4.1 Access to Full Range of Provider Options

Lead Agencies must provide parents a choice of providers and offer assistance with child care services through a child care certificate (or voucher) or with a child care provider that has a grant or contract for the provision of child care services. Lead Agencies are reminded that policies and procedures should not restrict parental access to any type or category of care or provider (e.g., center care, home care, in-home care, for-profit provider, non-profit provider, or faith-based provider, etc.). 4.1.1 Parent choice a. Identify any barriers to provider participation, including barriers related to payment rates and practices, (including for family child care and in-home providers), based on provider feedback, public comment, and reports to the Lead Agency: Per the 2022 MRS Final Report: Among providers who did not have a CCW agreement, the most common reason for non-participation was that their capacity was at full enrollment with only private pay families; almost half (48.8%) of non-participating providers selected this reason. However, this reason was more prevalent among non-participating Family and Group Child Care Homes than Child Care Centers. Additionally, one-third (33.3%) of non-participating providers indicated that too few families in their community are eligible for CCW. Interestingly, this reason was more frequently indicated among Centers than Family or Group Child Care Homes. Only 12.9% reported that subsidy payment amounts are too low as a reason for not participating. The findings reveal Family and Group Child Care Homes are more likely to require CCW families to pay the difference between the private pay rate and subsidy reimbursement amount than Centers. b. Does the Lead Agency offer child care assistance through vouchers or certificates? [x] Yes. [ ] No. c. Does the Lead Agency offer child care assistance through grants or contracts? [x] Yes. [ ] No. d. Describe how the parent is informed that the child care certificate allows the option to choose from a variety of child care categories, such as private, not-for-profit, faith-based providers; centers; family child care homes; or in-home providers: Consumer education materials are provided on choosing child care; referrals provided to child care resource and referral agencies; co-located resource and referral staff in eligibility offices; verbal communication at the time of the application; community outreach, workshops, or other in-person activities. e. Describe what information is included on the child care certificate: Families receive an enrollment summary each time a child is enrolled with a provider or a change is made to the enrollment. The enrollment summary includes the provider’s information, the copay amount, the enrollment start date, care level, number of absences the child has accumulated for the fiscal year, whether the child is enrolled in Pre-K Counts or Head Start, the child’s schedule and the amount of income used to determine the copayment.