Family Fee Entry Page

• You can click on the family name to be taken to the Family Form to view more information about the family.
  
  
• You can click the blue arrow to the left of the family name to view more details on the fee.
  
  
• If you attempt to submit duplicate fees, a warning message will be displayed and you will be given the option to cancel the transaction or continue to submit the duplicate fee(s).
  
  
• Fees entered on the Schedule Form: Fixed Fees Page will be included in the fee calculations if “Family Fees” is selected in the Applies To field - and - the Paid by Parent box is checked. This allows center-based programs to include fixed fees (such as registration fees) in the Family Fee billing process.
  
  
• Click the Summary Report button to view and/or print a Family Fee (by Classroom) Report. The report will include all fees calculated and matching the filter criteria entered on the Family Fee Entry Form. Fees will be grouped by program, then provider, then classroom.  Since a child can have two concurrent schedules, the report will list any duplicate fees at the end and will adjust the duplicate amounts out of the report total.
  
  
• When "Full Time" or "Part Time" are selected as the Family Fee Type on the Family Income/Fee History Popup Form, CARE will bill the family for the applicable fee regardless of scheduled hours, provider closure days, etc.
  
  
• When "Based on Schedule" is selected for the the Family Fee Type on the Family Income/Fee History Popup Form, CARE will calculate the hours for the schedule for each month (taking into account regular and vacation schedules for school age children) to determine whether a full time or part time fee should be charged. If the total monthly hours are 130 or more, the full time monthly fee will be used. If the hours are less than 130, the part time monthly fee will be used.
  Notes:
  
  • When calculating hours for the month, days of non-operation (entered on the Provider Form: Non-Operational Days Page) are excluded when the Reimbursable box is not checked for that day.
    
    
  • When calculating hours for the month, holidays (entered on the Holiday Setup Form) are either included or excluded based on the “Pay/Charge Holidays” system option on the Calculation Page of System Options.
    
    
• For CDE subsidy children, when a child has consecutive schedules in a month (i.e. the child switches providers mid-month), the family fee calculation will only charge one family fee. CARE will use the provider in effect at the beginning of the month when assigning a provider to the fee transaction. If there is more than one provider at the beginning of the month, the provider with the lowest ID will be used.
  
  

• For CDE subsidy children, when a child has overlapping schedules with multiple providers, the family fee calculation will only charge one family fee. CARE will use the provider assigned to the first schedule approved in the month when assigning a provider to the fee transaction. If there are multiple providers, the provider with a schedule where the Primary Provider box is checked (on the Schedule Form: General Page) will be used. If none of the schedules have the Primary Provider box checked, the provider with the lowest ID will be used.
  Note: Only schedules where the Include in Family Fees box is checked (on the Schedule Form: General Page) will be included in this determination. All schedules with the Include in Family Fees box unchecked will be ignored for all family fee purposes.
  
  

• Per CDE guidelines, if the first month of service for a new family is a partial month, the lesser of the part time monthly fee or actual cost of care should be used. The actual cost of care is calculated as follows: 

  • For center based programs (such as CSPP and CCTR), the actual cost of care is calculated by multiplying the days of child care by the appropriate Part Time or Full Time Daily Standard Reimbursement Rate (as entered in the Family Fee Schedule Setup Form).
  • For provider payment programs (such as CalWORKs, APP, etc), the actual cost of care is the amount the provider will be paid for the service period. This is obtained by multiplying the payment rate by the number of units for the service period.
    
  • If the family’s First Served Date falls in the month being calculated for family fees, CARE will determine that it is the first month of service for the family. This method allows CARE to properly handle families that left the program for 3 months or more, then returned. In these cases, the family should be treated as a “new” family for family fee billing. 
    
    
• The part time/full time fee determination is based on the by program hourly cut off values established on the “Full-Time Cut Off Setup Form” and “FT Cut-Off By Program Setup Form.”

For All Programs:

• There are many options that CARE Administrators can use on the Calculation Page of System Options to determine which dates and other data factors affect calculations of the Family Fees in CARE.
  
  
• CARE Administrators can specify how the Schedule Stop Date affects the part time/full time determination for family fees in regards to counting the hours of CARE for the month when the schedule is stopped (assuming there aren't any other schedules active during that month). There are three options:
  
  • To stop counting hours as of the schedule stop date:
    On the Calculation Page of System Options, in the Family Fee column, check “Schedule Date” and check "Limit to active schedules." Hours will only be counted for the days of care scheduled up until the schedule stop date. Note: This may result in a part time fee being charged if the hours for that month are less than 130.
    
    
  • To extend the latest schedule in calculation period till end of month:
    On the Calculation Page of System Options, in the Family Fee column, uncheck “Schedule Date” and check “Limit to active schedules.” The schedule stop date will be ignored and hours will be counted for the entire month. Fees will not be charged for the following month.
    
    
  • To ignore the schedule stop date and continue calculating fees for the current billing month and future months:
    On the Calculation Page of System Options, in the Family Fee column, uncheck both "Schedule Date" and "Limit to active schedules." The Schedule Stop Date will be ignored and the system will not require an active schedule. 
    Note: This may result in fees being billed after the family is no longer receiving services. If you choose this option, it is recommended that you check the "Family Term Date" and "Child Term Date" options  in the Family Fee column to ensure CARE does not charge family fees beyond the termination dates.
    
    
• There is a "Remove zero-value entries" system option (on the Calculation Page of System Options). When this option is enabled, calculation for Family Fees will exclude zero-value line items. 
  
  

For Center Based Programs (CSPP, CCTR, Full Fee, etc.):

• If you have a Part Day State Preschool program, to ensure CARE does not bill family fees for children enrolled in Part Day CSPP, CARE Administrators will need to create a "Part Day CSPP" family fee schedule (click here for more information). Also, it may be necessary to have separate program entries for Full Day CSPP and Part Day CSPP. (click here for more information).
  
  

• There is a "Full-fee/private families, charge absences/holidays/prov. non-operation days" system option (on the Calculation Page of System Options). When this option is enabled, the family fee calculation for full fee families will be unaffected by absences, holidays, and provider days of non-operation. This allows agencies to apply different billing rules for full-fee families and subsidized families.
  
  

• There is a "Sibling Discount Percentage" system option (on the Calculation Page of System Options). This option allows CARE Administrators to specify a sibling discount that will be applied when calculating family fees for full fee children.
  
  

• There are system options on the Calculation Page of System Options that will allow CARE Administrators to specify whether proration should be based on scheduled days or calendar days. Click here for more information.

For Provider Payment Programs (APP, CalWORKs, etc):

• There is a "Deduct Family Fees" system option (on the Calculation Page of System Options). When this option is enabled, CARE will automatically deduct any family fees owed by the family from the provider payments. This option eliminates the agency's responsibility to invoice and collect CDE family fees and instead puts that responsibility in the hands of providers who are interacting with the parents on a regular basis.