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Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) Manual
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Payments

H.  Registration and Field Trip Fees
Revised:  August 7, 2007

Effective May 28, 2004

WAC 170-290-0245  When can the WCCC program authorize payment of fees for registration?

  1. We pay licensed or certified child care providers and DSHS contracted seasonal day camps that have contracts with us to provide subsidized child care a registration fee once per calendar year of fifty dollars per child or the provider's usual fee, whichever is less only if the fees are:

    1. Required of all parents whose children are in care with that provider; and

    2. Needed to maintain the child care arrangement.

  2. The registration fee may be authorized more than once per calendar year when:

    1. There is a break in your child care services for more than sixty days and the provider's usual policy is to charge an additional registration fee when there is a break in care; or

    2. The children change child care providers and the new provider meets subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this section.

Note: This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

Clarifying Information

Registration Fees

  1. Maintaining the child care arrangement includes: drop in care, back up care, or short-term care.

  2. Some child care programs charge a per-child registration fee. Others charge a per-family registration fee.

  3. When a provider's per family registration fee is over $50.00, divide their registration fee by the number of children it covers to get a per child amount. Authorize that amount per child, up to $50.00 each.

EXAMPLE 1

Happy Face Day Care charges an $85 registration fee per family. The family is enrolling four children.

Compute:
$85 / 4 = $21.25 per child.

Authorization:
2940 $21.25 4 Units $85.00

The provider can bill a total of $85 for registration fees.

EXAMPLE 2

Three Bears Day Care charges $75.00 per family for registration. The family is enrolling two children. You can authorize as shown in Example 1 or split the registration fee as shown below:

Authorization:
2940 $50.00 1 Unit  $50.00
2940 $25.00 1 Unit $25.00

The provider can bill a total of $75.00 for registration fees.

EXAMPLE 3

Tiny Tots charges $125 per family for registration fee. The family is enrolling two children. The maximum registration fee per child is $50.

Authorization:
2940 $50.00 2 Units  $100.00

The provider can bill a total of $100 registration fees.

WORKER RESPONSIBILITIES

Authorize and allow payment of the registration fee if:

  1. The consumer is eligible,

  2. The child does not attend, and

  3. The provider completed and submitted Part 2 of the application by mail or phone.

Effective May 28, 2004
WAC 170-290-0247 When can the WCCC program authorize payment for field trip fees?

  1. We pay licensed or certified child care providers and DSHS contracted seasonal day camps a monthly field trip fee up to twenty dollars per child or the provider's actual cost for the field trip, whichever is less, only if the fees meet the conditions in subsection (1)(a) and (b) of WAC 170-290-0245. The field trip fee is to cover the provider's actual expenses for:

    1. Admission;

    2. Transportation (not to include the provider's gas and insurance); and

    3. The cost of hiring a nonemployee to provide an in house field trip activity.

  2. The field trip fee can only be reimbursed for children three years of age and older.

Note: This is a reprint of the official rule as published by the Office of the Code Reviser. If there are previous versions of this rule, they can be found using the Legislative Search page.

Field Trip Fees

  1. Providers may charge an additional fee to families for a variety of field trips. The requests for authorization of field trip fees are usually more common during the summer, although you can authorize the fee year-round.

  2. The provider must require the field trip fee of all parents, subsidized and unsubsidized. They can use it to cover:

    1. The cost of admissions (to the zoo, museums, movies, etc.),

    2. Travel, but only for public transportation to a specific recreational activity; and

    3. The cost of hiring a non-employee for a special in-house activity.

  3. The field trip fee does not cover:

    1. Transportation costs if the provider is regularly transporting children to and from school or using a business vehicle to transport to and from activities;

    2. "Optional enrichment programs" or ongoing lessions for the child such as preschool (and preschool curriculum items), language classes, kindergym, dance, gymnastics, swimming lessons, music lessons, etc.;

    3. Costs accrued by adults who also go on the field trip as staff persons or volunteers;

    4. Supplies for special art projects; or

    5. The cost of food purchased while on a field trip.

Worker Responsibilities

Field trip Fees

  1. The consumer does not need to request this fee. The provider may request this from the AW.

  2. You may request the licensed / certified child care provider to supply written verification of their activity fees if you question the information the provider gives as to what the fees are being used for or whether a child attended.

  3. If the provider requests this fee, authorize up to $20 per child, per month using SSPS code 2939.

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