroom ratios, manage staff records including professional development certifications and payroll, and communicate with families easily and consistently.

Providers who use one of the state’s preferred Child Care Management System (CCMS) vendors to track attendance will not need to duplicate their entries in the new provider portal. These include Alliance CORE powered by Early Learning Ventures, brightwheel and Playground.

Providers can capture attendance in the CCMS and transmit that same data to the state for voucher children through a data bridge, saving time and increasing accuracy. If a provider opts in to submit attendance through a state-preferred CCMS, submission methods can be changed by selecting the ‘Data Entry Setup’ tile within the portal, and their provider portal ‘absence’ screen will become read-only. This is an optional feature, and providers will not be required to use their CCMS to send attendance. PLEASE NOTE: Attendance should be carefully checked prior to submission. Once a payment period has been submitted, it cannot be unlocked. If a provider notices an error after submitting it, they should contact their Policy Consultant to have the data manually updated in the state’s system.