Child Care Provider and Employee Bonus Program

Purpose

The purpose of the Child Care Providers and Employees Bonus Program is to implement the provisions of House Bill 1100 and to provide bonuses to eligible providers who participate in the child care scholarship program and their staff members on a first come, first serve basis (as required in the law). To implement the program, Maryland child care providers must apply for the program and, in so doing, provide the MSDE with a current number of childcare employees and respective information for those employees.

The MSDE will hold four customer service support sessions for providers. During these sessions, MSDE personnel will review the application form submission process and answer any questions about the program or process. Click on the dates and times below to register for a session:

Questions

If you have questions about the application or the process, please contact the Program Monitor:

Justin Dayhoff
Assistant Superintendent
(410) 767-0439
justin.dayhoff@maryland.gov

A list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers will be posted to the MSDE Grants office website following customer service support sessions. A copy of the Attestation Form is located under resources for your convenience.

HB1100 and Child Care Scholarship (CCS) Program Participation

The most common question we received to date is regarding eligibility and the Child Care Scholarship (CCS) program. Specifically: is CCS program participation a requirement for program eligibility? In short, yes. The law, not the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), requires participation in the CCS program for an applicant and their employees to be eligible. This is not an MSDE interpretation but a plain following of the law as written and intended.

As noted in the program guidance (attached for reference), “In all cases below, a provider meets the definition of participating in the scholarship program if the provider has been paid for receipted child care scholarship program vouchers between July 1, 2022 and November 1, 2022.” That guidance provides a quick example meant to offer Providers a way to easily identify if they are eligible.

This is not the only way the law directs MSDE to determine CCS program participation. Maryland EXCELS participation is a requirement to enroll students with an active CCS program voucher. When reviewing applications, if MSDE identified through MSDE’s records a provider as one who currently participates in the Maryland EXCELS program, MSDE also considers the provider as eligible for and thereby participating in the Child Care Scholarship program.

MSDE consulted with HB 1100’s bill sponsors, the Department of Legislative Services, and the Office of the Attorney General to ensure proper application of the law. Given that this is law, the MSDE must implement the program as defined and intended in law, and MSDE is not applying interpretation in requiring CCS program participation.

Additional Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Eligibility - Provider - “Am I eligible if it’s just me and I don’t have any staff/is this for small centers or just big centers/can I, as a provider with no employees, apply and am I eligible?”

    Yes, as long as the provider meets the other grant criteria, the applicant should list themselves as an employee and they are eligible. The application also reminds providers to add themselves as an employee on that portion of the application.

  2. Attestation Form Submission - “Who needs to fill that out and how do I submit the form/what am I supposed to do with the form?”

    Providers should collect an attestation form from any employee hired on or after July 1, 2022 in order to ensure the employee meets the commitment requirements of the HB 1100 law. MSDE has a template you are more than welcome (but do not need) to use. You can access that on the program website . Providers do not need to submit the forms but they should retain them for their records, as they may be asked for in an audit. Providers simply confirm that they have received the attestation from their staff in the application by each employee they list.

  3. Eligibility - Why does the bill have working hours per week requirements/what if the employee works different hours each week?

    This, as with CCS program participation, is defined specifically in law as a requirement for eligibility. Again, these requirements are not established by MSDE and these requirements are not an interpretation. For employees who work different hours each week or irregular hours, providers can submit an average amount of hours worked per week.

When will the application be open?

Friday, October 28, 2022

Application Submission Date:

November 30, 2022, No later than 5:00 p.m. EST

Program Information Guide
Attestation Form

Resources

Child Care Provider and Employee Bonuses Program Information Guide

Child Care Provider and Employee Bonuses Attestation Form

Child Care Provider and Employee Bonuses Customer Service Q&A

Child Care Provider and Employees Bonuses Program Information Guide Translations

Arabic | Chinese-Simplified | Chinese-Traditional | Farsi | French | Hindi | Korean | Punjabi

Russian | Spanish | Urdu | Vietnamese

Child Care Provider and Employees Bonuses Attestation Form Translations

Arabic | Chinese-Simplified | Chinese-Traditional | Farsi | French | Hindi | Korean | Punjabi

Russian | Spanish | Urdu | Vietnamese

Child Care Provider and Employee Bonus Customer Service Support Session 2

November 4, 2022

Child Care Provider and Employee Bonus Program

Technical Assistance and Reporting

Purpose

The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) will hold two upcoming Technical Assistance and Reporting Info Sessions for program reporting and ongoing questions related to the implementation of HB1100 Child Care Provider and Employee Bonuses.

At this session, MSDE will discuss:

  • Required Reporting – pay stubs/check copies for all awardees.
  • Required Reporting – spending associated with provider hiring incentive awards.
  • Return of unspent funds (for staff who have left or who did not obtain the required credential).
  • General FAQs / Time for Program Questions.

Session Dates and Registration Links (sessions will be recorded and posted online):

Customer Service Support Sessions

Session times are either after typical provider hours (6:00 p.m.) or on a holiday to accommodate provider schedules. You can register for each of the two scheduled sessions directly using the links below:

Questions

If you have questions, please call the Program Monitor:

Justin Dayhoff
Assistant Superintendent
(410) 767-0439
justin.dayhoff@maryland.gov

A list of frequently asked questions (FAQ) and answers will be posted to the MSDE website following the customer service support session.