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I have had my daycare for about 2 years. I have never had an issue, but in the past 4 months, at least 4 daycare's have opened up in my area as well as the school offering an after school program that started this year. My last 2 kids that I had, there mother lost there job and now I have NO kids. I was wondering if signing up to accept child care assistance would help. I have heard good things about it, I have also heard horrible things about it. I was just wondering if anyone could offer any advise on it. I don't want to get myself into something if its really as bad as some of the things I have been told. Thanks
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In my experience, Child Care Assistance in my state has been wonderful to work with. Some of the parents have not. Some of these parents have to have their hands held and I need to keep prodding them to get their paperwork in on time. You sometimes need to remind them that if the paperwork isn't submitted by XXX date, their child won't be returning. I think that the foster parents are much more reliable than the birth parents when it comes to CCA. I actively seek foster parents for my daycare, because I find them to be very responsible and they get their paperwork done so that I can get paid! -
I think it depends on your state and how your state handles it.
My state used to be horrid....but now they are fantastic and I have no qualms about taking a family on assistance; atleast for now....once they tie the union and the union dues into the money that gets paid out to providers, I will cease taking anyone using assistance.
OP~ What state are you in? Perhaps some of the members from your state can chime in and tell you the pros and cons for your area.Comment
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I am in Wyndotte county KS. I didn't think to add that
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Everyone in the town I'm from (in Kansas, also) takes DCF payments.. I just applied to accept it last week.
So far everyone I've talked to has said that almost ALL of their clients are on state assistance and I'm crazy for not accepting it. I do live in a lower income area, though.
Hope this helps!
ETA: They have also mentioned that it's pretty simple to use.Comment
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I'm in a different state than you OP. I've gone back and forth about whether it's truly worth it. It's nice to be able to advertise that you take it.
As a former foster parent, I like being able to accept daycare assistance to help out other foster parents.
For the clients that I've had who weren't foster parents, they just happened to be the worst headache. I don't want to sterotype assistance clients, but from my experience these happened to be the clients who picked up late, didn't follow policy, etc. These were actually the only clients I've ever had to term.
I now collect a deposit (for all clients, not just assistance covered clients) and have the clients pay the difference of what isn't covered by state assistance.
Our state pays by the hour, even if we have a weekly rate. It's a hassle because they only pay for the hours the child is in care (up to a certain amount of hours determined by the families circumstances), so if the parent takes a day off to spend with the child, I don't get paid for that unless I charge the parent. So it makes the parent feel as though they have to keep their child in daycare from open to close and never pick up early or have a special mommy/child day.
It seems to be more paperwork billing hours to the state, figuring the difference for the parent, and following up with both to make sure I get paid. Since it's billed by the hour instead of my weekly rate, I can't always rely on a particular payment from either one.
I can only bill the state after the 1st and 15th of the month. It takes several weeks to recieve payment...
It's frustrating, but in the end I guess it's money.
And it's nice to be able to "offer" that service to my clients. 
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I accept families who get child care assistance.
The hassles that come from it is parents not getting their paperwork in on time when it is time to re-determine their benefits. This means that my money is held up because of it. Then when the state finally get around to it, the parent may not be approved for it again. So, all that time, you have been providing care for the child and will not be getting paid for it. When you try to collect from the parent, they cry about not being able to afford it and have to pull their child. But all along, you know they can afford it because they have husbands they don't put on their claim. They just don't want to pay for child care expenses out of their own pocket.
Another hassle is that in my state (IL), they pay by the day. I use to not charge child care assistant families anything other than their co-payment. But that has changed. Now I have them pay that and the difference of my fees. The state try to encourage us to not charge them any more, other than their late fees and other fees, but in my experience, these parents can afford more than you think they can. Some of them really can't, but you have to identify those parents.
All in all, private pay, third party pay, there are hassles in getting your money from these parents. I have a zero tolerance in no pay, and I term immediately. I use to put up with the late pays and no pays, but it kept me stressed. Now I just go to the next person.Comment
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When a parent's certificate expires, they are on pay in advance at my home, just like the other families...I won't wait for them, if you do, you never see your money if their benefits are denied, or they screw around so long that you could go without several weeks of pay (I believe our state will backdate up to 2 weeks). I don't discount for CCA parents, either. They pay all of the fees I charge everyone else, and they paid the difference between my rate and what the state reimburses (I took a smaller license and now the state pays me a higher rate and covers my entire rate). All CCA parents pay my 2-week "deposit" as well.
I have had positive experiences with CCA in my state, but I have heard lots of stories just like the one I quoted...it really probably does depend on your state and caseworkers.Comment
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My state back dates as well. It's when I've waited one to two months on them to review the documents and made a decision to not approve them this time is when I get screwed. It's usually because they aren't eligible this time around. So, they have to decide if they want to continue with my services and pay out of pocket. They decide that they do, but I have horrible experience with them paying me.
So, if the parents can be more diligent with their paperwork, my state child care assistant program would review it faster. But 9 times out of 10, they're waiting on the parent to submit needed documents.Comment
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Out of curiosity, for those who have issues with their clients not turning in paperwork on time, can't you just charge the parent out of pocket until they are covered by assistance again? I'm sure they'll start getting their stuff together when they're having to pay out of pocket, KWIM?
From what I understand in the Kansas assistance handbook, my state allows that. I'm not sure if all states do, though.Comment
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I hear you. I hope you don't think I was criticizing your response, I was trying to give advice to the original poster about making them pay when their paperwork isn't in order. I know how hard it can be to collect, so if we want to get paid, we MUST get paid in advance in all circumstances. I don't even give them ONE day to straighten it out-they get at LEAST 6 weeks notice when their paperwork needs to be renewed, if they don't get it done by then, they're not concerned about me getting paid, which makes me not concerned about whether they can go to THEIR job and get paid.Comment
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I accept it and I am in Kansas. I do not have any families who are currently using DCF services. I will have one starting soon. My policy is the family pays what DCF does not cover. Since the only pay 1.70 and hour and I do not have an hourly rate just daily the family pays what is left. If they do not have assistance paperwork done then they pay out of pocket completely until their paperwork is done.
I also have foster kids that are dck...the agency that pays for their care has been good so far.Comment
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No, I didn't feel that way at all. Your advice helps me also. When I first started out, I use to accept parents in who were just putting in a new application. That was my mistake. Now I only accept new clients that are ALREADY approved. Sometimes I don't want to accept assistance at all, but in reality, and in this economy, the only way a parent can work is to get a little assistance. Besides, that also keeps us busy and full
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My take: (in my state) IT'S A HUGE HASSLE. The hoops that need jumped through are bountiful. The parents are no more or less problematic than other parents. The coursework and paperwork required are a headache. Here, you must also participate in a STARS program. Payments take a month to get to my bank. The staff at the assistance office are overworked and hard to deal with........but.......despite all the hassles, I do it for the kids. The kids deserve a nice place care for them. I certainly don't do it for the state, for the parents, or for my bank account. I do it so low income children can get a fair shot and be equals with the children of the doctors and lawyers. Every child deserves that.Comment
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All of my daycare kids are state pay. It took a few weeks to work out the kinks and the direct deposit then went without a hitch,
UNTIL this month. I got a letter and email stating they had stopped phone call in to clock e kids in and out and to keep doing he paper way. But no notice yet on what the heck we are supposed to do with e papers. I've been calling for a eek now and all I get is " we are too busy to take your call, try again later" so I have no idea if ill get paid on the 15th of is month or not.
But in general, to answer yur question, it depends on the state.Comment
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