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MI DHS is a big pain. But here is a breakdown of how it would work. Contact DHS and explain that you are new to home daycare and have a potential client who has DHS daycare subsidy and you need to know what you need to do to register to be able to report hours to them. They will send you an ID and password.
For the potential client you mentioned, it seems like she already has been approved so it should only be a matter of changing the provider ID to your number (once you get it). I have seen it take anywhere from 2 weeks to months. If she has already been approved, she should have an approval letter. This will tell you 2 things: 1) how many hours they are approved for every 2 weeks (biweekly) & 2) what percentage DHS pays. The hours are based on the hours the parent needs for work, school, and commute. basically, what they need, they are approved for, up to a maximum of 90 biweekly (45 per week). The percentage is based on the parent's income and can be 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100%.
DHS reimburses at $2.40 per hour for children over 2 1/2 years old; $2.90 per hour for children under 2 1/2 years old. Now this is the FULL RATE.
Example: The child is 4 years old, the approved hours are 75 hrs biweekly (37.5 per week), and the percentage is 70%. You get $1.68 per hour ($2.40 per hour * 70%) that the child is in care or out due to sickness. So you would have to bill the parent for the difference (co-pay) between what DHS will pay and what you charge. Plus, the parent would be responsible for anytime over the 75 hours biweekly (or 37.5 hours weekly).
Many parents try to argue about this, but DHS does state in their handbooks that the Parent is responsible for any difference between what they pay and what the provider charges.
Here's one problem. It's difficult to have a pre-payment with DHS clients because you don't know how many hours they will actually USE ahead of time each week. They may be booked for 40 hours, but really only use 35 (due to picking up early, or dropping off later).
Another issue is the reporting and payment schedule. Here's an example of the schedule:
6/6 - 6/19 providing care
6/20 you report the hours
7/1 you get the check for dates of service 6/6 -6/19
So you are not getting paid by DHS until 2-4 weeks after you provided the care. That means that you are providing food, toys, crafts, etc and are working for free (except the co-pay from the parent) for almost 4 weeks before you get paid by DHS.
If this client does not have an approval letter to show you, tell her that she will have to pay the full amount out of pocket until DHS kicks in. When it kicks in, you can back bill DHS. When you get the check from DHS, you reimburse the client for the amount (of DHS's portion) they pre-paid. It is a really big pain, but it's better than waiting months for payment only to have them drop you and come to find out they never submitted the paperwork to have them placed under your ID. Then you have to go to court and try to get the hundreds or thousands of dollars they owe.
Sorry there's so much information. If you want you can PM me or send me a message. There are many, many more warnings about DHS clients that I can tell you and the solutions I have in place to protect myself.
As for reporting for her - NO WAY ON EARTH!! You would be inviting a fraud investigation. Do NOT put your license at risk for ANYONE! Some providers make the parents report from the provider's computer during pickup at the end of the reporting cycle. I think I will be doing that since I just had a client who "forgot" to report for 6 weeks! Also, on their invoice that they get each week, I have a chart that shows the day, date, time in, time out, actual time, and time reported to DHS (because it gets rounded). This way they know what I'm reporting and why and it gives me further proof (plus the sign in/out sheets) in the event I get audited.
Number one rule when taking DHS clients or anyone for that matter - COVER YOUR OWN A**!! Number 2 rule - Never take someone at their word. Get it in writing - always!
For the potential client you mentioned, it seems like she already has been approved so it should only be a matter of changing the provider ID to your number (once you get it). I have seen it take anywhere from 2 weeks to months. If she has already been approved, she should have an approval letter. This will tell you 2 things: 1) how many hours they are approved for every 2 weeks (biweekly) & 2) what percentage DHS pays. The hours are based on the hours the parent needs for work, school, and commute. basically, what they need, they are approved for, up to a maximum of 90 biweekly (45 per week). The percentage is based on the parent's income and can be 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, or 100%.
DHS reimburses at $2.40 per hour for children over 2 1/2 years old; $2.90 per hour for children under 2 1/2 years old. Now this is the FULL RATE.
Example: The child is 4 years old, the approved hours are 75 hrs biweekly (37.5 per week), and the percentage is 70%. You get $1.68 per hour ($2.40 per hour * 70%) that the child is in care or out due to sickness. So you would have to bill the parent for the difference (co-pay) between what DHS will pay and what you charge. Plus, the parent would be responsible for anytime over the 75 hours biweekly (or 37.5 hours weekly).
Many parents try to argue about this, but DHS does state in their handbooks that the Parent is responsible for any difference between what they pay and what the provider charges.
Here's one problem. It's difficult to have a pre-payment with DHS clients because you don't know how many hours they will actually USE ahead of time each week. They may be booked for 40 hours, but really only use 35 (due to picking up early, or dropping off later).
Another issue is the reporting and payment schedule. Here's an example of the schedule:
6/6 - 6/19 providing care
6/20 you report the hours
7/1 you get the check for dates of service 6/6 -6/19
So you are not getting paid by DHS until 2-4 weeks after you provided the care. That means that you are providing food, toys, crafts, etc and are working for free (except the co-pay from the parent) for almost 4 weeks before you get paid by DHS.
If this client does not have an approval letter to show you, tell her that she will have to pay the full amount out of pocket until DHS kicks in. When it kicks in, you can back bill DHS. When you get the check from DHS, you reimburse the client for the amount (of DHS's portion) they pre-paid. It is a really big pain, but it's better than waiting months for payment only to have them drop you and come to find out they never submitted the paperwork to have them placed under your ID. Then you have to go to court and try to get the hundreds or thousands of dollars they owe.
Sorry there's so much information. If you want you can PM me or send me a message. There are many, many more warnings about DHS clients that I can tell you and the solutions I have in place to protect myself.
As for reporting for her - NO WAY ON EARTH!! You would be inviting a fraud investigation. Do NOT put your license at risk for ANYONE! Some providers make the parents report from the provider's computer during pickup at the end of the reporting cycle. I think I will be doing that since I just had a client who "forgot" to report for 6 weeks! Also, on their invoice that they get each week, I have a chart that shows the day, date, time in, time out, actual time, and time reported to DHS (because it gets rounded). This way they know what I'm reporting and why and it gives me further proof (plus the sign in/out sheets) in the event I get audited.
Number one rule when taking DHS clients or anyone for that matter - COVER YOUR OWN A**!! Number 2 rule - Never take someone at their word. Get it in writing - always!
I think when she brings the kids today for our little trial/I just don't want to deal with my kids on my day off day I am going to tell her that I will call her Monday and give her my final yes or no so that I have time to get things straight in my head and on paper. Maybe in the mean time I will get a call from somebody else that's not DHS
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