Sec.17b-749-15. Payment process

(a) Monthly Invoices

(1) Payments shall be post-paid on a monthly basis. Payments shall be considered assistance to the parent, not assistance to the provider.

(2) The CCAP administrator shall issue a monthly invoice to the provider by the first day following the end of the service month or at the time the certificate of payment is issued to the provider for a retroactive period of payment eligibility.

(3) Providers shall return the completed invoice. By submitting the invoice, the provider shall attest to the services performed and the actual amount charged to the parent. The parent may also be required to sign the invoice as confirmation of the amount and cost of services performed. Invoices shall be submitted after the end of the service month. The provider shall have one hundred twenty days from the end of the service month or from the date the CCAP administrator issued the invoice to return the invoice to the department, whichever is later. Invoices submitted more than one hundred twenty days after the end of the service month shall not be paid unless the invoice is submitted late due to a CCAP administrative error or delay.

(4) The completed invoice shall reflect the provider's actual charges and shall be signed and dated by the provider. Weekly charges shall be converted to an average monthly amount by multiplying by a factor of four and three tenths. Providers shall also report attendance or other information as required by the CCAP administrator. The parent may be required to co-sign the invoice for all or specific types of child care settings.

(5) Payment shall be issued within fifteen days of the date the properly completed invoice is submitted to the CCAP administrator.

(b) Payment Calculations

(1) Payments for the service month shall be calculated based upon submission of the completed invoice. The amount of the CCAP payment shall be determined by adding or subtracting the amounts listed in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection to the lesser of the following amounts:

(A) the approved cost of care calculated in subdivision (a)(3) of section 17b-749-13 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies; plus

(B) any supplemental payments authorized for the provider under subsection (a) and subdivision (b)(4) of section 17b-749-16 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies; or

(C) the provider's actual charges for the service month.

(2) Incentives for accreditation and professional development authorized under subsection (d) of section 17b-749-13 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies that are paid as a percentage increase in the payment shall be added to the amount calculated in subdivision (1) of this subsection. Lump sum and flat rate incentives may be issued together with the regular monthly payment or paid separately.

(3) The allocated monthly fee determined in subsection (f) of section 17b-749-13 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and any reductions due to the recoupment of an overpayment or mandated withholding shall be deducted from the sum of the amounts calculated in subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection. The resulting total shall be the CCAP payment amount. Payments shall be prorated if the child is eligible for payment for only part of the month. Parents shall be responsible for any costs not covered by CCAP.

(c) Payee

(1) Unless otherwise specified in this section, benefit payments shall be made to the order of the child care provider or to the provider's fiduciary if the provider is a subcontractor or part of a network of child care providers. Benefit payments shall be mailed to the provider's home or business address or issued through direct deposit, except that the department shall have the option of paying the parent directly for care that is provided in the child's own home. In such cases, the benefit payment shall be issued to the parent's home address. If the department elects to make benefit payments through direct deposit, parents and providers shall cooperate in establishing a bank account as a condition of payment eligibility.

(2) Benefit payments issued by mail may be sent to a post office box address under the following conditions:

(A) if the provider is not a relative or in-home provider, and the provider's business address is a post office box; or

(B) if the parent or provider has submitted adequate verification of residence and the postal authority confirms that mail is not delivered to the home address.

(3) Benefit payments may be issued to an alternate payee under the following conditions if the individual acting on the behalf of the provider can verify that services were provided:

(A) if the provider is deceased at the time the payment is issued, payment shall be issued to the fiduciary of the provider's estate appointed by the probate court; or

(B) if the provider becomes incapacitated or incompetent, payment shall be issued to a conservator appointed by probate court or other individual acting with power of attorney.

(4) Benefit payments may be issued to the parent on an exception basis if an administrative error caused payment to be delayed for three or more months and the parent was required to pay the provider for the full cost of care while waiting for the department to correct the error. The parent and provider shall be required to verify that the parent has already reimbursed the provider for the services and that payment should be remitted to the parent rather than the provider.

(d) Stale Dated Checks

Checks issued as payment for child care services shall become void if they are not cashed within sixty days.

(e) Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Checks

(1) The payee may request replacement of a lost, stolen or destroyed check within ninety days of the date the original check was issued. If the CCAP administrator determines that the original check was signed or cashed by the provider, the parent or a member of the family, no replacement check shall be issued. Payments issued through direct deposit shall not be replaced under any conditions.

(2) The payee shall be required to submit a notarized affidavit using a form specified by the CCAP administrator prior to replacing the lost, stolen or destroyed check, unless the check has been returned and has not been transacted. The payee shall also file a police report if requested by the CCAP administrator, and cooperate with any investigations conducted by the department or the police.

(3) The CCAP administrator may withhold replacement checks for up to fourteen days from the date the affidavit is submitted if payment of the original check could not be stopped or if the original check has not been recovered or has been cashed. In the event of an ongoing investigation, the replacement check may be withheld indefinitely pending completion of the investigation.

(Adopted effective July 10, 2001)