LCYPC & CYPC Conference Call 11 JAN 18
Agenda Welcome Roll Call Child Care Aware of America Presentation and Q&A Program Updates Questions Roll Call Conclusion
Army Fee Assistance Army Fee Assistance Program 1
AGENDA Welcome and Introductions What is Army Fee Assistance? Army Fee Assistance Programs Who is eligible? How to Apply? How is Fee Assistance determined? Fee Assistance Calculations Attendance Sheets & Payments 2
ATTENDEES Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) Installation Management Command (IMCOM) G9 Child and Youth Services 3
PRESENTERS Leshanda Thickening, CCAoA, Deputy Chief, Parent and Provider Services Krystal Pillow, CCAoA, Director, Army Fee Assistance Program Marisa Tejeda, IMCOM G9 CYS Headquarters, Contracting Officer Representative 4
What is Army Fee Assistance The U.S. Army Child, Youth and School Services helps Army Families find affordable child care. Through the fee assistance program, eligible families can receive monthly fee assistance to help offset the cost of child care in the community. Fee Assistance buys down the higher cost of off-post care, allowing eligible Families to pay fees comparable to those charged at an Installation or Army Supported Joint Base for full day services. Fee assistance compensates for the difference between a Community Based Provider s rate and an Installation s rate for similar services. Families pay the difference between the provider s rate and the fee assistance up to the provider rate cap of $1500. Fee assistance is only available to eligible Families if there is not available child care capability on the nearest installation or the Family is assigned to a geographically dispersed location. 5
Army Fee Assistance Programs Operation Military Child Care (OMCC) a program of local state LICENSED child care meeting the short term child care needs for deployed Families. Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood (MCCYN) a program of local ACCREDITTED child care providers when on-post child care is not available and has long waiting lists or is not accessible for geographically dispersed Families. The intent of OMCC and MCCYN programs is to help meet the needs of eligible, geographically dispersed Families who cannot access on post Army child care programs. These Army Community Based child care spaces are available in 50 states and may include full time, part-time, before & after school, respite care, as well as weekend and evening duty hours care. 6
Who is eligible? Families of eligible Active and Reserve Component Soldiers (Guard and Reserve Soldiers must be activated to be eligible). Department of the Army Civilians Survivors of Fallen Soldiers Wounded Warriors assigned to a Warriors in Transition Unit or Battalion (WTU/WTB) or Special Operations Command (SOCOM Spouses must work a minimum of 16 hours or enrolled in school (6 undergraduate credit hours; 3 graduate credit hours per semester) to qualify for part time fee assistance. Spouses who work 25+ hours or enrolled in school for 12 undergraduate credit hours; 9 graduate credit hours qualify for full time fee assistance. 7
How to apply To participate in the Army Fee Assistance Program, non-school age children must be enrolled in a minimum of 16 hours of care per week. School age children must be enrolled in a minimum of 6 hours of care per week during the school year and a minimum of 16 hours of care per week during summer break. Army fee assistance does not cover drop-in care for non-school age children or school age children on breaks (winter/spring break, snow days, holidays, etc.). Care must be consistent and must have a fixed schedule To complete the application online please go to https://fap.americasteamforchildcare.org If you are unable to apply online, you can download the Family Application using this link: http://usa.childcareaware.org/wp- content/uploads/2015/10/army-fee-assistance-family-application-2017-1.pdf 8
Completed Applications For an application to be complete, all documents must be received from both the family and provider, including but not limited to: Family Documents: o o o o o o Application LES Spouse Pay Stubs/School Enrollment Orders SF-50 Child s Birth Certificate Provider Documents: o o o o Application Child Care License Child Care Rates State Licensing Inspection Report o W-9 o o EIN Certificate National Accreditation Certificate (if applicable) 9
Completed Applications Once all documentation is received, CCAoA will process applications within 5 business days. If documents are missing, CCAoA will notify you immediately via email and phone but cannot begin to process the application. Families and providers have 90 days to submit all documents before they must resubmit their application. 10
How is Fee Assistance determined? The Sponsor s Army Fee Assistance Subsidy is the difference between what the Sponsor would pay for on-post child care and the community-based child care provider s rate, up to a provider rate cap of $1500 per child per month. The Army Sponsor is responsible for the on-post child care parent fee and any amount over the provider rate cap of $1500. If the difference between the Army monthly fee and your provider s rate is determined to be less than $20 a month, then a monthly amount of child care fee assistance will not be authorized. Adjustments are not made to the fee assistance amount due to annual rate changes, unless notified about the changes before fee assistance is calculated and approval certificates are sent out. When completing your application or recertifying, please disclose ALL rate changes that will occur throughout your certificate period. These may include, but are not limited to, rate changes for change in age, Before & After School, summer care, and annual provider rate changes. This will ensure that all rate changes are implemented for the certificate period and avoid any inaccurate payments. 11
Fee Assistance Calculations CCAoA Payment Policies: CCAoA pays providers monthly rather than weekly. CCAoA averages the total amount evenly between each month throughout the year. The monthly fee assistance amount will be calculated taking 4 and 5 week months into consideration. CCAoA will send letters of eligibility to families and providers notifying them of the amount of their fee assistance and eligibility period when the application is approved. 12
Attendance Sheets & Payments Approval Letter CCAoA will process all approval letters and notify families and providers via email of their new fee assistance amount. Attendance Sheets CCAoA will notify families and providers via email the effective date on which they may begin submitting attendance sheets to CCAoA. A copy of CCAoA s payment policies and attendance sheet submission calendar are included in each approval packet. To view Army Fee Assistance Payment Policies and Procedures please visit: http://usa.childcareaware.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/10/army-payment-policies_2017.pdf 13
Contact Us If you still have questions about eligibility to participate in the Army Fee Assistance program you can contact CCAoA at (800) 424-2246 8:00 am -7:00 pm Est Monday thru Friday. 14
Questions Questions and Answers 15
Program Updates FY18 QTR1 Needs Assessment Data: Data submission dates were 1OCT17 31DEC17 Data from this submission period was provided to SFPDs and LCYPC on 2JAN18 Review data provided with SFPD and discuss possible programming impacts and implementation ARNG CYS Contract Update: At this time, no updates have been provided regarding the upcoming CYS contract rebid and timeline As information is made available, the PM Team will be sure to provide updates We ask for everyone s patience with this process
Program Updates Soldier-Parent Satisfaction Survey: The intent of this survey is to measure customer (Soldier and Family Member) satisfaction and impact of services and programming being provided The Survey will be open through the end of this contract year, and then through the end of FY18 Response data will be provided to SFPDs and LCYPCs as it has been in past years Chain of Command Satisfaction Survey: The intent of this survey is to measure customer (Commanders, Military Leadership and SFPD) satisfaction and impact of services and programming being provided The Survey will be open through COB on 31JAN18 Responses must be submitted by this date to ensure inclusion in report Response data will be provided to SFPDs and LCYPCs as it has been in past years
Program Updates Cognitive Open Enrollment: Benefit open enrollment for all Cognitive employees closes 15JAN18 All Cognitive employees MUST complete the process online (even if declining benefits through the company) Open enrollment needs to be completed online: www.plansource.com/login Questions should be directed to: Evelyn Langston, Cognitive HR Manager Office: 703-562-0526 Email: evelyn.langston@cog-ps.com Cynthia Williams, Cognitive HR Specialist Office: 703-562-0528 Email: cynthia.williams@cog-ps.com
Program Updates 2018 ARNG CYS Professional Development: Location: Embassy Suites Hotel Lake Buena Vista South Website: http://embassysuites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/embassy-suites-by-hiltonorlando-lake-buena-vista-south-mcolkes/index.html Dates: 5-8 MAR 2018 Attendees: All F/T LCYPCs and CYPCs Other Important Dates 12 JAN: Confirmation of Attendance Due to RAPM 31 JAN: Travel Authorization Due to RAPM (earlier is better) 2 FEB: Final Rooming List Due to Hotel
Program Updates 2018 ARNG CYS Professional Development: Lodging A block of rooms have been secured for all attendees there is no need to contact the hotel at this time A final rooming list will be provided to the hotel by COB on 2FEB MCA States: Your room has been secured in the event contract; however, you will need to make arrangements with the hotel to individually pay for your lodging and lodging taxes Meals and Meal Per Diem The hotel will be providing a continental breakfast each day of our stay Working lunches will be provided during the two full training days (6 & 7 MAR) If you have any dietary issues/allergies, please notify your RAPM immediately so that information can be provided to the Hotel s Catering Department Manager When completing final expense reports, breakfast and lunch will need to be removed for 6 & 7 March and not included in your final reimbursement
Program Updates 2018 ARNG CYS Professional Development: Flights and Airport Shuttle All flights will need to be into/out of Orlando International Airport (MCO) You will need to arrange for the Super Shuttle ahead of time for transport to/from the hotel (https://www.supershuttle.com/locations/orlando-mco-sfb/) A roundtrip shuttle ticket should cost $38.00/per person NOTE: When booking online, be sure to change the preset tip amount to reflect $0.00, as tips are not reimbursable under the contract In-Room WiFi In-room WiFi is free for all Hilton Honors members Prior to arrival, ensure you register for Hilton Honors so you receive this offer https://secure3.hilton.com/en/hh/customer/join/joinhhonors.htm Be prepared to provide your Hilton Honors number at check-in Any charges for in-room WiFi access will not be reimbursable
Program Updates 2018 ARNG CYS Professional Development: Training and Agenda The training days will be full days, with training being provided based on contract requirements, NGB requirements and feedback from the field You are asked to arrive on-time each day to ensure training remains on schedule A final agenda will be provided prior to travel, following NGB approval PD Committees Team Building: Will work to plan and facilitate engaging activities throughout PD Share Fair: Will coordinate with individual programs to bring/share/showcase best practices or new initiatives with all L/CYPCs we ask that all programs participate in this process Social: Will gather information on local attractions for all attendees Swag Exchange: Will work to account for and coordinate the exchange at PD NOTE: As with past years, we ask each program to bring a minimum of 2 swag /marketing items for the exchange. If programs would like to bring more that 2 items, that is okay, and they will be included in the exchange
Program Updates 2018 ARNG CYS Professional Development: Professional Networking While we will do our best to plan for opportunities to network with colleagues, training days will be busy. The hotel offers a complimentary evening reception each night, which would be an ideal time to connect with and network with colleagues from other states/territories and regions Together We Are Stronger The success of Child and Youth Services resides in the great work being done at the local level in the field. Our hope is that this training will be a time for collaboration, active engagement and exchanging of ideas. Please take advantage of this valuable time together. When everyone shares their knowledge, resources and insights, it only serves to strengthen CYS at all levels!
Questions What questions are there at this time? Jeremy Van Wyk Todd Faison Erin Berry Erica Wand Program Manager Program Analyst RAPM (East) RAPM (West) National Guard Child & Youth Services National Guard Child & Youth Services National Guard Child & Youth Services National Guard Child & Youth Services O: 703.562.0544 O: 703.607.2994 O: 703.562.0546 O: 703.562.0552 M: 703.562.0545 M: 571.723.0329 M: 703.562.0547 M: 703.562.0553 jeremy.vanwyk@cog-ps.com todd.m.faison.ctr@mail.mil erin.berry@cog-ps.com erica.wand@cog-ps.com