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“Helping People Living Better Lives”

| pg. 2 A: Yes, Nebraska State Statute requires that providers’ Child Care Subsidy rates not exceed their private pay rates.

4. Q: What if my private pay rates are higher than the Child Care Subsidy 2023 rates? A: Child Care Subsidy rates are currently set at the 75th percentile of the Market Rate Survey per Nebraska Revised State Statue 43-536. The Legislature intends to continue to pay child care providers at the seventy-fifth percentile in FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25. Child Care Subsidy rates are the maximum rates for Child Care providers billing through the Child Care Subsidy Program. 5. Q: My program does not charge partial day private pay rates; how will I know what my private pay partial day rates are? A: Your Resource Developer will calculate your partial day private pay rates based on your most recent daily and hourly private pay rates. 6. Q: With this change, will there be new attendance calendars? A: Yes, new attendance calendars will be available before July 1 in electronic and paper versions. Attendance calendars will be separated from in-home care vs. all other facility types, including the new partial and full-day time frames. 7. Q: When will updated attendance calendars with built-in calculations be available for the new partial day/full day rates? A: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is currently working on updates to these calendars. Once finalized, these will be sent out via e-mail and available on the public website at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Child-Care-Providers.aspx. Calendars will be updated and sent out before July 1, 2023. 8. Q: Is there a minimum amount of time per day to bill for a partial day? For example, 30 minutes? A: No, there is no minimum amount of time to bill for a partial day. If the child attends at all in a day up to 4 hours and 59 minutes, this would be billed as 1 partial day unit. 9. Q: Will the Community Learning Centers (CLC) see a change in rates with these changes? A: Community Learning Centers will follow the same Child Care Subsidy rates located on the 2023 Rate Chart that can be found at https://dhhs.ne.gov/Pages/Child-Care-Providers.aspx. Rates differ by facility type, age category, urban vs. rural, Step Up to Quality rating, and accreditation. 10. Q: I received a new authorization with new rates that do not look correct; what should I do to correct this? A: If you receive rates or an authorization that does not look correct, please contact your assigned Resource Developer. If you need your Resource Developer’s contact information, please e-mail DHHS.CCSubsidy@nebraska.gov or call the Child Care Subsidy Line at (402) 471-9152. 11. Q: Why are these changes occurring? A: With the reauthorization of the Block Grant in 2014, state Child Care Lead Agencies were required to adopt payment practices that reflect generally accepted payment practices of child care providers serving children who do not receive CCDF subsidies. To meet compliance, DHHS (the Lead Agency for Nebraska) restructured payments to reflect part-time or full-time basis rather than paying for hours of service or smaller increments of time.