Senator Elizabeth A. Crowley (D-Central Falls, Pawtucket) led a campaign last session that led to the continuation of the transitional child care program where families who enter the program with an income below 180 percent of federal poverty guidelines could stay on until their income reaches 225 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

 

Her bill, which passed in the Senate and then was enacted through the State budget, gets rid of the September 30, 2017 termination date for the families in that income bracket.

"There are so many families in Rhode Island who are struggling financially and are in desperate need of safe and quality child care," Crowley said for a press release on the matter. "This legislation eliminates a potentially devastating cut-off date for many families who would not be able to pay for child care assistance on their own."

She continued, "This bill will protect many children in need of care and assistance and will keep parents working at their jobs rather than have to make the difficult decision to go to their jobs or care for their children."    

Stabilizing the RI Bridges system (more commonly referred to as UHIP) is still occurring, so as an interim, a manual override is occurring to remove the termination date from families' cases.

  The State continues to strive for the modern, efficient system envisioned for Rhode Island, and over the last few months have worked with Deloitte to make two releases per month.

• Pre-note automation: This automation improves the process when the provider agrees to direct deposit over paper checks by eliminating manual steps.
• Users can renew for all programs if the dates for recertification are aligned.
• Worker Portal enhancements were implemented so staff can forbid enrollments to closed providers, open providers with a new provider number and send a notification to providers for attendance submission.

• DCYF Case Processing: DCYF case transitions from Medicaid to DCYF-Medicaid can be performed more efficiently to allow foster care children to begin their DCYF Medicaid at the start of the following month instead of having to wait until the month following with a 1-month gap.
• Navigators to Manually ID Proof: Functionality was added to allow navigators to do ID proofing for their customers, which should significantly reduce calls to the contact center for manual ID proofing.
• Customer Portal Improvements: Users can more efficiently navigate the portal because of a series of changes including clearer instructions, help text and validation messages.
• SNAP Households: The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) household group composition logic was updated so that all mandatory members are included in the household.

This summer, DHS started a reconciliation process to ensure we have properly reimbursed child care providers for their services. Providers were asked to look at and/or correct a full reporting of all CCAP payments issued by the department from September 28, 2016 to June 6, 2017, which reflected child care services provided to eligible CCAP children and families through May 20, 2017.

We also asked providers to review and/or make changes to a more detailed breakdown of each payment, and that document listed additional details about each child, including our records about the hours they attended your program, their co-pay, and the net amount paid.

As of October 4, 2017:

Status	Count
Reconciliations Returned & Uploaded	103
Signed Reconciliations Received	231
Requested More Time to Review	*66
Providers Requesting Union Dues Refund	50
Yet to Return Anything	350-400
Grand Total	845

 

* Exact number not clear because some providers have multiple locations

The Rhode Island Department of Education and RI Children's Cabinet continue to work on Governor Raimondo's Third Grade Reading Action Plan. It focuses on four specific and complementary strategies aimed at doubling the percentage (to 75%) of third graders who are reading at grade level by 2025:

RIDE Commissioner Ken Wagner has some tips for families to foster a love for reading environment at home.

 

"... Make time to read, talk, and sing to your child every day, beginning at birth, to help build early language skills," Wagner begins. "Start conversations on the things that interest them, and take turns talking and listening to help your child's vocabulary grow. Create reading routines, not just by reading bedtime stories, but also by reading aloud everyday items like street signs, household packages, or labels."

 

He also said, "The books you read, the conversations you have, and the songs you sing don't have to come from a textbook. Parents teach their children every day, without even realizing it, and we should encourage these activities that help develop vocabulary and enhance literacy. If we set the example, our kids will follow, and reading will become an important part of their lives. And if we set the example early, our kids will be better prepared for the future. Reading proficiently by third grade is a key indicator of success later on, including the likelihood of graduating high school and completing college."

 

Cheers to Reading!