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3.1.4 CCA Eligible Child Care Providers To receive reimbursement from CCA, child care providers must be licensed or registered with the DSS Office of Licensing and Accreditation, or in-process of becoming licensed or registered. Some providers may be exempt from some of the licensing requirements, such as In-Home, Informal and Relative (IIR) providers, or they may be licensed in another state.
3.1.5 Child Care Assistance Payments and Rates To ensure that CCA payment rates reflect the price of care in local markets, federal regulations require a market rate survey be conducted no earlier than two years prior to the effective date of the currently approved state plan. Regulations require states to certify that the payment rates for the provision of child care services are sufficient to ensure families receiving Child Care Assistance have equal access to comparable care purchased by private-paying parents.
DSS conducts a child care market rate survey prior to the submission of the state plan. Data from the market rate survey is critical in determining what level of payment may provide equal access to services. Factors considered when establishing rates include type of provider, geographic location, age of children and available funding.
CCA makes payments directly to providers. Payments are enrollment based and made on a weekly basis using a weekly rate structure. The current rates in effect for CCA are published on the DSS website. Payment from Child Care Assistance (CCA) is requested by providers submitting rosters for CCA-eligible children. Providers can request payment up to once every service week. Service weeks run Sunday through Saturday. To continue to receive weekly prospective payments, rosters must be submitted timely after confirming initial enrollment has begun. Providers will report attendance for prior weeks of service to continue receiving payments for prospective weeks. CCA will pay for up to three weeks of absent time before prospective payments cease until the child returns to care.