Home > Child Care > Wi Shares > Subsidy FAQs

Child Care Subsidy - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Below are the most frequently asked questions on the following topics:

Approved Absence
Authorizations
Contact Information
Co-Payments
2008 Policy Changes
2007 Policy Changes
2006 Policy Changes
 

Approved Absence

Payment can be made under certain circumstances to hold a slot. The reason for paying to hold the slot is that the parent has a short break in approved activity or the child is not able to attend. The parent will return to an approved activity or the child will return to care. Payment is made to hold the slot so that the slot will be available when needed in the future. The parent must continue to pay their copay so the authorized amount is the negotiated fee minus the copay. It is between the parent and the provider if the child attends during the period of time when the slot is being held open.

This applies to enrollment based authorizations only.

What are approved absences that allow a weekly payment?

• Vacation (parent – up to 2 weeks, provider up to 1 week/year),
• Medical leave (child or parent, up to 6 weeks with a note from a physician),
• Temporary layoff (up to 4 weeks with verification),
• Temporary break in approved activity
• Death in Family

The full weekly amount will be paid if the parent intends to return to work or other approved activity.

Can the full weekly fee be paid due to a family emergency?
No, only the absences listed above can be approved.

The center was closed 2 days due to snow storms (or other reasons such as teachers’ conference, comp days, etc). A child missed an additional day due to illness during that week. This caused the attended hours to be below 50%. Will the payment be issued on attendance or enrollment basis?
If the parent notifies the county or tribal worker of the reasons for absence, the full weekly fee will be paid because the child’s illness caused the total number of hours to fall below 50%. The worker must approve the absence so the full payment will be made.

What happens if there is a dispute between what the provider says on the time sheet and what the parent says?
In these cases, before the attendance is approved the worker must request the provider to send copies of the sign-in and sign-out sheets. Licensing requires providers to keep written record of actual drop-off and pick-up times. The providers are encouraged to have parents sign sign-in and sign-out sheets to avoid disputes of this nature. If the provider is unable to provide signed sheets, the worker will use the hours that the parent reported.

What is the time limit for reporting approved absences?
If the parent contacts the worker immediately after the child has been absent for an approved reason and the worker approves the absence before the payment cycle runs on the following Saturday, there won’t be any delay with the full weekly payment. If the parent contacts the worker after the payment cycle has run, the worker can approve the absence up to 30 days from the week of absence. The system will issue a positive adjustment to the provider paying the difference between the full weekly amount and the actual amount that was paid.

Authorizations

What is an authorization?
An authorization is a document that explains what the child care subsidy benefits are to an eligible parent.  It is sent to the parent and the provider who will care for the child. An authorization includes the following information:

• Dates the authorization is valid.
• Name of the child who is eligible for subsidy.
• Payment amount. If only an hourly rate is listed, the authorization is attendance-based and the provider will be paid on attendance, i.e. the actual number of attended hours.  If both hourly and weekly amount is listed, the authorization is enrollment-based and the subsidy will pay the weekly amount if the child attends at least half of the authorized weekly hours. If the child attends less than half, the program will pay the provider for the actual hours that the child attended.
• Maximum number of hours authorized.
• Name of the provider to whom the payments will be issued.

Will the provider get the same amount every week?
Payments are issued based on the type of authorization.  There are two different types of authorizations; enrollment-based and attendance-based.  A provider will get the same payment every week for enrollment-based authorizations as long as the child is attending at least half of the hours authorized.  Reimbursements vary with attendance-based authorizations.  Payment determined by the number of hours a child is in care.  The authorizing child care worker determines whether the authorization is attendance-based or enrollment-based.

When is an enrollment-based authorization issued?
Licensed family and group child care providers are authorized on enrollment basis unless the child's schedule vary widely from week to week. Payment for this type of authorization is a flat weekly amount that will be paid if the child attends 50% or more of authorized weekly hours.

When is an attendance-based authorization issued?
An attendance-based authorization is issued whenever the provider is certified (regularly or provisionally) or if the provider is licensed, but the child's need for care varies widely from week to week. An authorization based upon attendance indicates the hourly amount that is to be paid for the actual hours that the child is in attendance up to the maximum weekly hours that are authorized.

Contact Information

Where can I find more information about the subsidy program?
Contact your county/tribal child care worker with further questions. Also, information about eligibility, rates and co-payments can be found at the Wisconsin Shares page.

Parent/provider Fact Sheets are available in four languages:

• English
• Hmong
• Russian
• Spanish

Who do I contact with further questions?
County/Tribal Child Care Coordinators

Child Care providers may also contact the Child Care Provider Hotline at 1-888-499-3464.

Co-payments

What is the "system deducted co-payment??
The subsidy system deducts a co-payment based on the family’s income, number of children in subsidized care and the type of provider chosen. When calculating the authorized amount, the system looks at county/tribal maximum rate and the private-pay rate the provider charges. The system chooses the lower of the two. After that the co-pay is deducted. The result is the authorized amount that will be paid to the provider. If the provider’s private-pay rates are more than the county maximum, the actual parent share might be more than the co-pay listed here.

Example:

• Tiny Tots Center in Sunshine County charges $200/week for a child
• The county maximum is $180 week.
• Parent’s co-pay is $20 week.
• The authorized amount will be $180 - $20 = $160.

In this case, the actual parent share is $40 ($200 - $160)

Is the parent responsible for paying any portion of care?
The amount the parent is responsible to pay is the difference between what the provider charges private-pay parents and what the agency will pay (provider rate - agency payment = parent responsibility).

2008 Policy Changes - FAQs

Please go to the webpage listed above to see all of the 2008 policy changes.

2007 Policy Changes - FAQs

April 2007 changes: What is actually changing?
If a child, whose authorization is enrollment-based, attends less than half of the weekly authorized hours within a specific week, the provider will be paid on hourly rate instead of the full weekly rate for that week.

How do you know if the child’s authorization in on enrollment or attendance-based?
Please review the most current authorization. If there are both weekly AND hourly rates displayed, the authorization is based on enrollment. If there is an hourly rate only, the authorization is attendance-based. If you are unsure, please ask your child care worker.

Are any enrollment-based authorizations exempted from this policy?
Yes, if a child has a special needs authorization, this change does not have any effect on those authorizations. A child who is special needs (and has an enrollment-based authorization) will receive full weekly amount even if the child attends less than half of the authorized hours.  The child will need to be identified in the automation system as special needs in order for this exemption to occur.

What is a special needs authorization?
The county/tribe may authorize reimbursement rate above the county/tribal maximum rate for a child with a special needs situation on case-by-case basis. In some special needs situations, a higher rate is needed because of the higher cost of providing extra care services for a child. Special needs are defined as: emotional, behavioral, physical, developmental, or personal needs of a child requiring more than the usual amount of care and supervision for the child’s age. The parent must verify the child’s special needs by submitting documentation from physician, psychologist, special educator or other qualified professional the subsidy worker. The provider must also verify why it would not be reasonable to reimburse child care expenses at the regular rate.

2006 Policy Changes - FAQs

Who will pay registration fees that a provider charges?
The provider has to collect this fee from the parents in accordance with his/her written contract.

Who will pay if a child stops attending my day care without notice?
Parents are responsible for giving appropriate notice when they plan on changing providers. This is a general practice with private-pay parents. If the parent does not give appropriate notice, s/he is responsible for paying any fees specified in the provider's contract. The authorization will end the Saturday of the last week the child actually attends.

The maximum rates in my county/tribe had decreased and now my private-pay rates are higher than the county reimbursement rates. Who is going to pay the difference?
The parents are responsible to pay the difference between the authorized amount and the price the provider charges from the private-pay parents.

The maximum rates in my county/tribe have increased. I am a provider. Should I raise my rates to match the reimbursement rates?
The providers must charge the same rate for private-pay and subsidized parents. Before raising her/his rates, the provider must realize that this might create a burden for private-pay parents.

Why is DCF making all of these changes?
These changes were implemented to make the Wisconsin Shares program more equitable and efficient across the state.  The number of parents needing financial assistance to pay for child care has grown along with the cost of child care, but the funding available has not been increased to meet the need.

These policy changes were seen as the most equitable way of making sure that all eligible families could continue to be served without freezing rates, increasing copays, or restricting eligibility.

Who can I contact if I have concerns and/or questions?
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the DCF Child Care Help Desk at 608-261-6317 (option 2) or via email.