CHILD CARE MANAGEMENT SERVICES (CCMS) PARTICIPATION

Table 5. Tuition Rates of Licensed Child Care Centers Weekly Tuition –Licensed Child Care Centers* (84% Providing Information) Tarrant County Average59 Respondent Average

25th Percentile

75th Percentile

Infants $176 $182 $149 $212 Toddlers (18-35 Months) $163 $175 $143 $194 3 year-olds $154 $161 $125 $179 Pre-K $154 $160 $121 $176 After-school $103 $94 $67 $98

Table 6. Tuition Rates of Child Care Homes Weekly Tuition – Child Care Homes (84% Providing Information) Tarrant County Average60 Respondent Average

25th Percentile

75th Percentile

Infants $151 $134 $124 $150 Toddlers (18-35 Months) $143 $122 $108 $131 3 year-olds $135 $109 $95 $118 Pre-K $135 $98 $80 $104 After-school $90 $68 $60 $71

Child Care Management Services (CCMS) Participation

Child Care Management Services (CCMS) is a program of the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). In Tarrant County CCMS is managed by Child Care Associates through a contract with the Tarrant County Workforce Development Board. CCMS child care subsidies are provided to eligible families on a funds available basis. There is currently a wait-list for these services. Eligibility is limited to parents who meet one of the following criteria:  Income eligible parents who meet the 25 hour per week participation requirement through working, attending school or participating in a training program  Teen parents from income eligible families who want to complete school  Income eligible parents who have children with disabilities

In this program, families pay a portion of a reduced tuition rate for child care, and CCMS subsidizes the remainder of the reduced rate. By accepting CCMS subsidies for care provided to qualifying families, child care providers agree to a CCMS-determined below-market rate based on the age of the child, their private-pay tuition rate, and whether or not they participate in the Texas Workforce Commission’s Texas Rising Star program. Texas Rising Star (TRS) Providers receive a higher reimbursement rate in recognition of their commitment and accountability to upholding specific quality standards that exceed the State's Minimum Child Care Licensing (CCL)

59 (Texas Workforce Commission, 2014). Note that this report combined 3 and 4-year-olds as “Preschool” age group. 60 (Texas Workforce Commission, 2014). Note that this report combined 3 and 4-year-olds as “Preschool” age group. Also note that this report provided separate rates for licensed and registered child care homes. This table reflects the rate reported for registered child care homes. 28 | P a g e

Standards. TRS Certification is available to providers who meet the certification criteria for one of three certification levels (Two-Star, Three-Star, and Four-Star). The multiple levels encourage providers to attain progressively higher certification requirements leading to a Four-Star level. The certification guidelines contain criteria for licensing compliance, director qualifications, caregiver/staff qualifications, staff orientation, staff training, group size, curriculum/activities, caregiver/child interaction, indoor/outdoor environments, health/safety, nutrition/meal time and parental involvement.61 TRS compliance in Tarrant County is monitored by Child Care Associates. Approximately 24% of child care providers in Tarrant County served children subsidized by CCMS in 2013.62 In total 492 child care providers in Fort Worth received CCMS subsidies for 7,249 children during the 2013-2014 school year.63

Access of low-income families to higher-tuition providers is often only possible through provider participation in CCMS, and the difference between market and CCMS rates makes CCMS participation less attractive to higher-tuition providers. For providers accepting CCMS subsidies, any difference between a provider’s market rate and the CCMS rate must be absorbed by the provider and cannot be passed on to the subsidized family. Some non-profit providers raise funds to offset these losses, but many providers, especially homes, simply accept the loss in revenue. According to the 2013 Texas Market Rate Survey Report, within Tarrant County, maximum CCMS rates for 4-year-olds equaled market rates for licensed child care centers with tuition at the 24th percentile, licensed child care homes at the 25th percentile, and registered child care homes at the 31st percentile county-wide. Maximum enhanced rates for Texas Rising Star Providers met market rates at the 31st, 33rd, and 40th percentiles for these providers, respectively. This means, for example, that any child care center with a tuition rate above the 31st percentile for Tarrant County will experience a loss in revenue for each CCMSsubsidized child they serve. As a result of this, most CCMS-subsidized families are served by providers with lower rates. Among the 29 licensed child care centers in FWISD that provided tuition information, 7 (88%)of the 8 licensed child care centers at or below the 25th percentile for tuition participate in CCMS, as compared to only 47% (9) of providers with rates at or above the 75th percentile. This further emphasizes the necessity of low-tuition child care providers to ensure accessibility and affordability in the private child care market.

61 (Texas Workforce Commission) 62 (Texas Workforce Commission, 2014) 63 Calculated from data provided by CCMS administration

Figure 6. CCMS Participation: Child Care Centers Figure 7. CCMS Participation: Child Care Homes

As shown in Figure 6 and Figure 7 above, 59% of responding centers and 100% of responding homes report acceptance of CCMS. All focus group and site visit providers accepted CCMS, though policies for CCMS families varied. Some centers tried to limit the number of CCMS children they take since the reimbursement rate is generally less than their published rate. However, if a child care provider was not at capacity, they would likely take a CCMS subsidized child. Child care homes mentioned that they do not limit CCMS because it guarantees timely payment for services. Sometimes collecting payment directly from parents can result in late payment or no payment at all.

Focus group participants also mentioned that some parents find it difficult to comply with the strict regulations and paperwork required by CCMS. Some providers reported that parents that are not in compliance are dropped from the program with little notice, leaving parents responsible for their children’s tuition. When this happens, some child care providers drop the children due to nonpayment and some child care providers will keep the children with no payment and will help the parent get the necessary paper work done to regain compliance with CCMS. Several of the providers mentioned that it was a financial hardship when they have multiple children from one family and the family is dropped by CCMS; they lose multiple children at one time. For example one center mentioned that they lost 5 children in one day due to a parent’s noncompliance with CCMS. The comment was made “The CCMS system has gotten very rigid and difficult for parents to comply with. Parents can lose their subsidy on a moment’s notice. They find out on the way to the pick-up their children that there will be no more CCMS support payments.” They all agreed that is very difficult to deal with a crying mother who is in distress because she has lost her CCMS support. One comment was that parents will have a lot less paper work to deal with if they put their child in public pre-k.

Though 73% of survey respondents participate in CCMS, only three respondents list CCMS participation as one of the ways they keep their programs financially strong. Among centers, those accepting CCMS were much more likely to have considered the impact of universal pre-k on their operations. While only 1 respondent anticipates efforts to begin accepting CCMS to offset the financial impact of universal pre-k, others anticipate a transition to more full-tuition private-pay families as other families gravitate toward the free pre-k option.