State of Kansas Department of Social
and Rehabilitation Services
Gary Daniels, Acting Secretary
Integrated Service Delivery - Candy Shively,
Deputy Secretary (785) 296-3271
Economic and Employment Support - Bobbi Mariani, Director
(785) 296-3349
MEMORANDUM
This memo provides implementation instructions for
the September 2005 revision to the Kansas Economic and Employment
Support Manual (KEESM). Staff are encouraged to ask questions after
implementation as this revision contains information for child care
benefits on EBT which is a major program change. Information on
the following aspects is contained in this memo:
- Effective date of statewide EBT CC implementation and implications;
- Impact on clients;
- Impact on providers; and
- Overpayments/Canceling CC benefits on EBT
Staff may also refer to previous information released on this project,
including EBT
CC Centra materials, EES
intranet, KsCares
training material and user
manuals and internet information,
and parent and provider training videos.
- Effective dates of EBT CC - Statewide implementation will
begin September 1, 2005. Pilot areas began June 1, 2005.
Staff in the
statewide areas are encouraged to collaborate with pilot
area staff and Central Office during the initial months
of the change. On September
1, 2005, client benefits for child care will be available
for the client to purchase September care. August care (and
any unpaid months
prior to August) will be paid by SRS directly to providers
via time sheets.
Beginning September 1, 2005, EBT will be the state standard for
delivery of child care benefits. Any child care subsidy payments
made outside of the EBT system will require Central Office approval.
In-Home Care - All child care plans using In-Home care and
being paid to the client shall end no later than August 31,
2005. New
plans for the case shall begin September 1, 2005 using the
actual provider of care as the provider on the plan. Under EBT
CC, providers
hired by clients to give care in the child’s home will be
treated like other providers. This means the actual provider
(not the client) will need to be put on KsCares and enroll
with eFunds
Corp. Child care plans authorized on CHCP will use the actual
provider, and this provider will need to be able to accept
payment for services
electronically.
Reports on SAR - Three reports will be available
to staff for case management.
- Provider Not Paid Report - This report will contain
case level information. The report will indicate if a provider
who was expected to be paid for
a month (had a plan authorized) was not paid at all.
- New Provider Paid Report - This report will contain case level information.
It will indicate if a new provider was paid that month (no plan was
authorized with that provider).
- Large Balance Report - This report will contain case level information.
It will indicate if a case has a large balance left over from a previous
month.
KsCares notices will be available to assist staff
in addressing possible issues that may
be presented on
these various reports.
Staff are
encouraged to provide
feedback on the usefulness of the reports and any
desired modifications. The first report may indicate
that the client’s needs have
changed and they no longer need child care subsidy.
The second report may indicate
that a provider
change has occurred that was not reported. The
third report may indicate that the client or provider
is struggling with paying through the
new system, benefits
need to be adjusted or child care subsidy is no
longer
needed. When staff see cases on these
reports, they should
decide if further investigation
is needed.
Staff should contact the client to obtain any information
needed.
- Client Impact - With the change to EBT CC, child care
subsidy will be a monthly benefit similar to cash and food
stamps. Clients
will need to discuss payment schedules and fees with their
provider(s). SRS will not tell clients when to pay their
provider or how much
to pay. If the client exhausts benefits for one month, they
will not receive benefits again until the next month. Parents
will pay
the provider through either a provider’s POS machine or through
the toll-free telephone option (ARU). An ARU Worksheet (ES-1605)
is available to parents/providers to document payments that
are made over the phone.
Clients and providers will continue to receive Child Care Service
Plans. In addition, clients will receive a Family Plan each month.
This Family Plan itemizes the lump sum monthly benefit they see
on the card. This Family Plan will be sent at the beginning of the
month prior to the benefit month. This will allow the client time
to report any changes in hours/benefits needed for the next month.
Clients will be responsible for insuring that hours of need are
communicated to the worker. A Child Care Plan Hours Worksheet will
be available in the KEESM Appendix. It will help staff document
child care hours needed for the benefit. School-age children may
be especially difficult to calculate appropriate hours. Clients
should be responsible for supplying the necessary information (i.e.,
- school schedules). Staff are allowed discretion when calculating
benefits for school-age child needs. Some staff may choose to average
hours needed over the school year to supply a continual subsidy
to be used toward the purchase of care. Staff should discuss this
option with the client and document in the case file. Staff are
reminded that child care plans may be as long as 12 months, but
may be shorter. Staff discretion is allowed as long as shorter plans
do not create a hardship for the client.
An interview is strongly recommended. Ideally, this should be
done at application. An interview allows the worker to educate the
client on responsibilities, use of the subsidy, and how to pay the
provider. It is understood that face to face interviews are often
difficult with a working population. A face to face interview may
be waived in lieu of a telephone interview. If neither are feasible,
the interview may be waived. Documentation should be included in
the case file.
EBT card issuance procedures in place for cash/food stamps shall
be applicable for child care as well. Viewing the training video
and allowing the client to ask questions is optimal, however, mailing
cards with remote PIN selection instructions is acceptable. A KsCares
notice, C120, is available for use with mailing cards and remote
PIN selection. A KsCares notice, C107, is also available for use
with clients who already have a card, but are adding child care
benefits. Whenever a card is issued, either through the mail or
in person, the client should be given the How to Use Your Vision
Card for Child Care Benefits brochure. They should also be informed
of how to contact the agency if they have questions.
Under EBT CC, the family share takes on a new meaning. The
agency will no longer restrict providers to only charging clients
what
SRS pays. Per federal regulations, the agency must assign
a sliding fee (family share). This family share is deducted
from the estimated
cost of care before the benefit is issued to the client.
The client then uses this benefit toward the cost of care each
month. The benefit
plus the family share deducted may still not cover the full
cost of care depending on the client’s provider choice.
- Impact on Providers - Providers will need to have business
practices in place and be able to communicate payment rules
to clients. SRS
will no longer pay providers directly. Providers will need
to keep their own records for tracking payments from parents
and for taxes.
Providers will no longer get a form 1099 from SRS every year.
Providers will get a 1099 from SRS in February 2006, but
it will only contain
state payments made in 2005 prior to EBT CC implementation.
Along with being enrolled by SRS, authorized providers will
also need
to enroll with eFunds Corp. in order to receive electronic
payments from parents. Checks/direct deposit from the state
can only be authorized
with Central Office approval. Providers unable/unwilling to
get a traditional checking/savings bank account should request
information
on a cash pay/pay card option. Many banks and credit unions
have options available for people who need to receive a
payment electronically.
In-Home providers are included. The actual In-Home provider
will need to be able to receive payment electronically.
Providers are
encouraged to seek assistance from the local Child Care Resource
and Referral agency if they need help setting up business
practices.
- Overpayments/Canceling EBT Benefits - Initially, KsCares
will not have a benefit reduction option for recovering
client overpayments.
If there is an overpayment to a case, it should be processed
and put on KsCares. The methods of recovery are as follows:
direct payment
by the client to the agency, client authorization to repay
using existing benefits, state Debt Set-off (i.e., - tax
refunds). A child
care benefit reduction option is currently in the design phase.
In some cases, unused benefits can be cancelled on the
EBT system. This would remove the inappropriate benefit from
the case, hence
not allowing it to be used and preventing the need for establishment
of a client overpayment. Procedures for canceling EBT benefits
can be found in KEESM 1513.5. The following lists situations
where this option could be utilized:
- Incorrect payment due to system error. Example
- There were a few situations during pilot when
KsCares issued benefits
inappropriately. They were issued as a result of
the way that worker input information, but still should
not
have
issued by the system.
Helpdesk was notified and those problems were fixed.
Since the client was not expected any of the extra
benefits (system
error), those
benefits were cancelled on the EBT system.
- Duplicate payments. There were times during
pilot when workers would inadvertently set up duplicate
child
care plans on
the system. This is sometimes done when vacant caseloads
are being covered and staff do not realize plans
have already been done or
if staff do not pay attention to CHCM to see that
plans have been authorized. This also creates extra
benefits that the client was
not expecting. The duplicate benefits could be cancelled
on the EBT system.
- Client request to prevent an overpayment. In
the case of a pure overpayment (i.e. - client
did not report timely, worker
calculated income incorrectly, etc.), if the
client has not used the benefits so they remain on
the card, the
client
can request
in writing that the overpaid benefits be cancelled
in order to prevent an official overpayment.
- Extenuating circumstances. Since EBT CC is
new, there may be more situations that come up
that may require
benefit cancellation.
If a worker feels that benefit cancellation would be
the best way to remedy a situation, the worker can request
supervisory
and Child
Care Policy Manager approval for cancellation.
All other incorrect payment situations are considered overpayments
unless benefits are not used and age off of the EBT system.
Staff are encouraged to pursue any needed clarifications through
the appropriate channels. As staff become accustomed to
the new EBT CC system, they are encouraged to develop program improvement
options to be considered by Central Office management and
other
Regions.
BM:MSW:jmm
ATTACHMENTS: Child Care Changes Side by Side
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