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.
2
Session 4

• At the end of this session participants will
  have knowledge of
• What is CCMS?
• How the changes may affect your service
• How will CCMS affect parents
• Creating and ending enrolments
• Claiming enrolment advances and CCB payments
• Recording attendance and absences
• Organising billing cycle and managing cash flow
• Finishing off under COS
• Transition payments and how to claim them
• Computer, internet and software requirements

3
What is CCMS

• What is the Child Care Management System
• A way of moving information between services,
  DEEWR and Centrelink over the internet
• New way that CCB fee reductions will be managed
• Improve the information on child care supply and
  usage

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 the FAO
  (Family Assistance Office)

5
Transition

• The CCMS is being progressively implemented
  across over 11 000 child care services
• Services started transitioning from February
  2008
• will be completed by July 2009
• All types of child care services need to
  transition
• Services are contacted by DEEWR and are
  provided with a date for transition
• Letters are sent to the service 60 days and 30
  days prior to transition or geographical roll
  out
• Services that provide other service types may
  choose to transition at the same time

6
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

7
Admin Changes

• Services will no longer have to
• Bulk listings
• Statement of Child Care Usage reports to FAO
• Backdating CCB entitlements
• Supplementary claims
• FAO call centre
• Calculating CCB from families
• Allowable and approved absences
• Reporting vacancies to the Hotline/DEEWR

8
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

9
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
• Aware of absences
• Need to advise FAO when a child starts school
  before six years of age

10
Enrolments

• You must create an enrolment for each child in
  your service.
• Three types of enrolments
• Formal
• Informal
• AMEP/Other
• The types of enrolment relate to
• Who is responsible for the child's fees
• Information parents supply to the service (CRNs
  DOB)
• Multiple enrolments may need to be created for
  the same child in certain situations.
• CCMS Reference Manual page 25

11
Types of Enrolments

• What information do you need
• Formal Enrolment
• Childs DOB
• Childs CRN
• Parent/Guardian DOB
• Parent/Guardian CRN (for that child parent
  combination)
• Informal Enrolment
• No CRNs but
• Childs DOB and parent/Guardian DOB
• Can be formalised
• AMEP/Other
• Childs DOB and parent/Guardian DOB

12
Enrolment Information

• Remind parents that CCB will only be paid on a
  formal enrolment that has been confirmed
• Change enrolment forms to ask for birthdates of
  parent (the one that has the CRN)
• Collect new information from current families
• Enrolments are classified as parent/child
  combinations
• Enrolments will need to be created for every
  child currently at the service prior to
  transition

13
Enrolment Scenario

• Maree and Andrew have shared care of their
  daughter Rebecca.
• Both Maree and Andrew use your service to
  provide child care for Rebecca at different times
  each week and each pays separately for the
  sessions of care used. Andrew has contacted the
  FAO and is eligible for CCB and has received a
  CRN for both himself and Rebecca. Maree has not
  contacted the FAO to test her eligibility for
  CCB.
• How many enrolments do you need to create
  for Rebecca?
• What type of enrolment needs to be created
  for Rebecca and Maree?
• What type of enrolment needs to be created
  for Rebecca and Andrew?

14
Enrolment Scenario 2

• Peta and her daughter Tara arrive at your
  service wishing to enroll.
• Peta wishes to have care for Tara every
  Monday, while she attends a language class funded
  by the AMEP, and on Tuesday when she works part
  time. Peta has not been to FAO.
• How many and what types of enrolments do you
  need to create for Tara?
• What information will you need from Peta?
• Tara has been attending your service for 3
  weeks now when Peta arrives with CRNs for both
  her and Tara and is eligible for fee reduction.
• What will you do ?
• Will you need to calculate back payments for
  fee reduction for the last 3 weeks?

15
Which Enrolment?

• 1 If a family is paying for child care through
  salary sacrifice, which type of enrolment should
  be created for the child?
• 2 Where a child attending a service whose fees
  are paid in full by an agency (eg State
  Government Welfare Agency) what type of enrolment
  is used?
• 3 A child attending a service has part of their
  fees/the gap fee paid by an Agency (eg a Welfare
  Agency) what type of enrolment is used?
• 4 A child attending a service has part of their
  fee paid by their parent, and the remaining fee
  paid by a third party (a welfare agency). The
  parent is invoiced for part of the fee they are
  responsible for, and invoice the welfare agency
  for the remaining fee.

16
Enrolment Advances

• A payment your service can elect to be paid when
  a formal enrolment is established (on a case by
  case basis)
• Available for all service types except occasional
  care
• Can only be paid when creating a formal enrolment
  or formalising and informal enrolment
• CCMS Reference Manual page 45

17
Enrolment Advances

• Once you have entered onto your software yes or
  no to an enrolment advance you can not change
  your mind
• Can be used to support your service's cash flow
  requirements prior to the payment of the first
  weeks CCB
• Where a child attends two services, each service
  will be able to claim an Enrolment Advance (on a
  formal enrolment)
• CCMS Reference Manual page 45

18
Enrolment Advances continued

• Where children have shared care arrangements
  and both parents have a CRN. A formal enrolment
  is established for each and the service would be
  able to claim two enrolment advances
• Enrolment advances will be recovered once an
  enrolment has ended or has been deemed exited.
• CCMS Reference Manual page 45

19
Enrolment Advances continued

• Enrolment advance amounts per service
• Amounts are increased annually with the consumer
  price index

20
Do the Math on Advanced Payments

• If you are a 75 place LDC service with 180
  enrolments occupying the 75 places and 130 of
  these are formal enrolments then your enrolment
  advance would be 16,737.50

21
Ending Enrolments
Ending Enrolments

• An enrolment must be ended when the arrangement
  to provide care ceases
• When care ceases an end date will need to be
  added to the childs enrolment

22
Deemed Exit of Enrolment
Deemed Exit for Enrolment

• A Deemed exit of an enrolment occurs where
  their has been no attendance received for a
  designated period.
• Deemed exit timeframes depend on
• Type of care
• Whether and enrolment advance was paid

23
Deemed exit provisions
24
Attendance Records

• Services must record details of the attendance
  (including any absences and fees charged) for all
  children at their service.
• Attendance records will be submitted over the
  internet to DEEWR
• Attendance records can be submitted individually
  or in bulk
• Attendance records can be submitted weekly or
  fortnightly

25
Attendance Records

• If a mistake is made then the attendance record
  must be cancelled and a new one created
• Attendance records must be submitted no later
  then14 days after the end of the week which the
  attendance relates to
• Your service will be required to report actual
  in and out times and attended hours for each
  child for a 4 week period during the year
• CCMS Reference Manual pages 49 - 55

26
Attendance Records

• When attendance records are processed the
  following information will be updated on your
  system
• CCB payment status
• CCB total fee reduction
• Any CCB adjustment
• CCB method (fee reduction or lump sum)
• CCB
• CCB ineligible and the reason
• Number of absences

27
Nominated hours

• Parents/guardians may nominate how they would
  like their CCB eligible hours to be split between
  two or more services during a CCB week.
• Parents to complete Nomination of eligible
  hours form (located on the DEEWR website)
• It would be useful to add this to your enrolment
  information to ensure families and your service
  are not disadvantaged.
• CCMS Reference Manual page 54

28
Multiple-child Percentage

• The CCB percentage provided to services will be
  the one child percentage
• Families may provide their CCB assessment notices
  from FAO with two and three child percentage OR
• Services may choose to use the CCB Ready Reckoner
  to work out percentages for more than one child
• CCMS Reference Manual page 69

29
Multiple-child Percentage

• Services will report a multiple child count when
  submitting attendance records
• Therefore, you will need to ask parents how many
  children they have attending the same type of
  care in the week (similar to current
  arrangements)
• The FAO will use either the multiple-child count
  or the count of CCB eligible children on the
  familys record (whichever is the lowest)
• CCMS Reference Manual page 69

30
Scenario

• A family has 3 CCB eligible children during a
  care week 2 children attend service A, and
  service A (who is only aware of 2 eligible
  children) reports 2 children for the multiple
  child count. During the same care week, 1 child
  attends Service B, and that service (who is aware
  of the 3 eligible children attending) submits
  their attendance reports a week later, showing 3
  children for the multiple child count. Does the
  family receive CCB at the 3 child rate? If so,
  how?

31
Absences

• Each child has 42 days per financial year this
  includes public holidays (no evidence is
  required)
• Additional absences may be claimed in certain
  circumstances
• FAO will maintain a count of absences for each
  child
• Services are responsible for keeping parents
  informed about absence days taken
• Absences are claimed by recording absent day/s on
  the childs attendance records
• CCMS Reference Manual pages 57 - 60

32
Additional Absences

• Available after the first 42 absences
• Only absences that the meet the additional
  absence reasons will attract CCB after the 42
  days
• If parents are claiming additional absences in
  exceptional circumstances they must meet certain
  criteria.

33
Absence Scenario

• Astrid normally attends your service on a
  Monday and Thursday. Astrids father, Giovanni,
  rings on a Friday morning advising that Astrid
  has the flu and that she wont be attending care
  the following week. Monday of that week is a
  public holiday. After checking Astrids
  enrolment you see that she has used 46 absences
  so far this year. Giovanni normally receives CCB
  fee reductions through your service.
• Can you record additional absences for both
  Monday and Thursday for Astrid?
• Giovanni provides you with suitable evidence
  of Astrids illness when he drops her off for
  care the following week.
• If you had already submitted the attendance for
  the previous week and charged Giovanni full fee,
  what action would you take?

34
Billing Cycles

• How will you bill families?
• Will you bill in advance?
• Will you bill in arrears with a bond?

35
Finishing off COS

• You must keep old records for 3 years from the
  end of the financial year after a child leaves.
• Once you have transitioned to CCMS you will need
  to submit a final statement of usage to FAO via
  existing methods.
• Final usage statement needs to be submitted by
  the end of the quarter following the quarter to
  which the statement applies.

36
Example

• Jan Mar June
• Transition Date
  Statement of Child Care
• 
  usage due
  for the period
• 
  between Jan
  and your
• 
  transition
  date

37
Debts and Acquittals

• FAO will identify any over or under payment of
  CCB and pass this information on to DEEWR
• DEEWR will assume responsibility for recovering
  any debt or paying any money owing (if you had an
  underpayment)
• Debts will be recovered from future payments
• If you do not submit your final return to the
  Government they will class the last quarters
  advances as a debt and recover the entire amount.

38
Debts and Acquittals continued

• Debts
• Nonoffsetting debts recovered by lump sum
  payment
• Offsetting debts recovered through a reduction
  in payments due to your service under CCMS.

39
Recovery of Offsetting Debts

• Standard recovery period is 13 weeks
• Recovery will start 2 weeks following DEEWR
  receiving the over-advance advise from FAO.
• DEEWR will notify services of the debt and the
  payment plan before it starts.
• Installments will be automatically deducted from
  future payment to your service.
• You can request changes to the recovery period if
  you can demonstrate financial hardship

40
Managing your Cash Flow

• Some services may experience cash flow problems
• Just after they transition to CCMS
• At the beginning of each month when they use to
  get a large monthly CCB payment
• If parents are slow paying
• At any stage when is a problem with submitting
  CCMS data to DEEWR or there is any hold up in
  DEEWR payments

41
Example

• A Service normally gets a CCB payment of 40,000
  in the first month of the quarter, then 30,00 at
  the beginning of the next two months.
• Jan Feb
  Mar Apr
  May
• 40k 30k
  30k 7,700
• 
  Transition Day

42
Example continued

• At the beginning of May the service submits their
  final statement of usage for the previous quarter
  to FAO. DEEWR have been notified of an over
  payment of CCB.
• The Service receives notification from DEEWR
  that the debt will be recovered over the next 13
  weeks with a reduction in payment each week.

43
Payments

• Under CCMS all payments and recoveries that need
  to be made to/from your service will be totaled
  up and determine the amount of any payment due to
  your service.

44
Payments continued

• When calculating payments the following items
  will be considered

45
Payment Example

• On Friday night your LDC service submits the
  attendance records for all 60 children in your
  care. On Friday the following events have
  occurred
• 10 children have formally enrolled and you have
  elected to receive the Enrolment Advance for all
  of them (10x 125)
• 15 children have ceased care at your service,
  your service received an Enrolment Advance for
  all of them.
• No attendance records have been cancelled
• Your service currently has a debt and on Monday
  DEEWR generates a debt recovery installment of
  100 for the current week.

46
Payments Continued

• The payment amount for your service is calculated
  as follows

47
Be Prepared Financially

• Identify when your cash flow gap might be and
  prepare your service financially
• Consider taking up the enrolment advance option
• Review payment timing for major expenses

48
Money always helps

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

49
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

50
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

51
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

52
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

53
Computer and Internet requirements

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

54
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?

55
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

56
Contact / 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)

57
Contact / 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)

58
Contact / 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

59
Contact / Enquiry

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

60
Contact / 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

61
References

• References-
• Child Care Management System (CCMS) Reference
  Manual
• CCMS Child Care Servide Handbook 2007-2008
• CCMS Briefing Sessions, Childrens Services
  Central
• Child Care Management System (CCMS), DEEWR
  powerpoint 2008