Child Care Management System

1
Child Care Management System
PSCQ is a project of the Health and Community
Services Workforce Council Inc.  The Australian
Government funds the Professional Support
Coordinator initiative as part of the Inclusion
and Professional Support Program.
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Session 1

• At the end of this session participants will
  have knowledge of
• What is CCMS?
• Time line for transition
• Key changes
• How will the CCMS affect parents?
• What support is available during and after
  transition?
• Computer, internet and software requirements

3
What is CCMS

• What is the Child Care Management System
• Way of moving information between services, DEEWR
  and Centerlink over the internet
• New way that CCB fee reductions will be managed
• Improve the information on child care supply and
  usage
• Services will provide attendance information to
  DEEWR via the internet to allow calculation and
  payment of CCB reductions

4
What is CCMS

• How will it work
• Services will send information about all children
  in their care over the internet weekly or
  fortnightly to DEEWR
• Payments processed by DEEWR and sent to services
  bank account
• Calculation of CCB will be undertaken by Family
  Assistance Office

5
Transition

• The CCMS is being progressively implemented
  across over 11,000 child care services
• Services started transitioning on 4 February 2008
• All types of child care services need to
  transition

6
Timeline

• Services will be contacted by DEEWR to agree a
  date for transition
• Letters sent to scheme/service
• 60 days prior to transition
• 30 days prior to transition

7
Key Changes

• Services will
• now deal with DEEWR rather than the FAO
• Move from quarterly in advance payments to
  payments in arrears
• No longer be required to calculate reduction
  amounts FAO will do this
• Payments made weekly (or fortnightly) once
  information on attendance is received
• Create an enrolment for each child in care

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How will CCMS affect parents?

• Parents still deal with FAO
• Eligibility for CCB remains the same
• Still elect to receive CCB as fee reductions or
  lump sum
• Online statement from Centrelink called View
  Child Care Attendance Online Service Facility
  which includes details of CCB payments and
  absences

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How will CCMS affect parents?

• No longer have to tell FAO which service their
  child is using
• Provide date of birth
• Nominate hours at each service
• Absences
• Need to advise the FAO when a child starts school
  before six years of age

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What support is available during and after
transition

• CCMS Learning Package/communication
• CCMS Helpdesk Support
• Centrelink will provide support for CCB claims
  before transition date
• Centrelink will continue to provide support for
  families
• Transition payment
• Enrolment advances

11
Money always helps

• Financial Assistance for Transition
• Set Transition Payment
• Additional Funding
• CCMS Reference Manual page 19

12
Set Transition Payment

• Grant of 1000 (capped at 15000 for
  organisations who operate more then 15 services)
• Available to all services
• Must be used to support your transition to CCMS
• Keep a record of how this money is spent
• If you fail to transition money will be recovered
  by DEEWR
• CCMS Reference Manual page 20

13
Additional Assistance Payment

• An additional payment of up to 2100 is available
  
• Funds must be spent on costs associated with your
  transition
• Keep receipts of how you spent this money
  (including the initial set payment)
• Any used funds will need to be returned to DEEWR
• CCMS Reference Manual page 20

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Additional Assistance Payment

• What can you spend it on
• computer ( up to 1000)
• Internet connection (up to 300)
• New software (up to 800)
• Training
• Other costs associated with operating in remote
  areas
• What you cant spend it on
• ongoing resources or administrative costs
• non-essential computer upgrades
• ongoing cost such as monthly broadband fees
• other costs not directly related to transition to
  the CCMS

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Enrolments

• You must create an enrolment for each child in
  your service.
• Enrolments should be created
• When you transition
• For all new children
• Three types of enrolments
• Formal
• Informal
• AMEP/Other
• CCMS Reference Manual page25

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Enrolment Advances

• A payment your service can elect to be paid when
  a formal enrolment is established.
• Available for all service types except occasional
  care
• Payment to assist services move from advance to
  arrears payments
• Enrolment advances will be recovered once an
  enrolment has ended.
• CCMS Reference Manual page 45

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Enrolment and Enrolment Advance Example 1

• Mary has one child James, in both FDC and LDC.
  Mary has provided both James and her date of
  birth and CRNS to both the FDC and LDC service.
  This means that both services have the
  information that they need to make a formal
  enrolment and each service will be able to claim
  an Enrolment Advance.

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Enrolment and Enrolment Advance Example 2

• Michaels parents, Kate and Colin, are separated
  and have shared care of Michael. Both parents
  have visited FAO and each have a CRN.
• On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Michael lives
  with Colin and attends a Long Day Care service.
• On Thursday and Friday, Michael lives with Kate
  and attends the same Long Day Care service.
• The service would create two formal enrolments
• Michael and Colin combination
• Michael and Kate combination
• The service would also be able to claim two
  Enrolment Advances for this child.

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Attendance Absence records

• Attendance records
• For all children at the service
• Submit over the internet to DEEWR
• Submit weekly or fortnightly
• Submit no later than 14 days after the end of the
  week which the attendance relates to
• Services will be required to report actual in and
  out times and attendance times for each child for
  a four week period during the year
• CCMS Reference Manual pages 49 - 55

20
Absences

• Each child has 42 days per financial year this
  includes public holidays (no record is required)
• Additional absences may be claimed in certain
  circumstances
• FAO will maintain a count of absences for each
  child
• CCMS Reference Manual pages 57 - 60

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Attendance Example 1

• Wendy has one child, Jasmine in both LDC and
  FDC.
• The LDC session for Jasmine runs from 12.00 to
  5.00pm. The FDC session for Jasmine runs from
  4pm to 8pm. Because of Wendys work schedule
  Jasmine is picked up from LDC at 3.30 in order to
  be dropped off with FDC carer.
• Both services are able to claim CCB for the
  sessions attended by Jasmine, even though there
  is an overlap of times.

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Attendance and Absence Example

• Maria has one child, Peter, in FDC 3 days per
  week.
• One week Maria is required to travel interstate
  for work and has to take Peter with her as there
  is no one to care for him at home. Maria has
  booked Peter into a LDC service interstate for
  the 3 days.
• While Peter is away the FDC scheme claims
  absences for the three days.
• The interstate LDC service submits attendance to
  claim CCB for the 3 days that Peter is in care
  with them.
• Both services are eligible to claim CCB for the
  3 days.

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Computer and Internet requirements

• Services may need to
• purchase new computer hardware or upgrade
  existing
• Arrange for internet access broadband/satellite/
  dial up
• Purchase a new modem

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Computer and Internet requirements

• Is there support if your computer crashes
• Setting up your computer who does this?
• Apply for transition payments

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Software Selection

• Check the software providers are registered with
  DEEWR list is available on the DEEWR website.
• Consider the support provided initial and
  ongoing
• What training is available
• Cost of training
• Will you be able to transfer data from your
  current system?

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Software Selection continued

• Ask for a demonstration copy of the program to
  trial
• Shop around and ask other services what they are
  using
• Form a support network of local services that use
  the same program

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Who to contact if there is a problem / enquiry

• Family enquiries or problems regarding the
  following area-
• CCB, GCCB and JETCCFA eligibility and
  entitlements for Families
• Requests for CRNs for parent/guardian and/or
  child
• Parents wishing to have access to the View
  Child Care Details Online Service
• Family to contact the Family Assistance Office
• (13 61 50)

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Who to contact if there is a problem / enquiry

• Child care service enquiries or problems
  regarding
• Approval for 24 hour care
• SCCB and extra hours
• Service to contact the Family Assistance Office
• (1800 050 021)

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Who to contact if there is a problem / enquiry

• For enquiries or problems regarding the following
  areas-
• How to enter data into your child care software
• How to use your child care software
• Child care software has frozen or it appears to
  have lost data
• Contact your specific software providers
• Helpdesk or support person

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Who to contact if there is a problem / enquiry

• For enquiries or problems regarding the following
  areas-
• Internet connectivity
• Contact your Internet Service Provider (ISP)

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Who to contact if there is a problem / enquiry

• For enquiries or problems regarding the following
  areas-
• CCB policy questions
• CCMS processes
• Other enquiries regarding SCCB for services,
  service approvals, data or information transfer
  errors and payment issues.
• Contact the CCMS Helpdesk
• 1300 667
  276 phone
• 1300 663
  429 fax
• 
  ccmshelpdesk_at_deewr.gov.au
• www.deewr.gov.au
  and follow the links
• Helpdesk hours
  800am 8.30pm AEST

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6 most important points to take away

• Read all the information you can about CCMS
  including
• Special editions of Child Care News
• CCMS Website especially FAQs
• Obtain CCMS registered software and check your
  computer can run the CCMS registered software
• Get internet access
• Keep the CCMS Learning Package and CCMS Handbook
  handy
• Put Helpdesk phone number and email address in a
  prominent place
• Start collecting dates of birth and CRNs of
  current children and families