Base Rates for CCW Reimbursements to Increase March 1
On February 1, 2021, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced an increase to base rates paid to child care providers participating in Child Care Works (CCW), Pennsylvania’s subsidized child care program.
The new base rates are effective March 1, 2021. Payments will reflect the increased base rates beginning in April 2021, after March invoices are submitted on April 5, 2021.
This article was updated on February 25, 2021 to include steps for providers who need to update their private pay rates.
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Base rates for CCW reimbursements will be increased to the 40th percentile of the market rate for child care in the provider’s region, up from approximately the 25th percentile where most of Pennsylvania’s child care providers currently sit. This change brings Pennsylvania closer to the federal government’s recommendation of reimbursing at the 75th percentile. This increase equates to an additional $28.8 million in federal funding for the 2020-21 fiscal year and $87.2 million in the 2021-22 fiscal year. In addition, all relative provider rates will also be regionalized and increased by $2.
This change will also regionalize rate calculation based on Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) regions rather than calculating rates by county for each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties. Pennsylvania is currently the only state that does not regionalize rates. Regionalization of rates creates a larger pool to more accurately represent rates across provider types licensed by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning in each region rather than calculating rates by county with limited sample sizes and provider type representation.
No provider will see their rates decrease with this new structure. The average increase across all regions is $4.59.
Base rates per region can be found in the document Department of Human Services: Maximum Daily Child Care Allowances (MCCA)-effective 3/1/21.
Updating Pay Rates (added February 25, 2021)
OCDEL established a fee structure policy to pay all certified child care, relative, and in-home providers serving subsidy children at the lower of two rates – the rate the certified child care providers charge private-pay families or the established MCCA.
Providers who want to update their private-pay rates must communicate those changes to families and provide verification of the updated private-pay rates to the ELRC. The updated rate will become effective the first of the month following the date the verification was received by the ELRC, if submitted after March 31, 2021. If a certified child care provider’s private-pay rate is lower than the new MCCA, they will receive the lower of the two rates.
Option 1: Certified child care providers can enter their updated rates in Provider Self Service (PSS) and return “Appendix C-1 ELRC Subsidized Child Care Provider Reported Rates” along with the verification of the certified child care provider’s published private-pay rates to the ELRC at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us (put CCW C-1 Rates in the subject line).
Option 2: Certified child care providers can send “Appendix C-1 ELRC Subsidized Child Care Provider Reported Rates” along with the verification of their certified child care provider’s published private-pay rates directly to the ELRC at elrc5@alleghenycounty.us (put CCW C-1 Rates in the subject line). The ELRC will then enter the new information into PELICAN CCW.
When the certified child care provider returns “Appendix C-1 ELRC Subsidized Child Care Provider Reported Rates” along with verification of the certified child care provider’s published private-pay rates, the ELRC will:
Enter and/or verify the certified child care providers’ published rates into PELICAN CCW.
Use March 1, 2021 as the effective date if verification is received by March 31, 2021.
Convert the rates and save as “Converted Payment Rates.”
Generate and send to the certified child care provider the “Appendix C-2 ELRC Subsidized Child Care Provider Payment Rates.” Once verified, ELRC staff will then convert the payment rates in the PELICAN CCW system, and the certified child care provider will be paid based on the new private pay rates, or MCCA, whichever is the lower of the two rates. The ELRC will not modify rates for any certified child care provider who does not return Appendix (C-1) along with verification of the certified child care provider’s published rates.
The ELRC will not need to enter rates for relative or in-home providers. The ELRC Region 5 will generate and send “Appendix B Subsidized Child Care Relative Provider Payment Rates” to both types of providers.
Investing in Child Care
Every three years, a child care market rate survey is conducted to guide rate setting. The last Market Rate Survey was completed in 2019 and released in 2020.
“Child care is essential for a functioning economy. Investments in this industry benefit us in two different ways. They support communities and the families that rely on care to join the workforce every day and nurture the growth and development of young minds as they prepare for grade school and latter long-term success,” said Gov. Wolf. “Increasing base reimbursement rates is an investment in the dedicated professionals that do this work every day and for countless parents and children a we all seek to weather the challenges created by the pandemic and the recovery ahead.”
According to the announcement, nearly two-thirds of children enrolled in CCW are in a lower-rated child care provider, and higher quality providers serve fewer CCW families. By providing increased base payments for care for children enrolled in CCW, more child care operators will increase operating margins allowing them to potentially retain more highly qualified staff and engage in enhanced quality activities.
“Child Care Works makes quality, affordable child care accessible for working families across our commonwealth,” said Department of Human Services Secretary Teresa Miller. “By investing in base rates, we invest in quality across our child care industry – an investment that will help providers grow, develop, and retain staff and continue to improve services and care for our youngest Pennsylvanians.”
About CCW
CCW is Pennsylvania’s subsidized child care program that helps low-income families pay their child care tuition and fees. To be eligible, families must earn 200 percent or less of the federal poverty guidelines at application and meet work or job training requirements. Eligible families are able to choose to enroll at any participating child care provider, which can be impacted by convenience, transportation, cost and working hours. Families enrolled in CCW pay a co-pay, and providers that participate in CCW are reimbursed a set base rate per child from the state with the opportunity for add-on funding.
For more details, read Gov. Wolf’s full announcement.