Library: Policy

340:40-10-4. Child care electronic benefit transfer (EBT) payment process

Revised 9-15-23

(a) Child care payments. Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) makes payments for child care services to providers electronically using the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system unless the provider is an in-home child care provider. In-home child care providers are paid manually via the EBT system after submitting Form 10AD121E, Child Care Claim. • 1

(b) Point-of-service (POS) machines. Contracted child care providers are issued a POS machine within 10-calendar days of the date the child care provider notifies the OKDHS contractor that the provider started caring for a child authorized for OKDHS subsidized child care and submits all necessary forms to the contractor. • 2

(c) Recording attendance. Clients and authorized representatives use the POS machine or the mobile app to record actual times their child attends child care. Child care providers may charge clients for care provided on days they fail to record attendance or when a denied error message is received. When the client pays for child care that is later approved for that date(s), the child care provider must reimburse the client for any care paid above the family share copayment amount.

(1) Child care providers monitor the POS machine or mobile app to ensure correct attendance times are recorded. When incorrect times are recorded, the provider may void the incorrect transaction and ask the client to start over. • 3

(2) When clients or authorized representatives forget to record attendance for a day their child attends care, record incorrect times that the provider voids, or receive a denied error message, the system allows the client or authorized representative to record previous in and out times for the current day and the previous nine days.

(3) Based on attendance recorded and the level of care authorized, electronic settlements to child care providers are made weekly.

(d) EBT payment week. The EBT payment week begins every Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and ends every Saturday at midnight. Electronic settlements are made each week in the child care provider's designated financial institution account on Tuesday morning for services provided two weeks prior to the current week. When the financial institution is closed on Monday or Tuesday, or Monday is a holiday, the electronic settlement is deposited on Wednesday morning.

(e) Manual claims process. When the child care provider reports a payment error, the provider may submit Form 10AD121E to the OKDHS Financial Services Electronic Payment Services (EPS) Unit for a manual adjustment. • 4 Manual claims must be submitted within 90-calendar days of the error. EPS staff evaluates whether to adjust the payment to the provider based on the reason care was not paid electronically.

(1) When the client or authorized representative does not attempt to record attendance electronically, OKDHS does not pay the child care provider for those days unless extenuating circumstances beyond the client's, authorized representative's, or provider's control exist. These extenuating circumstances must be documented on Form 10AD121E. • 5

(2) EPS staff makes manual adjustments when the:

(A) client records correct attendance times that are denied in error; • 6

(B) EBT system applies an incorrect family share copayment; or • 7

(i) the child care plan is incorrectly coded;

(ii) an incorrect birth date is entered for a child; or

(iii) an incorrect star status is paid. • 8

(f) Absent-day payments. Child care providers may receive an absent-day payment for a child who misses some scheduled attendance days. To be eligible, the child must qualify for a weekly unit type and attend the minimum number of full-time days, per OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, for that month. The provider is not eligible for an absent-day payment when the child did not attend the minimum number of full-time days for that calendar month or attended the maximum days paid, per OKDHS Appendix C-4-B. The EBT system deposits an absent-day payment in the provider's account in their weekly settlement. The provider receives the settlement after the 10th day of the month following the month the child was absent from care. • 9

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-10-4

Revised 9-15-23

1. In-home child care providers are not issued point-of-service (POS) machines. Adult and Family Services (AFS) Child Care Subsidy Unit staff mails paper copies of Form 10AD121E, Child Care Claim, to each in-home provider when approving a provider's contract. The in-home provider contacts AFS Child Care Subsidy Unit staff to order additional forms or prints copies from the Provider Web at https://www.connectebt.com/ecc/.

2. (a) The phone number for Conduent, the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) contractor, is in the provider handbook issued to new providers when their contract is approved. Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:40-13-5 for contracting information.

(b) AFS Child Care Subsidy Unit staff contacts Financial Services Electronic Payments Systems (EPS) Unit staff to report any delay in POS machine installation.

3. Providers may only void transactions for child care given on the current day and the previous nine days.

4. (a) EPS staff makes payment adjustments when payments are made for the time period the manual adjustment is requested.

(b) The provider completes Form 10AD121E when recorded attendance is denied and the client does not correct the error within 10-calendar days or, due to extenuating circumstances, attendance information is not entered in the system. Extenuating circumstances may include when:

(1) recorded attendance is denied and the client cannot correct the error within 10-calendar days because of worker delay in application approval; or

(2) care is authorized and provided, but attendance information cannot be entered into the system because the EBT contractor did not install a POS machine timely.

(c) The worker completes Form 10EB004E, Report of EBT Child Care Payment Adjustments, when attendance is correctly recorded but the worker determines the child care provider was not paid correctly.

(1) Prior to completing Form 10EB004E, the worker makes changes to the family share copayment or the authorization for the current month, when appropriate. This may reduce or eliminate the need for an adjustment.

(2) After submitting Form 10EB004E to EPS staff, the worker documents what month(s) is included in the supplement, the reason the form is needed, and the date it was submitted in Family Assistance/Client Services (FACS) case notes.

5. Extenuating circumstances may include worker or system errors. The child care provider must give a detailed explanation on Form 10AD121E as to why it was beyond the client's or authorized representative's control to record attendance.

6. This may occur when child care benefits are reopened more than 10-calendar days after the effective closure date. The child care provider must submit Form 10AD121E to EPS to request the payment adjustment.

7. This may occur when the client reports income terminated or reduced after the month starts. The worker changes the income on the case for the current month so the system reflects the correct family share copayment. When too much copayment is applied, the worker sends Form 10EB004E to EPS to request a payment adjustment. After submitting the form to EPS staff, the worker documents what month(s) is included in the supplement, the reason the form is needed, and the date it was submitted in FACS case notes. Once Oklahoma Human Services (OKDHS) reimburses the child care provider, the provider must return any portion of the family share copayment the client paid that was not owed.

8. When there is a problem with the rate the child care provider is paid, the worker sends Form 10EB004E to EPS requesting a payment adjustment after correcting the problem. For a star status problem, the worker submits a Remedy ticket to the AFS Help Desk to push the authorization across to the Electronic Payment Processing Information Control (EPPIC) system. When the birth date, number of units, or unit type is incorrect, the worker corrects the case before submitting Form 10EB004E. After submitting the form to EPS staff, the worker documents what month(s) is included in the supplement, the reason the form is needed, and the date it was submitted in FACS case notes.

9. OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, shows the minimum number of days a child with a weekly unit type must attend to receive an absent-day payment. For example, a child approved for a weekly unit type must attend a minimum of 15 full-time days in a 30-day month to qualify for an absent-day payment. When the child attends exactly 15 days, the child care provider receives an absent-day payment for seven days of care. When the child attends 22 days of care, no absent-day payment is made since the provider received the maximum payment for that month.