CCW Payment Policies Revised Due to COVID-19
In order to continue supporting child care providers through the closures and reopenings resulting from COVID-19, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) announced that it has updated its Child Care Works (CCW) payment policies.
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Here is a synopsis of some changes being made to address what’s happening as a result of COVID-19, including having to close programs and/or children not being able to attend due to COVID-19, as well as schedule changes due to use of virtual school.
Here are three things to note:
Providers can now receive payment for children on the subsidy for a period if programs/classrooms must close or children are absent due to COVID-19.
If an entire early learning program or classroom must close due to a positive COVID-19 exposure, the following are in effect:
Providers who close for COVID-19 mitigation or to fulfill quarantine recommendations should not collect CCW copayments from families for the period of the closure; however, CCW payments will be made to providers based on the child’s enrollment.
If a child becomes ineligible for CCW or transfers to a new provider during the closure, the enrollment will end and the provider will no longer be paid for the child.
If the program reopens on the 15th business day, providers should notify their ELRC and submit the names of CCW children who returned to care.
If the child care provider does not reopen on the 15th business day, the provider will be considered temporarily closed. At this time, all CCW children will be suspended by the ELRCs and CCW payments will cease.
If a provider is partially shut down, the provider may only collect copayments from CCW families whose children are actually in care.
If the classroom does not reopen on 15th business day, the children in the classroom will be suspended by the ELRCs and the provider will no longer be paid for those children.
Absences due to COVID-19 are not counted towards the limit of 40 per year.
If an individual child is absent due to COVID-19 exposure, parents are encouraged to notify their ELRC. The child’s subsidy will be suspended if they don’t return to care by the 15th business day. For absences not related to COVID-19, subsidy will be suspended if absence is more than five consecutive days.
Beginning with November 2020 invoices, providers must specifically note when absences are due to COVID-19. On paper invoices, providers should write a “CA” to note a COVID-19 exposure absence. On electronic invoices, providers must instead add a note indicating COVID-19 exposure absences for each affected child.
If an early learning program must close due to a positive COVID-19 case, providers must report it to the Department of Health or local Department of Health, and DHS, OCDEL Bureau of Certification.
The program’s ELRC will verify with DHS and OCDEL that the closure is due to a positive COVID-19 case and the child care provider will be deemed eligible for payment based on their current enrollments the first full day of closure for all CCW children currently enrolled during the time period of the closure. This payment option will not exceed 14 business days from the first full day of closure. Parents can choose another facility for their child/children at this time if they are not COVID-19 positive.For early learning programs in Allegheny County only, ELRC Region 5 has created a form for providers to easily track the changing schedules of school-age children in their care during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Final reminder, effective November 1, 2020, CCW payments to child care providers will be based on their current enrollment, with the following exceptions:
Providers who have been closed by Certification due to a negative sanction will not be paid.
Providers who have reported permanent closure will not be paid.
Providers who temporarily closed more than 14 business days due to COVID-19 exposure.
Providers must continue to track and report the attendance of children on invoices. Eligible providers will continue to be paid based on their current enrollment for children who remain eligible for CCW through normal invoicing and payment methods.
For more information, read OCDEL’s full announcement.
Reminder: Additional COVID-19 Reporting for Programs in Allegheny County
Allegheny County Department of Human Services and the ELRC Region 5 also ask that providers complete this online survey or email DHS-PrivacyOfficer@alleghenycounty.us.