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Child Care Scholarship Policy Manual 4

c. Annual inspection for compliance with health and safety (including, but not limited to, those requirements described in § 98.41), and fire standards for child care providers (licensed and license-exempt) enrolled in the ABC Quality program. 5. Use CCDF funding for emergency and temporary child care centers to serve children and families affected by COVID-19, as part of SCDSS' Statewide Disaster Plan. These providers may not meet the full scope of CCDF health & safety, training, and criminal background check requirements. 6. Use CCDF funds to provide direct services and/or quality dollars to providers who do not meet criminal background check requirements as outlined in 45 CFR §98.43. 7. Use CCDF funds to implement changes to payment practices and absence/enrollment policies to support continuation and recovery of child care services. Direct service payments for full-time enrollment of children served through the Child Care Scholarship Program will be continued for up to 180 days for providers not able to serve families due to the impacts of COVID-19. During the emergency period, families/providers will have flexibility to transfer enrollments to temporary locations to continue care and meet increased demand. Thereafter, direct service payments may be extended for a period not to exceed 180 days if deemed necessary. SCDSS will also make direct service payments to eligible providers who provide care for children on a temporary basis while operations are restored to the original provider. Certification of Health and Safety During the waiver period, SCDSS will continue to provide support, technical assistance, and consultation to child care providers and those in temporary care sites. SCDSS certifies the health, safety and well-being of children served will not be compromised as a result of these waiver requests. SCDSS Child Care Scholarship Program Policy Change/Staff Alert Parent Co-pays were suspended effective April 14, 2021 for all funding categories. Effective 10/01/2023, co-pays were reinstated for the Strong Start-85% funding category only.