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______________________________________________________________________ 770 DIVISION OF WELFARE AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Child Care Policy Manual • Misrepresentation, concealment or withholding of information by any or all members of the child care household. Note: In this instance, evaluate for possible fraud. 2. Provider Error A claim may be classified as a “Provider Error” if the error was caused by: • A misunderstanding or unintended error by the provider; or • Misrepresentation, concealment or withholding of information by the provider. Note: In this instance, evaluate for possible fraud. Child Care contractors are responsible for the calculation and collection of provider claims for active providers. Refer to manual section 656 regarding collection of provider claims. Collection activities are defined in the individual provider contracts. 3. Division of Welfare and Supportive Services (DWSS) Error A claim may be classified as a “Division Error”, if: • DWSS failed to notify the Contractor of a known change to the customer’s household and/or DWSS benefits; or • DWSS reported incorrect information to the Contractor regarding the customer and/or their DWSS benefits. 4. Contractor Error A claim may be classified as a “Contractor Error”, if the: • Contractor failed to take timely action on a reported change; • Contractor incorrectly determined and paid any benefits; • Contractor erroneously issued duplicate benefits which were used by members of the child care household; or • Contractor makes any other error which is not related to the customer’s withholding or incorrect reporting of eligibility information. REPAYMENT RESPONSIBILITY AND RIGHTS All adult members of the child care household are jointly and separately liable for the value of any over issuance of benefits received by the child care household, unless the over issuance is the result of a DWSS or contractor error as described in section 763. Non-Needy Caretakers, Kinship Care Customers, Foster Parents and/or Authorized Representatives are considered part of the child care household when their failure to report or their incorrect reporting of eligibility information causes a claim occurrence. In cases where the identified claim is a result of a child‘s absence from the child care household, the claim is collected only from the adult members of the overpaid household. Example: The child moved out of their mother’s home and into their father’s household. The mother failed to report the change. Using the father’s income, the child would not be eligible for benefits; however, they continued to use the service. The mother would be liable for repayment of the claim, not the father. 700- Program Violations, Overpayments, Hearings [12] MTL 01/24 July 1, 2024