Private and Third-Party Payments

Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) Manual

Payments

K. Private and Third-Party Payments

Revised: April 18, 2008

clarifying information

A provider whose usual rate is more than the department's maximum rate may not charge the difference to the consumer.
A third party may pay the parent's copayment amount.
A provider may charge the consumer for child care services they use above the hours (such as full-days or half-days) you authorized or for services WCCC does not cover, such as transportation or meals (see Child Care Subsidies: A Booklet for Licensed and Certified Child Care Providers) available at: http://www.del.wa.gov/publications/subsidy/docs/22-877.pdf

EXAMPLE 1

You authorized half-day care for a consumer who works part-time and uses a licensed provider. The consumer occasionally uses five hours or more of care per day for personal reasons such as shopping, volunteer activities, or personal business.

The provider may charge the consumer for hours used above the amount you authorized.

EXAMPLE 2

You authorized 5 hours of care per day for a consumer who uses an in-home / relative provider. The consumer wants to go to the gym 3 afternoons per week. The in-home / relative provider is willing to extend her day to watch the children while the consumer works out. The provider cannot bill the State for care she provides while the consumer works out. The provider can bill the parent for this care.

Payments from a Non-Custodial Parent (NCP)

There are a few ways NCPs can pay a portion of the child care costs. The NCP is often court-ordered to pay a percentage of child care costs without any specific directions on how the NCP and custodial parent can arrange payment. You can use the following examples when figuring the amounts the custodial consumer and NCP should pay.

EXAMPLE 1

Penny applied and is eligible for full-time WCCC for her child. The NCP is responsible for 70% of Penny's total child care cost according to the child support orders. Penny's total child care cost is her WCCC copayment of $100.00. The NCP's part of the copayment is $70 and Penny's is $30. Authorize the copayment as usual at $100. Penny is responsible to make sure the $100 copayment is paid to the provider. If the NCP does not pay his portion, you do not need to adjust the WCCC authorization.

EXAMPLE 2

Jackie applied and is eligible for full-time WCCC for her child. The NCP is responsible for 40% of the total child care cost according to the child support orders. The total child care costs includes Jackie's copayment and the amount the State pays the provider. Jackie is using a licensed family home provider. In this case, you may need to adjust the authorization if the NCP does not pay their portion in a given month (see example 4 below).
The rates are:

Provider: $30.00 per day or $660.00 per month

DSHS: $25.00 per day or $550.00 per month

Jackie's copay: $100.00 per month

The NCP is responsible to pay 40% of the provider's usual and customary rate or: $660.00 X .40 = $264.00 a month.

The State pays the difference between what the NCP pays and the State rate minus the copayment, or:

State rate	$550.00
NCP responsibility	-$264.00
	$286.00
Divide $286 by 22 days = a daily rate of $13. Authorize 22 days of care at $13.00 per day and the copayment at $100.00. The provider's final reimbursement is:
From the NCP	$264.00
From the State	+$186.00
From the custodial parent's copayment	+$100.00
	$550.00

EXAMPLE 3

Jill applied for child care. She submitted verification that her ex-husband is supposed to pay 100% of the total child care costs. Verify the NCP's history of payment of prior child care costs. If the history indicates the NCP has paid, we would not authorize child care. If the history shows the NCP has not paid child care costs, determine eligibility for the applicant and also refer her to the Division of Child Support (DCS)

EXAMPLE 4

You approved WCCC for a custodial parent as described in EXAMPLE 2 above. The consumer tells you the NCP stopped paying their share of child care costs to the provider. The consumer asks if the State can pay the NCP portion of child care costs. YES, we can. After verifying the NCP stopped paying their share, WCCC can pay the NCP's portion of child care costs. Refer the custodial parent to DCS. DCS can give the consumer information on how they can pursue payment from the NCP.

You can email your questions or comments about the Working Connections Child Care Manual to us at: EAZMail@dshs.wa.gov
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