M E M O R A N D U M

OEC-002  08/05/03  FAMIS CHANGES FOR CHILD CARE RATE ENHANCEMENTS


SUBJECT:
FAMIS CHANGES FOR CHILD CARE RATE ENHANCEMENTS
DISCUSSION:
This memorandum outlines FAMIS screen changes for the child care provider rate enhancements.  Rate enhancement eligibility is now on the Enhancement screen (FMFJ), payment detail screens, as well as the provider's Remittance Advice.  The provider's Remittance Advice now shows the base child care payment and the rate enhancement payment as separate amounts. Additional PF keys were added to other screens to aid users in accessing the new Provider Rate Enhancement screen. 

ENHANCEMENT ELIGIBILITY

Eligibility workers continue to determine eligibility for evening/weekend and special needs rate enhancements because these enhancements are specific to the child care family.  The evening/weekend rate enhancement of 15% is already added to the child authorization service codes that end with "E".  The special need rate enhancement is applied when the child's special need code is entered on the child's Reason to Waive Sliding Fee screen, FMAC.

Office of Early Childhood staff continue to determine provider eligibility for Disproportionate Share and Accreditation rate enhancements. 

Disproportionate Share rate enhancement requests are approved for providers who:

  • Are licensed by DHSS/ Bureau of Child Care,
  • Contracted with DSS, and,
  • Maintain their enrollment or license capacity of at least 50% of children whose care is paid by DSS subsidy on a monthly basis.  (Lower enrollment capacity is used in determining eligibility when the number of children in care is less than the provider's license capacity).
Provider eligibility period is one year and renewal is reviewed and updated in their last month of enhancement eligibility. 

Eligibility for the accreditation rate enhancement is based on certification from a recognized accrediting organization.  The accrediting organization determines the provider's accreditation begin and end dates.  The provider's rate enhancement starts with the date of their request for the enhancement.  The enhancement is not backdated to the first day that the provider became accredited.

Once approved, the enhancement percentage is added to the provider's rate and the higher enhanced rate is printed on the FAMIS invoices. 

Disproportionate Share or Accreditation rate enhancement approvals are effective with the first day of the month following the month of request.

Field staff is instructed to continue referring providers to the Office of Early Childhood if they are interested in the Disproportionate Share and/or Accreditation rate enhancements.

The remainder of this memorandum will describe the new rate enhancement screen (FMFJ) and other changes to inquiry screens that will assist field staff in responding to provider questions about rate enhancements. 

NEW RATE ENHANCEMENT SCREEN (FMFJ)

Disproportionate Share and Accreditation rate enhancement eligibility is moved from Resource Select Services screen, FMFC, to the Provider Rate Enhancement Screen, FMFJ.  The fastpath screen name is ENHANCE. 

To inquire about a specific provider's eligibility, type in the DVN.  The search is performed for the current search month.  If eligibility for another month is needed, change the service month and press enter. 

FMFJ Search results for current service month:

1.  Provider information, such as, the provider name, address, county location of the provider, tax identification number, legal status as licensed or license-exempt, and contract/registered status appear in the screen header. 

In addition, the percentage of increase appears for each active type of rate enhancement determined by Central Office.  The Disproportionate Share rate enhancement is a 30% increase on the base rate.  The Accreditation rate enhancement is a 20% increase on the base rate. This increase is added to the provider's state rate for all subsidy paid children in care with this provider.  The family's sliding fee is deducted from this increased rate when the rates are printed on the FAMIS invoices.

A provider may be eligible for both the Disproportionate Share and the Accreditation rate enhancements, which results in a 50% increase to the provider's state rate. 

2.  Each enhancement type for which the provider is eligible displays separately in the body of the screen and each enhancement type has begin and end dates. 

Disproportionate Share rate enhancement displays with a type code of DSP.  The begin date is determined by the date of the provider's request for this enhancement.  Disproportionate Share eligibility also requires the percentage of children whose care is paid by DSS subsidy.  This percentage is entered at approval and at renewal in the %SUB field. 

3. Accreditation rate enhancement eligibility displays by the type of accrediting 
organization: 

  • MOA = Missouri Accreditation,
  • NAE  = NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children),
  • NAF  = NAFCC (National Association for Family Child Care), and
  • OTH  = Other recognized accrediting organizations.
In addition to the begin and end dates of the accreditation, a provider may be accredited for a specific age group.  Some accrediting organizations recognize school-age child care programs while others recognize all ages of care.  The age groups of children are indicated by IN (infant), PS (pre-school), and SA (school-age).  When a "Y" indicator appears in an age group, the rate for all subsidy paid children is increased by 20%.

A provider may be accredited by more than one recognized accrediting organization but would receive only one 20% increase to their state rate.

4. Two function keys are new to rate enhancements, F16=AUDIT INFO and
F17=SELINVOC.  Audit Info displays the userid, date, and time that the selected row was added or updated.  The F17 option takes the user to the Select Invoice screen and immediately displays the selected provider's invoices for the searched service month.

The provider's current license begin and end dates from the Department of Health and Senior Services, Bureau of Child Care, MOHSAIC system also displays.  When the license end date is in the past, the LIC code in the header is highlighted and the message: "Provider is not licensed by MOHSAIC" displays at the bottom of the screen.

When the search results in no rate enhancement information, enter a past service month to continue your search.

SCREEN CHANGES TO ACCOMMODATE RATE ENHANCEMENT

  • CHILD CARE PROVIDER MAINTENANCE MENU (FME0) - Option 4 to access the Provider Rate Enhancement screen was added.
  • SELECT SERVICES (FMFC) - Provider rate enhancement eligibility is removed from this screen.  A function key, F17=ENHANCE, was added to access the rate enhancement eligibility screen, FMFJ.
  • CHILD CARE ATTENDANCE DIRECT PAY (FM5P) - A Disproportionate Share Indicator (DISP) is in the screen header.  A "Y" indicates that the invoice prices include the 30% increase.  "N" indicates that Disproportionate Share rate enhancement is not added into the invoice price.
A Special Needs Indicator (SPND) "Y" or "N" displays for each child.  Special Needs "Y" indicates that the Special Needs rate enhancement of 25% is added to the invoice price for the specific child.
An Accreditation Rate Enhancement Indicator (ACRD) "Y" or "N" displays for each child.  ACRD "Y" indicates that the Accreditation rate enhancement of 20% is added to the invoice price.
The MAX amount field is removed. 
A function key, F17=ENHANCE, accesses the provider's rate enhancement eligibility from the Attendance Direct Pay screen.
  • CHILD CARE ATTENDANCE REIMBURSEMENT (FM6C) - The Special Needs Indicator (SPND) displays for each child.  Special Needs "Y" indicates that the Special Needs rate enhancement of 25% is added for the specific child.  The Override Indicator (OVRD) is removed.
  • CHILD CARE PAYMENT DETAIL (FM5Q) - Two function keys were added to this screen, F16=RATEADJ and F17=ENHANCE.  F16=Rate Adjustment function key accesses details about a child's payment, such as the Disproportionate Share, Accreditation, and Special Needs amounts paid.
F17=ENHANCE accesses the provider's rate enhancement eligibility.
  • CHILD CARE ATTENDANCE CORRECTIONS (FM60) - The Special Needs Indicator (SPND) "Y" or "N" displays for the child named in the screen header.  Special Needs "Y" indicates that the Special Needs rate enhancement of 25% is added for any units added on this screen.  Any dollar amount paid via the Correction field will not have any enhancements applied to the payment unless the user includes those enhancements in that dollar amount entry. 
A function key, F17=ENHANCE, accesses the provider's rate enhancement eligibility, FMFJ.
PROVIDER PAYMENT NOTICE
The Remittance Advice notices, which are sent to providers with their child care payments, now have the payment for each child itemized by enhancement type.  Since these notices are not available on-line, an example of the changes is shown below:
Provider:  ABC Child Care Center DVN: 003456789
 
DCN
CHILD NAME		 SERVICE
DATE
UNITS		 SERVICE
DESCRIPTION		 TOTAL BASE 
RATE PAID		 TOTAL
DISP		 TOTAL
ACRD		 TOTAL
SPND		 TOTAL
PAYMENT
1111111111 JOHNNY SMITH 08-2003 22 CINF $566.50 $169.95 $736.45
2222222222 ANDY PARKS 08-2003 10 CPSH $150.00 $45.00 $37.50 $232.50

Gross Amount:
Recoupment Amount:
Check Amount:
$968.95
$0.00
$968.95
NECESSARY ACTION:
  • Review with all appropriate staff.
  • Continue to determine eligibility for Evening/Weekend and Special Needs rate enhancements locally.
  • Submit requests for Disproportionate Share and Accreditation rate enhancements to the Office of Early Childhood.
  • Inquire about a provider's eligibility for Disproportionate Share and Accreditation rate enhancements on the Provider Rate Enhancement screen, FMFJ.
DE
OEC-1
[ 2003 OEC Memorandums ]
OEC-3