Child Assistance

[MommyMuffin]

I am interviewing 2 parents who are on assistance and I was wondering, why do some people not take them. I know you have to fill out a form or something and wait for the state to pay you. Do they still pay for holidays, sick days?

[newtodaycare22]

I do not have any kids on assistance but I know that the amount they qualify for is not always your rate. Then, it is up to you whether or not they must make up the difference (and some of them can't). I believe you also get paid monthly, which is an issue for some people. Not sure about holidays.

[safechner]

Most providers will not take them because their system is pain in the butt! They wouldn't pay you for holidays and sick days unless it is federal holidays that you will get paid. It may take 1 or 2 months to get paid from the state assistance. Trust me, it is NOT worth it.

[DaycareMama]

I accept assistance and I charge the diffrence in rates. I also charge extra if the kids miss a day and it results in me not getting full time pay from the state. ts all stated in my contract. The state here is supposed to pay every 2 weeks. I have waited many times atleast 6 months to get paid. For some reason my state doesnt like to pay in the winter. They claim they're short staffed?!

[DCMomOf3]

I have never had a call for a family on assistance yet so I have no idea about the logistics of getting the assistance. I am sure the providers who do get calls though think up some excuse if they are worried about getting less money than they want. I my be wrong but I think my state does not allow discrimination based on assistance, so you would have to give a different and valid reason.

[AnythingsPossible]

You get paid once a month, generally the middle of the month for the previous months care. The assistance will not pay for holidays or any missed days of care. The parent will be responsible, which if they need help paying their bill, chances are they aren't going to be able to afford to pay for missed days. When I get families on assistance I generally don't worry about the missed days. Yes, it sucks, but atleast through the state you don't have to worry about bounced checks or not getting paid.
Here, there is a program that enrolled tribe members can go through, and I have 2 families on it and I hate it!! They are not consistent on when they pay and can pretty much do it whenever they get around to it. I have yet to be paid for September! All i can do is hope that they will pay this friday, and if they don't hope for next friday! Can't drop them as they are the bulk of my kids right now. So, bottom line, state assistance is a guaranteed payment, but don't count on getting paid for vacation, holiday or missed days. If you charge for holidays you are closed and your vacation days, you could set up a payment plan monthly, where they parents pay a portion of the holidays and vacation every month. Just figure out how many holidays you expect payment for, add in your paid vacation and divide by 12, then add that to their monthly portion.

[BentleysBands]

where i'm from, welfare is very high and very much abused. i know alot of providers who refuse to take in those who need assistance. i've wouldnt however i have never been asked to either. the providers i talk with say that alot of times those who are on welfare (atleast thats what its called here) comes alot of unwanted things...not the childrens fault. its great theres help for parents but here its so frustrating when someone claims they need help for daycare but surely have $ for unneeded luxury items. i guess it all depends on your areas ??
if i were in this situation i guess it would depend on alot for me. tho im not sure i could deal w/the late payment from the state,etc...that would stink

[marniewon]

I was burned by state-aided children once. I was watching my cousin's kids once, taking them to school in back (my gas) and feeding them (my food) and it took 4 months(!!!) AND me calling the supervisor to start getting paid! The ONLY way I'll take them is if they have letter in hand saying they've been approved.

Oh, and in MI, there is now a forced union. DCP's don't get any benefits from this union, like most unions are set up to do, but we do have our "dues" taken out of state payments!

And like pp's said, you don't get paid for any missed days, vacations, sick days, etc. They pay by the hour, and usually less than what you would charge. Now (again, in MI, not sure if it's all over) not only do WE have to report the hours children were in our care, but the parents also have to report, and if the two don't match up, that's a delay in getting paid. Also, childcare is only paid if parent(s) is working or in school. If they take off but leave the child with you, you can't claim that.

In most cases, it's more of a pain than it's worth.

[momma2girls]

I personally wouldn't ever take state children again!!
There were a bunch of reasons-
I wasn't getting paid near enough- I was getting paid $14.00 per day per child- I was charging $25.00 per day per child. I asked the parent to pay the difference. Then she went and told her case worker, that she couldn't afford to pay me even $1.00 more a day, let alone $11.00 a day. I guess it is illegal in my state to ask the parents to pay the remainder, which I didn't know about.
Then the 2 children stole from myself and my 4 yr. old daughter!!
You wouldn't receive any payment, on when they weren't here, when mom didn't work, any Holidays, vac. or anything else.
Then you had to wait 6-7 weeks for your payment. They were always a month behind, you sign, they sign for the month prior, then in 2-3 weeks, you would receive a check!! It was all together awful!!!

[Jewels]

I have a family on state assistance, It was a pain right away but now its fine, I turn in billing forms every 2 weeks, so every other friday I mail in the billing form, and I have the money direct deposited into my account the following wednesday, like today I had the money for the previous two weeks, The mom does pay me an additional $20 every two weeks, to make up for what I would be charging, but she is still actually even with that paying less, but only like $10/week, but I dont mind, And they dont pay for my vacations or days I close, but I DO get paid for the federal holidays, And anything else, I just let it go.

[kpa0627]

I accept state pay and haven't had a problem with it. I have one child enrolled in it now. I get paid the 1st of the month for that month. The state pays me $260 per month and it's there either the 1st, 2nd or 3rd always. I charge $120 a week so if it's a 4 week month the parent owes the remaining $220 and it's a 5 week month the parent owes the remaining $340. I just divide it up and tell them how much they need to pay every week. So, on a 4 week month they pay me $55 and a 5 week month they pay me $68 a week. They always pay and it works out great.

[MommyMuffin]

I think in MN you can ask them to pay the difference but I am not certain on that.
So if I make a contract with my hourly rates being in line with a regular day pay and if I write in it that any holidays or vacation days that fall on their schedule they are required to pay for.
Ask for form or paperwork..(what exactly is the paperwork or form called) to make sure they have been accepted....
CAre will not be offered if not at work or school unless parent is willing to pay out of pocket for that day...

I figure I am new and need clients so I am willing to give assistance a try but if my contract states all the major issues I can hopefully have a successful experience and if not I can just given them a 2 week notice.

Ok what am I forgetting to put in the contract...??

[kidkair]

I think in MN you can ask them to pay the difference but I am not certain on that.
So if I make a contract with my hourly rates being in line with a regular day pay and if I write in it that any holidays or vacation days that fall on their schedule they are required to pay for.
Ask for form or paperwork..(what exactly is the paperwork or form called) to make sure they have been accepted....
CAre will not be offered if not at work or school unless parent is willing to pay out of pocket for that day...

I figure I am new and need clients so I am willing to give assistance a try but if my contract states all the major issues I can hopefully have a successful experience and if not I can just given them a 2 week notice.

Ok what am I forgetting to put in the contract...??

I had to be approved by my county before accepting payments so you may want to check your county and make sure you approved. Also getting in touch with the case worker that you will need to be in contact with is a good idea. In St. Louis county there is a case worker just for providers so that she can help the provider talk to families and other case workers when needed as she knows all the rules. You can ask that the parents pay the difference and you can talk to the county worker if they do not pay. If they don't pay and you tell the county worker than they will have to pay or loose their assistance. I make the parents pay in advance and won't let them stop paying me until I have the paperwork through the mail from the county. I let them know that I will pay them any extra back or count it toward their co-pay once I get the paperwork and whatever money they have given me is cleared by the bank. And at least in St. Louis county they are very good at being on time every two weeks provided you are on time with returning forms and such.

[Blackcat31]

Here is the link for the Child Care Assistance Program handbook for providers in Minnesota. It explains how everything works. I currently have over half my families on CCAP. I always get paid, on-time, they pay up to 10 sick/absent days per six months and ALL holidays. I also get direct deposit bi-weekly. I don't mind the program one bit. I actually have more problems with the self payers.

http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/main/idcplg?IdcService=GET_DYNAMIC_CONVERSION&RevisionSelectionMethod=LatestReleased&dDocName=id_008688#

[Jewels]

I live in wright county mn, my child gets 25 sick/absent days per year, I get paid bi-weekly, and I can ask my parents to pay the differece, so I think its a fine program.
Bonnie