Page 243

Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual Issued 08/2021 Authorizing child care 9.1 See Chapter 9.3 (Payments to providers). Example • 7/1/21 – Family applies for MFIP child care. MFIP, authorized activities, and care with the children’s provider started 3/1/21. • 7/30/21 – CCAP application processed and eligibility approved back to 4/1/21 (3 months from the CCAP application date). Care not authorized due to no activity schedules. • 10/25/21 – Agency receives verifications needed to authorize care back to the eligibility begin date. • 11/1/21 – Service Authorization approved back to 5/1/21 (six months before the Service Authorization is issued). For a family at application, retroactive authorization and payment cannot go back further than six months prior to the date Service Authorizations and billing forms are issued. Retroactive authorization during the 12-month eligibility period or at redetermination After a family’s initial authorization, if a provider provided care for a time period without receiving a Service Authorization and a billing form for an eligible family, care can be authorized retroactively for a maximum of three months from the date the provider is issued a Service Authorization and billing form. Example • Family has been eligible for two years. Children are authorized with a primary provider (Mon. – Thurs.). • 7/1/21 – Family notifies their CCAP agency that children have attended a secondary provider (Fri. – Sun.) since 12/4/20. • 7/15/21 – Agency receives verifications needed to increase authorized hours. • 7/19/21 – Agency approves an authorization for the secondary provider for up to 20 hours per biweekly period back to 4/19/21 (three months before the Service Authorization is issued). Communicating the number of hours authorized and schedule of care The number of hours authorized per biweekly period is listed on the Service Authorization. Workers can include comments on the Service Authorization. Scheduled and authorized hours • For 12-Month Reporters, it is not necessary to communicate scheduled and authorized hour information. Workers can include a comment to let families know how their authorized hours were determined, but are not required to do so. Families and providers can determine when the authorized hours can be scheduled. • For Schedule Reporters, it is recommended that workers include a comment to let families and providers know what the scheduled and authorized hours are. Custody schedules or parenting time arrangements It is recommended that workers communicate to the parent when adjustments to a Service Authorization are made to reflect a parenting time or custody arrangement. The parent will need to communicate to their provider that care should not be billed on their child care assistance case, including absent days, when the child is in the other parent’s custody. It is recommended that workers add a comment to the family’s Service Authorization or if the information is communicated in person or over the phone, to case note the conversation.