MLICCI Executive Director Carol Burnett responds to recent audit report on the Child Care Payment Program

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department recently released the final rule in the federal Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), rolling back some changes made by the Biden Administration. One is of particular interest to Mississippi. It rolls back a requirement to pay centers for services to families based on child enrollment rather than days of child attendance. The final rule allows states to decide whether to pay based on enrollment. 

Mississippi began paying centers that participate in the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) based on enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This helped stabilize center income at a critical time, which helped countless essential workers show up to work each day. Following the pandemic, Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) opted to continue paying based on enrollment, a practice that has continued to stabilize center revenue and stabilize child care for working parents.

A recent report from the Mississippi State Auditor’s Office suggests this practice invites fraud or waste. However, there are limits placed on allowed absences in CCPP that anticipate every family situation. When children are enrolled in a child care center, they occupy a slot. An absent child does not affect the costs incurred by centers. They still need the same number of teachers and educational supplies in a classroom regardless if a child is absent, which requires stable funding. Centers often charge parents for the full week even if their children are absent, so it follows that child care subsidies work the same way.

MDHS keeps track of children enrolled at CCPP centers. In fact, licensed child care centers are regulated and monitored regularly by multiple state agencies. Controls are in place to ensure enrollment-based reimbursements do not result in wasteful spending. Further, the federal CCDF regulations that govern CCPP rigorously prevent fraud. 

The Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative urges MDHS to continue the practice of paying centers based on enrollment.

For a thorough review of CCDF monitoring, please refer to this brief from Dr. Ruth Friedman, former director of the HHS Office of Child Care: https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/program-integrity-and-accountability-in-the-child-care-and-development-fund-program/