Important Information

Please note that copayments are resuming on August 1, 2024.

Federal law requires families to share in the cost of child care using a sliding fee scale (meaning cost is adjusted depending on your income). This fee is known as copayment or copay. 

Copayments had been temporarily suspended since the onset of, and recovery from, the COVID-19 pandemic due to the availability of additional federal funding. That funding is no longer available, and federal law requires families receiving child care assistance to share in the cost of child care by making copayments, with limited exceptions. A family’s copayment amount is calculated based on the first child and second child. There is no copayment for any additional children.

Copays are resuming and families will be responsible for paying copayments to you starting August 1, 2024.
 
Please note that if a family’s income is at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) or if the child is in protective services, the copayment will be waived. For those families, the State will provide the total CCAP provider payment rate and the family will owe you no copayment.

Copayment percentages are as follows: 

Family Income at or below 100% FPL

Full-Time		Part-Time		One Full-Time/One Part-Time
One Child	Two or More Children	One Child	Two or More Children	Two or More Children
waived	waived	waived	waived	waived

Family Income of at least 101% and up to 200% of FPL

Full-Time		Part-Time		One Full-Time/One Part-Time
One Child	Two or More Children	One Child	Two or More Children	Two or More Children
2% of income	3% of income	1% of income	1.5% of income	2.5% of income

  
Family income is 201% of FPL or greater

Full-Time		Part-Time		One Full-Time/One Part-Time
One Child	Two or More Children	One Child	Two or More Children	Two or More Children
3% if income	5% of income	1.5% of income	2.5% of income	4% of income

A new Parent/Applicant and Provider Agreement (PAPA) will soon be issued by your County Resource and Referral agency (CCR&R) to show the copayment amount owed to you by each family you serve that receives child care assistance.
 
Please note that if you charge a rate that is higher than the CCAP provider payment rate, the family will be responsible for paying you both the copayment and that overage amount above the CCAP provider payment rate.
 
You can review the Copayment Schedule or if you have any questions, please contact your CCR&R.

The Division of Family Development instituted enrollment-based Child Care Assistance Program payments. During this time, you are being paid on the number of children currently enrolled, regardless of whether the child(ren) are in attendance on a given day. 
 
For your child care assistance families, this means they do not have to use the use the eChild Care attendance system (POS or IVR system) to check their child in and out of care.
 
You should continue recording absences in Child Care Attendance Calendar during this time period. Paying based on enrollment is designed to provide stability to providers and flexibility for families and will continue through June 30, 2025.