Self-Sufficiency Update June 2020

June 10, 2020

0 Comments

Key Highlights This Month:

Notices and warrants were delayed due to a temporary closure of the Issuance Operations Center (IOC) from May 28^th through May 31^st. A SIR announcement and email directed agencies to consider this time delay for affected cases that need to return information.

A system install was completed to implement changes effective June 29, 2020. These changes allow a child to maintain eligibility until redetermination for a child who turns 13 or a child with a documented disability turns 15. A bullet will be published later this month.

CCAP issued numerous memos to agencies and providers related to COVID-19 changes. All memos are posted on Countylink: DHS Program Resources > Child Care Assistance Program > CCAP Updates: Memos and Bulletins.

CCAP issued a FAQ related to COVID-19 changes. The FAQ and other materials related to COVID-19 are posted in a new section in Worker Resources on SIR: CCAP COVID-19 Temporary Changes (DHS-SIR > MEC² > Worker Resources > CCAP COVID-19 Temporary Changes).

A 3-month extension for family redeterminations due between March 27, 2020 and June 30,2020
A 3-month extension for provider renewals due between March 20, 2020 and June 30, 2020
If an absent day exemption is requested, payment can be made for absent days that exceed 10 consecutive days and/or 25 total days. Absent day exemptions end June 30, 2020.
If a provider is closed, payment can continue for up to one month. DHS has compiled a closed provider list and is periodically sending to agencies. A temporary waiver allowing a second round of payments to providers who closed after June 1, 2020 was recently approved.
Payment can temporarily be made to two providers if a child typical provider is closed/unavailable and the child needs care with another provider.

Requested Actions Needed From MACSSA:

New Trends in This Area:

Issues/Concerns Regarding This Topic:

Basic Sliding Fee

Expenditures through March showed statewide overspending. Expenditures through April showed statewide underspending.
DHS will not do 1^st quarter reallocation in 2020 due to there being very little funds available to reallocate compared to the projected overspending.
We do not yet know how COVID-19 changes will affect spending.
Some funds were appropriated to help cover the increased cost of extending redeterminations and paying two providers. DHS updated BSF allocations in June to reflect these additions; approximately 3.5 million dollars was added to the 2020 statewide BSF allocation.

Absent day exemptions and billing

There are many cases where the absent day tracking is not updated because bills were processed prior to an absent day exemption being entered. This results in a higher absent day count than is accurate and decreased payment for some cases.
DHS will be sending data to agencies to help clean up absent day coding issues over the next few weeks. The data is specific to individual agencies and is being sent as it is available for each agency (not all agencies have clean-up required). Instructions will be provided.

Legislative Impacts:

Supporting Materials:

Recent SIR Postings:

Contact(s):