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340:40-10-4. Child care electronic benefit transfer (EBT) payment process

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Revised 6-1-09

(a) Child care payments. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) makes payments for child care services to providers electronically using the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system unless the provider is an in-home provider or a provider on a military base. These providers are paid manually via the EBT system after submitting Form 10AD121E, Child Care Claim. • 1

(b) Point-of-service (POS) machines. Contracted child care providers are issued a POS machine within ten days of the date the worker authorizes care for a child and the provider notifies the OKDHS contractor that he or she is beginning to care for a child eligible for an OKDHS subsidy. • 2

(c) Attendance swiping. Clients record actual times their child attends child care by swiping an EBT card through the POS machine. Providers can charge clients for care provided on days they fail to bring their EBT card or when the machine message shows care is denied. If care is later approved for that date(s), the provider must reimburse the client for any care paid for by the client above the family share co-payment.

(1) Providers must monitor the POS machine to ensure correct attendance times are recorded. If incorrect times are recorded, the provider can void the incorrect transaction and ask the client to start over. • 3
(2) When clients forget to swipe their EBT card for a day their child attends care, record incorrect times that are voided by the provider, or receive a denied error message, the system allows the client to swipe previous in and out times for the current day and the previous nine days.
(3) Based on attendance recorded and the level of care authorized, electronic settlements to providers are made weekly.

(d) EBT payment week. The EBT payment week begins every Sunday at 12:01 A.M. and ends every Saturday at midnight. Electronic settlements are made each week in the provider's designated financial institution account on Tuesday morning for services provided two weeks prior to the current week. If the financial institution is closed on Monday or Tuesday or Monday is a holiday, the electronic settlement is deposited on Wednesday morning.

(e) Manual claims process. When the provider reports he or she was not paid correctly, the provider may submit Form 10AD121E or ask the client's worker to submit Form 10EB004E, Report of EBT Child Care Payment Adjustments, to the Finance Division for a manual adjustment. The provider waits to submit Form 10AD121E until approximately the 20th of the next month. • 4 Finance Division staff evaluate whether to adjust payment to the provider based on why care was not paid electronically.

(1) If the client did not attempt to record attendance electronically, no payment is made to the provider for days swipes are not recorded unless extenuating circumstances beyond the client's and/or provider's control exist. These extenuating circumstances must be documented on Form 10AD121E. • 5
(2) If the client swiped correct attendance times but swipes were denied in error, Finance Division staff makes manual adjustments. • 6
(3) If the family share co-payment applied by the EBT system was incorrect, Finance Division staff makes manual adjustments. • 7
(4) If the provider was paid the wrong rate because of incorrect coding of the child care plan, an incorrect birth date shown for a child, or an incorrect star status paid, Finance Division staff makes manual adjustments. • 8

(f) Absent day payments. Providers can be paid an absent day payment for a child who misses some days of scheduled attendance and is authorized for a weekly unit type. An absent day payment is electronically deposited in the provider's account in their weekly settlement received after the tenth of the month following the month care was given. To be eligible to receive this additional payment, the child must be approved for a weekly unit type and attend the minimum number of full-time days shown on OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, for that month. The provider is not eligible for an absent day payment if the child did not attend the minimum number of full-time days for that calendar month or attended the maximum days paid that is also shown on OKDHS Appendix C-4-B. • 9

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-10-4

Revised 6-1-09

1. In-home providers and providers on military bases are not issued point-of-service (POS) machines. Staff in the Family Support Services Division (FSSD) Child Care Subsidy Section mails a pad of Form 10AD121E, Child Care Claim, to each provider when he or she is first approved for an Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) contract. The provider contacts the child care liaison when additional supplies of this form are needed.

2. The telephone number for the OKDHS contractor, Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), is in the provider handbook issued to new providers once their contract is approved. The child care liaison can also give this number to the provider. See OAC 340:40-13-5 for contracting information. The child care liaison contacts staff in the Electronic Benefits Disbursement (EBD) Operations Unit of the Finance Division to report any delay in installation of the POS machine.

3. Form 08CC001E, Child Care Provider Contract, advises providers of their responsibility to ensure accurate attendance is recorded by clients. Void transactions can be completed for care given on the current day and the previous nine days.

4. (a) The Finance Division waits to make manual adjustments until all money has been issued electronically for that month.

(b) The provider completes Form 10AD121E when attendance information was not correctly swiped on the system. An example of when Form 10AD121E must be completed, if care was authorized and given but ACS did not install a POS machine timely.

(c) The worker completes Form 10EB004E, Report of EBT Child Care Payment Adjustments, when attendance was correctly recorded but the provider states he or she is owed more money for a specific reason for which the worker concurs. Prior to completing Form 10EB004E, the worker makes changes to the family share co-payment or the authorization for the current month, if appropriate. This can reduce or eliminate the need for an adjustment. Instructions to Form 10EB004E contains a chart showing what action is needed.

5. Extenuating circumstances beyond the client's and/or provider's control are rare and include, but are not limited to, worker or system error. The provider must give a detailed explanation about why it was outside the control of the client to record the attendance.

6. An example is when the worker, in error, approves five days of care per month rather than five days per week of care. The client or the provider reports the error message timely, but the worker takes more than ten days to correct the authorization. Another example is when child care is reopened back to the first of the month after the tenth day of that month. The worker sends Form 10EB004E to Finance Division for a manual adjustment.

7. An example is when the client reports that income has terminated or reduced after the month starts. The worker changes the Income tab of the Family Assistance/Client Services (FACS) Interview Notebook and the Child Care tab of the Eligibility Notebook effective for the current month so the system reflects the correct co-payment. If too much co-payment has already been applied, the worker sends Form 10EB004E to the Finance Division for a manual adjustment.

8. When the provider reports a problem with the rate he or she was paid, the worker sends Form 10EB004E to the Finance Division asking for a manual adjustment. Prior to sending the form, the worker corrects the problem. For a star status problem, the worker asks staff in the Systems or Child Care Subsidy Sections of Family Support Services Division (FSSD) to push the authorization across to the OKDHS contractor. If the birth date or child care plan is incorrect, the worker corrects the case before submitting Form 10EB004E.

9. The OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, shows the minimum number of days a child must attend to receive an absent day payment. If the child is approved for a weekly unit type, he or she must attend a minimum of 15 full-time days in a 30 day month to qualify for an absent day payment. If the child attended exactly 15 days, the provider receives an absent day payment for seven days of care. If the child attended 22 days of care, no absent day payment is made since the provider would have already received the maximum payment for that month.

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