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Wisconsin Shares

Wisconsin Shares. Child Care Subsidy. Who Uses Wisconsin Shares?. 2013 84,591 children 49,655 families $235M. 5 Year Decline Since 2009. 2009: 97,135 children 54,468 families $338M issuances. Purpose. Subsidize child care for low income parents who need child care to :

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Wisconsin Shares

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  1. Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy

  2. Who Uses Wisconsin Shares? 2013 • 84,591 children • 49,655 families • $235M

  3. 5 Year Decline Since 2009 • 2009: • 97,135 children • 54,468 families • $338M issuances

  4. Purpose • Subsidize child care for low income parents who need child care to: • Work in unsubsidized employment, or • Prepare for employment while participating in specific “approved” activities.

  5. Key Points • Approximately 3,500 child care providers participating in WI Shares out of total of 6,000 • 17% of families are in W-2 & 83% employed • Approximately 85% receive FoodShare • Overpayment requirement

  6. Key Points cont… • Not a “case management” type program-more “income maintenance” (ESS workers have up to 900 cases) • Shared IT system for eligibility: • CC, FS, HealthCare, W-2 (different agencies) • Milwaukee: MiLES and MECA • BOS: counties and tribes

  7. IT Overview • Handout - IT Systems

  8. Part 1: Basic Eligibility • Need child care for “approved activity” • Children birth to 12, 13-18 if special needs • Child must be a citizen (not parents) • Resident of Wisconsin • SSN • Parents in family must cooperate with Child Support • Low Income (defined later)

  9. Approved Activities • Are defined in Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) block grant federal regs. • Set by Wisconsin statute • Part of approved state plan for CCDF • Limited to statute and plan approved • Included in FIP & QA review criteria • Proposed CCDF regs. change this June for 2015 state plan-significant changes

  10. Wisconsin Shares Approved Activities s49.155(1m) • Learnfare participation (teen parent in W-2 family), • To obtain HS diploma or GED/HSED if: • 18 or 19 • < 18 resides with parent, kinship care relative, foster home, or independent living supervised by an adult.

  11. Unsubsidized Employment • Unsubsidized employment • Includes training provided by employer during work hours

  12. W-2 Employment Position • Paid W-2 placements • Community Service Job placement • Transitional placement • Trial job (replacement) • CMF-upfront job search. • Not for case management only: • ex: caretaker of a newborn placement • Unless case management and employment because of employment

  13. FoodStamp Employment and Training Program (FSET) • Job Search or Work Experience only-not education or other components

  14. Transform Milwaukee Job • New program 2/2014 • Only subsidized employment allowed under current law

  15. Work and Training/Education • Maintain employment and ESL/basic skills/GED-HSED, tech school or other course of study approved by the department • 2 year limit • Gov. Thompson changed “obtain” to “maintain” employment • Policy is 5 hours/week – or 20 hours/month

  16. Defining “Parents” • Biological, • Adoptive, • Relative, or • A person taking the place of a parent

  17. “Family” Income Limits • 185% FPL for new applicants • 200% FPL for on-going case • Foster child and children living with relatives per a court order & receiving Kinship Care benefits: • Child’s biological or adoptive family income can be no more than 200% FPL

  18. Federal Poverty Level (FPL) 2014 Annual Income Levels

  19. FPL% Monthly Income Limits and Wisconsin Shares Families

  20. Why is “Family” Important?: • Defined by s. 49.141(1)(s) stats for CC and W-2 • A consistent definition is required to ensure consistent application of income guidelines for eligibility determination. • Determines whose income to count in a household. • Determines who in the household is required to be in an activity to qualify as “needing” child care (multiple parent families).

  21. Definition: • A custodial parent & all their dependent children & all dependent children of the dependent child. Example: • Mom, teen parent, teen parent’s baby=family of 3.

  22. Definition (cont.) • And…….any nonmaritial coparent residing in the house, and their dependent children, or……(next slide) Example: • Mom, boyfriend, their child if paternity was established on the boyfriend=family of 3. • Mom, boyfriend, their child. If paternity is not established=family of 2 and a referral is made to child support.

  23. Definition (cont). • Or…..spouse of the custodial parent living in the house, and the spouse’s child(ren) (if the wife were not their parent). Example: • Mom, her child, her husband, his child=a family of 4

  24. Two-Parent Families • Strict rules for 2-parent families participation in DCF 201 • Both parents either work or other approved activities unless one parent is unable to work and is unable to care for the children, as verified by a doctor, psychiatrist or psychologist.

  25. Two or More Parents: • The two-parent requirement is also applied to teen parents and their parent(s). Example: • If a teen is in school, the grandmother must need child care so that she can work unless she is unable to work and is unable to care for the child.

  26. FPL & Co-Payments • Federal regulations and Wisconsin Statutes require families to contribute to their cost of child care. • Co-payment amounts are assessed based upon family size, FPL, and the number of children in subsidized child care. • Co-payment levels are located at: http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/wishares/default.htm

  27. Family of 4 at 100% FPL • The annual income limit is $23,550/year or $1,963/month • If they earned minimum wage ($7.25/hr) and one parent worked full time and the other about 23 hours per week, and they worked at the same time-their authorization would be probably be for 23 hours per week (or more for transportation). • Since they have overlapping work schedules, the second parent only needs child care for their working time. • If they had 2 children in child care, their co-payment would be $31 per week for both children.

  28. Family of 4 at 185% FPL • An income limit is $43,568/year or $3,630/month • If both parents worked full time and there was no other countable income they could make no more than $10.55 an hour ($3,630/344 hours=$10.55). • If they had 2 children in child care, their co-payment would be $86 per week for both children

  29. Authorizations • Parental choice of providers (fed and state policy), but the provider: • Must be regulated • Participating in YoungStar • Fingerprinting requirement • Give their private rates to local authorization agency • Give their tax information to regulator

  30. Part II • Authorizations • Co-payments • Payments: • Gross Amounts/ YoungStar Adjustment/Net

  31. Authorization Type • Attendance-based • Enrollment-based

  32. Authorization Notices • Sent to parents • Sent to child care providers • Sent weekly for all changes: co-pay/rate changes, # of hours changed, provider changes

  33. Authorization Criteria • 17 assessment items: • Automation verses “case management” approach • How can Call Centers manage this level of detail for authorization?

  34. Rates: • DCF set’s rates for licensed providers (MRS) • Certified rate is 75% of LFAM • Provisionally certified rate is 50% LFAM • Created by provider type and age groups • Currently by zone/% of urbanization

  35. Co-pay • Most families have a co-pay amount assessed and deducted from their payments. • Providers expected to collect: • Some do/some don’t collect. • Subsidy amount + co-pay may not meet provider price/parent’s pay difference, too.

  36. Process Flow • Step 1/Part I: Application/eligibility confirmed (verification complete) • Step 2/Part II: Authorization • Parental choice of providers: • Contingent regulated, participate in YS, soon fingerprinting requirement

  37. Calculating Payments • Rate minus co-payment= “starting rate” • Attendance submitted and processed • Gross payment amount determine • YoungStar adjustment applied • Add Gross and YS adjustment=Net Amount

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