Self-Sufficiency Update - April 2019

April 12, 2019

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Key Highlights This Month:

Child Care

The Office of Legislative Auditor released the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program Assessment of Fraud Allegations report on March 13^th and a second report regarding Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program Assessment of Internal Control on April 10^th. These are available on the OLA website.
DHS plans to revise MN Rules, Chapter 3400, Child Care Fund. For more information, visit https://mn.gov/dhs/partners-and-providers/news-initiatives-reports-workgroups/child-care-and-early-education/ccap-rule-rev.jsp. If you have questions or comments regarding rule revision, email dhs.CCAPrule@state.mn.us.
DHS will move forward with first quarter reallocation in 2019. There is a CCAP Policy Manual Chapter with information about the process. See CCAP Manual 16.33 BSF First Quarter Reallocation.
DHS CCAP is working with MFIP staff to implement a change in counting the income for new spouses that passed in the 2017 legislative session. This change was effective Dec. 1, 2018.
- A joint bulletin was published Nov. 20. See Bulletin #18-69-02 New Spouse Income Policy for Cash and Child Care Assistance Programs.
- MEC² Temporary System Guidance was posted to SIR on Dec. 3.
- DHS CCAP is working on Policy Manual changes to be published in April.
- Substantial changes to the CCAP program have been included in the Governor’s budget proposal including changes to:
  - Implement 12-month continuous eligibility for all families, including those who move to counties with BSF waiting lists, who are not currently eligible for TY after MFIP closes but are in a county with a BSF waiting list, and children who age out during their 12 month-eligibility period.
  - Increase child care reimbursement rates to at least the 25^th percentile and tie on-going rate increases to the most recent market rate survey.
  - Create an expedited application pathway for families that are homeless that reduces verification and activity requirements for the first three months of care.
  - Establishes due process for child care providers
  - Clarifies and simplifies program integrity requirements and policies

Many of these changes are required for Minnesota to comply with federal law.

In addition, there have been numerous proposals introduced in the 2019 legislative session that would impact CCAP. The department is monitoring and analyzing proposals as they are introduced.

Child Support

The Child Support Division (CSD) has completed Minnesota’s Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2018 Self-Assessment Report. The report can be found on the DHS-SIR>PRISM>Documentation>Self-Assessment. Federal Regulations require states to monitor compliance with federal child support timeframes, and report results annually in a Self-Assessment Report. In order to complete the requirement a random statewide sample of cases was reviewed from November through February by CSD. Once again as a state we met or exceeded compliance in all eight self-assessment review categories.

The Work Number(TWN)

DHS sent notification in a March 21^st memo regarding the future status of TWN number. Child Support will continue with Standard Service access while Income Maintenance programs will have access through TWN’s Express Service. There is a fee for the use of the Express Service. DHS will be picking up the entire cost of this contract for 2019. However, counties were advised to budget for a portion of this cost in 2020. A MACSSA forum to discuss next steps will occur on April 24^th.

EGA Allocation

DHS confirmed via an email from Shawn Tobias on April 12^th that DHS has revised the current state year allocations for EGA. This is an attempt to spend out the state allocation as there has been approximately $1,000,000 left unspent for the past five years. A MACSSA forum on this topic will be held on April 24^th to discuss this decision and best practices from counties who have been able to spend down their allocation.

Requested Actions Needed From MACSSA:

New Trends in This Area:

Issues/Concerns Regarding This Topic:

Legislative Impacts:

Supporting Materials:

See Bulletin #18-69-02 New Spouse Income Policy for Cash and Child Care Assistance Programs for changes that took effect December 1, 2018.
The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Provider Guide (DHS-5260) (PDF) has been updated.
Do You Need Help Paying for Child Care (DHS-3551) (PDF) has been updated.
The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Family Guide (DHS-3944) (PDF) is a new document developed for families who are eligible for child care assistance.
Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program: State Fiscal Year 2017 Provider Profile (DHS-7819) (PDF), published January 2019

Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program: State Fiscal Year 2018 Family Profile (DHS-6664F) (PDF), published January 2019

Contact(s): Barb Dahl, Brad Thiel