Child Care Scholarship Advance Payments

Advanced, Enrollment-Based Payments

  • MSDE will pay providers in advance, not retroactively; and
  • MSDE will issue the advance payment based on enrollment, where enrollment is defined as the number of students with active CCS program scholarships assigned to a given provider at the end of the previous calendar month.

How will it work?
MSDE will condense service periods from every two weeks to a single, monthly service period. MSDE will then pay providers in advance, based on enrollment each month. MSDE will do so via two payments, one on the first and one on the fifteenth of each month. Enrollment for those payments will be calculated as the number of active receipted scholarships assigned to a given provider at the end of the previous month.

MSDE will not base the advance payment amount on the attendance of children with enrolled scholarship. MSDE will pay for the full month regardless of the number of days a student attends, however, if a child exceeds 60 days of absences payment will be adjusted by establishing an overpayment. 

However, in some cases, providers may receive new scholarships in the middle of the month, and in other instances, application processing times for CCS program scholarships result in scholarships being receipted and enrolled retroactively after the monthly amount is calculated. For those reasons, MSDE will begin adjusting provider payments based on reconciled scholarship information in the fourth month of the new policy (April 2023), onward.


FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What will be included in the January payment? 

The first Child Care Scholarship advanced payment under this policy has now been issued. This advanced payment amount is based on the number of children with enrollment dates as of January 6, 2023 

Payment amounts have been adjusted for scholarship end dates and EXCELS Tier payments, if applicable. Registration fees are not included in this first payment. Union dues, and recoupment are not deducted in this payment. MSDE will reconcile registration fees and union dues later this spring. 

Beginning the week of Jan 23, 2023 MSDE will begin mailing check writer statements (invoice detail reports), for the first half of January. 

I received my advance payment, and I was not paid for a child who has a scholarship?

MSDE will now pay providers for the number of children enrolled at the beginning of the month, in the past, you were not paid until after a service period ended. Children who are enrolled after the advance payment was processed will receive payment for that child when True-Up is processed. Example if the advance pay month was January, you will receive payment in April. 

How was my advance payment determined?

  • The number of children enrolled at the beginning of the month
  • Date the child begin care 
  • Date the child ended care 
  • Tier level 
  • Union due deductions (beginning in February)
  • Any recoupment deductions (beginning in February)

Why was my 2nd payment different from my first payment for the same month?

The second payment can be different if, the provider’s tier level changes on the 15th,  if the union participation changes or if a provider licenses status becomes non-payable.

Will I receive a detailed report of my payment?

Yes,  list of the amount paid for each scholarship will be mailed separately. This will provide the information you usually receive in the Invoice Detail Report. 

When will I receive my advance payment?

Each monthly advance payment will be issued in two payments. This payment is for the first half of the month.  A second payment will be sent later this month for the second half of the month.

What is True Up?

Four months after each advanced payment, MSDE will reconcile your account based on actual scholarship enrollments for the month:

  • If additional children were added after the advanced payment calculation, MSDE will pay an increased amount for the additional enrollment; and/or
  • If scholarships were ended early in the month, a reduction will be taken in the amount MSDE pays.
  • Licenses Closures 
  • Rate adjustments (such as child turning two)
  • EXCELS participation 

Do I still need to send in my invoice?

Yes, Invoices are still required for each month’s two pay periods, though attendance will not affect the amount of the advance payment!   

When do I need to send my invoice to  CCS Central 2?

Immediately, The invoice is due to MSDE 60 days from issuance.  MSDE cannot accept late invoices. If an invoice is not submitted on time, MSDE is required to establish an overpayment to recover payments for all children that were enrolled for the service period.

Overpayments will also be established when children have more than 60 days of absences in a calendar year or a provider is closed for more than 10 consecutive days, more than once in a calendar year.

I have additional questions, who can I contact?

Child Care Scholarship Provider Inquiry