Greetings!

Welcome a special edition of the ELRC Newsletter for Regions 9, and 10!!

CCW Updates and Information

In an effort to keep you up to date, please read the following regarding your CCW enrollments, absences, payments and copays.
 
Effective March 1, 2020 ( Updated ) through April 30, 2020 all CCW payments to child care providers will be made regardless of program operation or reason for closure. In addition, during this time period, child absences will not count toward the annual 40-day limit. CCW payment will not be made based on children’s attendance in the program, but will be made based on current enrollment.
 
For the month of March,  CCW payments will be made regardless of attendance for 3/1 – 3/31. You do NOT have to mark attendance for ANY days in March. You still have to submit, but you can mark “NO CHANGE” for every child.

Attendance invoices were mailed out this week. They are due no later than 4/5/20. Please do one of the following ( #1 or #2 are preferred) :
  1. Submit attendance on PSS (Provider Self Service)
  2. Scan written invoice & email it to: [email protected]
  3. Take a picture of written invoice & email it to: [email protected]
  4. Only as a last option, if you do not have access to any of the above:
  • Mail to one of the CCC offices
  • Fax to 717-843-4158 (ELRC 10) or 717-210-3373 (ELRC 9)

Please ensure that your invoice is signed. Electronic signatures are acceptable.

If child care closes, the ELRC will not suspend children due to the closing of the facility, but allow all children who are enrolled in CCW at the time of the closing to remain enrolled. ELRCs will not enroll a child with a new provider under any circumstances. The enrollment must stay with the closed provider. This is a directive from OCDEL. If a program operating on a waiver chooses to enroll a CCW family (needing “essential care”), please note that payments will only be made to the program the child was enrolled in on 3/13. The “new” program will NOT receive payment for this child.

OCDEL recognizes that families will also be impacted by changes to their own work schedule and income during child care closures related to COVID-19. Child care providers will not collect the family copays for CCW for the period of the closure. If a provider continues to operate under a waiver or as a group or family child care home in a residential setting, the provider may collect copayments from families whose children are actually in care. A provider who remains open may not collect the copayment from families whose children are not currently receiving care.

Additional Q&A clarifications from OCDEL:
If a provider is closed and has been directed not to collect the copayment, is the Department making up the copay portion in payment to the provider?
The Department will not make up the copay portion of the payment. The Department will only pay the portion the Department usually pays.
 
What if a provider was open on Monday, March 16, prior to being ordered to close and already collected the copayment for the week?
If the provider provided service on Monday, the provider can keep the copayment. If the child was not scheduled to attend on Monday and the copayment was not due until later in the week, the provider should not collect the copayment. If the copayment was due on Monday and the family did not pay the copayment, the provider can report the delinquent copayment to the ELRC, but at this time, the ELRC will not send an Adverse Action Notice.
Reporting Child Care Closures

Early learning programs that choose to or are directed to close due to COVID-19 must do the following:

1 . Email OCDEL at [email protected] to report that the program is closing due to COVID-19.

2. Use one of the following subject lines, as appropriate for the program:

Child Care Closure - < Insert Name of County>
PKC Closure - < Insert Name of County>
HSSAP - < Insert Name of County>
EI Closure - < Insert Name of County>
HV Closure - <Insert Name of County>

3. Include the following information in the email to OCDEL:

  • Program name
  • Program address
  • Program telephone number
  • Number of children enrolled at the program
  • Date of closing
  • Anticipated date of reopening, if known
  • Reason for closure (child/family illness, staff illness, general mitigation efforts)
 
NOTE : If programs have multiple locations or funding streams that are affected by a closure, please list all programs within the body of one email.
 
NOTE : Programs that were operating with an approved waiver but have decided to close should report the closure using the process above. If you report a closure and later you decide to extend the closure beyond your originally anticipated date of reopening, you do not need to send a second notification regarding your closure . To ensure timely processing of this information, please submit only one email with the above information. Do not use this email to submit questions or comments. If you have questions, please contact your certification representative.

Please also cc your Quality Coach when sending the notification email.
Certification Updates

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is committed to serving vulnerable populations every day, and that commitment will not waiver in the face of an emergency. In order to assure protection of those who are in a DHS licensed setting, staff in DHS licensed settings and our DHS licensing staff, DHS will be taking steps to address the current situation.

1.       From March 16 th to March 30 th , DHS will not be conducting any annual licensing inspections. Any inspections scheduled for this timeframe will be completed as soon as possible once normal operations resume. 
2.       Licensing staff will continue to conduct on-site investigations for any serious incident or complaint during this time period. 
3.       If a facility currently has a provisional license or its revoked license is under appeal, an on-site visit may occur as necessary during this time.
4.       Currently, DHS is not able to send out annual license renewals. As such, if during this time you would have received a renewed license packet then your existing license is still valid.  
6.       In the coming days, DHS will be issuing guidance on specific regulations that will be suspended under the authority of the Governor’s Proclamation of Disaster Emergency issued on March 6, 2020, to help providers in dealing with the current emergency and maintain a healthy environment for those they serve and their employees.
7.       DHS is currently and will continue to evaluate future needs and plans for how we will conduct licensing and will support those we license. As we develop this future guidance, we will keep you informed.
8.       As you have questions on any issues, please contact your regional office licensing representative. DHS staff continue to work during this time period, and you should contact the regional office using their phone number or email. 
9.       In addition to following the protocol at the Department of Health’s website , if a facility has a person diagnosed with COVID-19, it needs to be reported to your licensing regional offices.
Updates from the Office of Child Development and Early...

COVID-19 is active in Pennsylvania, and operational guidance in response to COVID-19 is being updated regularly. We'd like to share a few updates and clarify the waiver process for child care centers and group child care homes operating outside...

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Thank you for all you do for children, families, and your community!
Sincerely,
Child Care Consultants
(717) 854-2273 or (800) 864-4925    [email protected]