Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration

Wisconsin Shares Handbook

 

 

Appendix II COVID-19 Guidance

Cross Reference:  

 

Contact the Child Care Help Desk at childcare@wisconsin.gov for copies:

 

Parent overpayments must not be established if the C9 verification code was used on the case in CWW unless an intentional program violation occurred.   

If a referral is being investigated (including SWICA discrepancies), and the C9 verification code was used during the violation period, the agency worker must obtain the necessary verification and make corrections to the case based on the information received. After verification has been received and the case has been updated, the case must be evaluated for a possible overpayment.  

If the C9 verification code was used during the violation period, an overpayment can only be established if there was an Intentional Program Violation (IPV). If the C9 verification code was not used and verification was collected, the agency worker must complete an investigation and establish an overpayment if necessary, in accordance with standard policies provided in the Wisconsin Shares Handbook and Operations Memos. Effective July 19, 2021, the C9 code can be used only if the parent specifically states they cannot provide verification due to COVID-19, and the agency worker documents the parent’s statement in CWW case comments.  

 

Parent overpayments must not be established from March 1, 2020, to June 30, 2020, unless an intentional program violation occurred.  

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy administrative rules were waived by executive orders. In addition to these changes, the Department of Children and Families initiated automatic payments for Wisconsin Shares authorizations with remaining balances on their MyWIChildCare EBT card from March 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020. The department issued guidance that Wisconsin Shares administrative errors or client errors will not result in a parent overpayment, unless the parent committed an Intentional Program Violation (IPV).   

 

Quarantine related absences under 30 days will not result in a parent or provider overpayment.   

After June 30, 2020, if a family is instructed to quarantine due to a COVID-19 positive test or COVID-19 exposure for less than 30 calendar days, the local agency must not establish a parent or provider overpayment. If the COVID-19 related absence is greater than 30 calendar days, the local agency must contact the Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) Program Integrity staff at childcare@wisconsin.gov for consultation.  

 

Parent overpayments and overpayments for the 21% rate increase for children between birth and three (3) years of age must not be established if the violation period occurred between March 1, 2021, and June 30, 2021, unless it can be shown that the child did not attend the provider at all during a calendar month, or the parent committed an IPV.   

The additional funds added to the authorization as part of the 21% rate increase should be excluded in any overpayment calculations, unless the overpayment is for one (1) of the reasons stated above.   

To identify if funds were added to an authorization as part of the temporary rate increase, the local agency must check the CSAW Benefit Summary page or the Adhoc Case Adjustments page for the month(s) in question. On these pages, the additional funds will display separately from the original monthly amount and will appear as an adhoc adjustment. The reason code used for the adjustment will show that the funds were added as part of the temporary rate increase.   

If any payment was made during a month when an authorization was impacted by this change, and funds remained on the card for that month, the remaining funds were automatically paid to the provider by the department. These payments can be identified on the Case Transactions page by looking for the red “X” symbol next to a transaction that occurred after 6 p.m. on one (1) of the following days:   

A child care provider will not be required to return subsidy funds to the department for a temporary closure lasting up to 14 consecutive calendar days if the closure was due to a COVID-19 exposure.   

The provider must explain the circumstances of any closures beyond 14 consecutive calendar days to the local agency and adhere to regulatory reporting requirements. Local agencies must contact the Child Care Help Desk at childcare@wisconsin.gov to determine if the provider may keep subsidy funds for a COVID-19 closure that lasted more than 14 consecutive calendar days. This policy is not limited to a single 14 consecutive calendar day COVID-19 closure.  

If a child care provider contacts their local agency to report a closure due to a COVID-19 exposure, the local agency should instruct the provider to contact their licensor or certifier to report the reason and time frame for the closure.  

If a child care provider previously returned funds to the department through a Voluntary Repayment Agreement (VPA) for a closure due to a COVID-19 exposure, the provider may contact their local agency to request the funds be returned. The local agency should send this request to the BCCSA through the Child Care Help Desk at childcare@wisconsin.gov. Child care providers who choose to voluntarily return funds may complete the Voluntary Repayment Agreement form (DCF-F-5178-E) and return the form to the local agency.

 

This section last updated 12/1/2022