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Did You Know?

The Child Care Assistance Program can help parents/caretakers pay for some or all of the cost of childcare services. In general, families are eligible for financial assistance if they meet the state’s low-income guidelines and need childcare to work, look for work, attend employment training or attend school. If you want general information about Child Care Assistance, please visit: https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/childcare/

Child Care Assistance FAQs

Where can the application by obtained?

How can I submit my completed application and/or other necessary documentation for my case?

  • Mail the completed application to: P.O. Box 193, Lowville, NY 13367
  • Email the completed application to: lewisreception@dfa.state.ny.us.
  • Bring the application to the agency at 5274 Outer Stowe Street, Lowville, NY during our business hours of 8:30 am – 4:30 pm
  • Drop the application into the drop box located at 5274 Outer Stowe Street, Lowville, NY if it is after business hours

Do I need to complete a face-to-face interview?

No interview is needed to process a Child Care Assistance Application. The application and relevant documentation are all that is needed.

How long does the application process take?

Regulations state applications must be processed within 30 days of receipt. We do our best to process applications quickly and will continue to do everything we can to provide timely decisions, given the circumstances.

Absence/Program Closure Policy

Providers are eligible for up to 80 absences per fiscal year

In order to be paid for any absences, the provider must clearly note, in CCTA or on attendance sheets, the days the child was scheduled to be in care but was not and also according to:
  • be an eligible provider per 415.1(g);
  • require payment for absences from families who are not receiving a child care subsidy, as well as those who are receiving a subsidy; and
  • be open and available to provide care on the day the child is absent.
  • Reimbursement is not available for a day a child is absent from care if the provider ordinarily charges the caretaker a daily or part-day rate AND the child for whom reimbursement is requested is otherwise in need of, and receives, subsidized child care from a different provider on the same day.

Providers are eligible for up to 20 program closures per fiscal year

In order to be paid for program closures, the provider must
  • be a licensed, registered, or legally exempt group programs
  • the closure is due to an allowable reason as defined in 18NYCRR section 415.6(c): The program closure must be due to a state, federal, religious or cultural holiday, or due to extenuating circumstances beyond the provider’s control, including but not limited to: natural disaster; severe weather or other emergency closings that are due to circumstances other than a substantiated regulatory violation.
  • Reimbursement is available only for children in receipt of child care assistance who would otherwise be present at the child care program
  • Reimbursement is not available for a day the program is closed if the provider ordinarily charges the caretaker on a daily or part time basis AND the child for whom reimbursement is requested is otherwise in need of and receives subsidized child care from a different provider on the same day.

Tips for Parents

  • Lewis County can only pay for actual child care services provided, and only for care during the hours of your employment or your participation in an approved activity (plus a maximum of 60 minutes of travel to and from your job or activity). You will be liable for payment to your provider for any care not billable to the subsidy program.
  • If your provider uses attendance sheets, only sign an attendance sheet after it’s filled out completely and accurately. Attendance sheets are used to bill Lewis County for child care services provided to your child, therefore you and your provider are responsible for the attendance sheet’s accuracy and completeness. Never sign a blank attendance sheet.
  • If you sign a contract with your provider for daycare services, please understand that Lewis County is not a party to that contract and therefore is not responsible for compliance with the terms of that contract. You will be liable for payment to your provider for any care that is not billable to the subsidy program.
  • Lewis County will pay your provider for up to 80 absences each year. Tracking resets in April.
  • You must notify Lewis County within ten (10) days of any changes that may affect your subsidy case (change in income, household composition, address, employment, etc). Overpayments resulting from a failure to notify us of changes will need to be repaid by you to Lewis County. Intentional misrepresentations may lead to program sanctions or prosecution for fraud. Your child care subsidy assistance is guaranteed for a 12 month eligibility period at initial opening and when you complete your annual recertification. Your income can increase to up to 85% State Median Income (SMI) and you will remain eligible through the end of the guarantee.  Your parent share will not change during the 12 month eligibility period. Your Child Care subsidy can also continue through the end of the guarantee if your child turns 13 years old during the 12 month period

CCAP Eligibility Questionnaire

The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) recently announced the launch of the CCAP Eligibility Questionnaire to allow parents and caretakers to answer a few questions to see if they are eligible for CCAP. You can access the questionnaire directly by going to: https://hs.ocfs.ny.gov/CCAPeligibility/.

Do you need help locating high-quality child care?

Child Care Resource Personnel from Community Action Planning Council (CAPC) CAPC’s Childcare Resource and Referral Department can assist individuals who are in need of a child care provider. Call 315-782-4900 extension 306 for assistance or visit CAPC’s Website for more information.

CAPC’s duties include:

  • Supplying a list of various Child Care providers and telephone numbers
  • Reviewing Legally Exempt Child Care applications
  • Providing technical assistance to legally exempt daycare provider

Tips for Providers

  • If you use paper attendance sheets, please make sure your attendance sheets are filled out completely and accurately before asking the parent to sign their approval. You should never ask a parent to sign a blank attendance sheet.
  • Attendance sheets should be signed by you and the parent before submitting them to Monroe County. Submitting unsigned attendance sheets could delay payment.
  • Attendance sheets should reflect the actual time of day that care begins and ends. If a child did not attend daycare due to illness, vacation, or any other reason, that child should be marked on the attendance sheet as absent for that day. Monroe County’s approved Child Care Plan allows payment for up to 80 absences per year. Tracking resets each April.
  • If you ask parents to sign a contract for your child care services, please understand that Monroe County is not a party to that contract and therefore is not responsible for compliance with the terms of that contract.
  • If a child in your care attends another program (such as Universal Pre-K) you cannot bill the child care subsidy program for the same hours the child spends in the other program.
  • Overpayments due to billing errors on your part will require repayment back to Monroe County. Intentional misrepresentation of child care services provided could result in disqualification from receiving child care subsidy payments, licensing sanctions, or prosecution for fraud.
  • If a parent is required to pay a weekly parent fee, you must collect the parent fee directly from the parent.
Child Care Time and Attendance System (CCTA) Did you know????  You can sign up for web submittal of childcare timesheets! New York State and Lewis County DSS utilizes a web-based Child Care Time and Attendance (CCTA) tracking system to authorize and calculate subsidy payments.  The CCTA attendance tracking and submission system provides several benefits including:
  • On-line submission of attendance- no paper timesheets required.
  • Real-time information on new authorizations, changes or discontinuances.
  • Accurate calculation of subsidy payments.
  • On-line information of pending and processed payments- no telephone calls.
Participation in CCTA is not required by provider to receive subsidy payments, but Lewis County DSS strongly encourages the use of CCTA. To Register for CCTA, please visit www.ccta-newyork.com/provider