3.2 Calculation of Co-Payment

Lead agencies must calculate a family’s contribution (or co-payment), taking into account income and family size, and Lead Agencies may choose to consider other factors in their calculation. 3.2.1 Family co-payment calculation a. How is the family’s contribution calculated, and to whom is it applied? Check if the fee is a dollar amount or if the fee is a percent of income below, and then check all that apply under the selection, as appropriate. i. [x] The fee is a dollar amount and (check all that apply): [ ] The fee is per child, with the same fee for each child. [ ] The fee is per child and is discounted for two or more children. [ ] The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional fee is charged after a certain number of children. [x] The fee is per family. [ ] The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [x]Other. Describe: TWC has developed a Parent Share of Cost Calculator that calculates the parent share of cost based on the family size, income, and number of children in care. The calculator is posted on the TWC website at: https://www.twc.texas.gov/sites/default/files/ccel/docs/bcy- 2026-psoc-calculator-twc.xlsx ii. [x] The fee is a percent of income and (check all that apply): [ ]The fee is per child, with the same percentage applied for each child. [x]The fee is per child, and a discounted percentage is applied for two or more children. [x]The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional percentage is charged after a certain number of children. [ ] The fee is per family. [ ]The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [ ] Other. Describe: b. Does the Lead Agency use other factors in addition to income and family size to determine each family’s co-payment? (Lead Agencies may not use price of care or amount of subsidy payment in determining co-payments). [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, check and describe those additional factors below: i. [x] Number of hours the child is in care. Describe: CCS rule §809.19 allows Boards to reduce the assessed parent share of cost upon the child's referral for part-time care. The following 12 of the 28 Boards have a policy to reduce the parent share of cost amount assessed upon the child's referral for part-time or blended care: Brazos Valley; Capital Area; Central Texas; Concho Valley; Heart of Texas; Middle Rio Grande; North Central Texas; Panhandle; South Plains; Southeast Texas; Texoma; and West Central Texas. ii. [ ]Quality of care (as defined by the Lead Agency). Describe: iii. [ ] Other. Describe: c. Describe any other policies the Lead Agency uses in the calculation of family co-payment to ensure it does not create a barrier to access. Check all that apply: i. [ ] Base co-payments on only a portion of the family’s income. For instance, only consider the family income over the federal poverty level. ii. [x] Base co-payments on the number of children in the family and reduce a portion of the co-payments as the number of children being served increases. iii. [x]Other. Describe: Effective January 13, 2025, TWC’s new sliding fee scale includes slight increases based on the number of children in care. However, TWC caps each family’s total co-payment amount at 7% of the family’s income regardless of the number of children in care.