18 Miss. Code. R. 17-7.2 - CCPP Provider Requirements

Any child care provider interested in participating in the Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) must complete an application through the Division of Early Childhood Care & Development (DECCD), and meet the following requirements before CCPP approval:

A. Licensure Requirement (may be met in 1 of 3 ways);

1) Licensed- must hold a current license from the MSDH, or

2) License-exempt-qualifies for exemption by the MSDH, as defined by Mississippi Statute, or

3) Not required to be licensed, but registered with MSDH (MSDH licensure regulations may be found at www.msdh.ms.gov)

4) Licensed-exempt providers shall be required to become voluntarily licensed by the MS Department of Health if by seeking to become a CCPS provider or a material change to the provider's operations occurs which results in conflict with the requirements of qualifying as a license exempt provider.

5) MDHS reserves the right to deny program participation to any provider operating outside of the MS Code or CCPP policies.

B. Compliance with minimum education requirements as established by MSDH-Director and staff of licensed providers; license-exempt providers must comply with any minimum education requirements as established by the governing entity that sanctions the provider; license-exempt and unlicensed caregivers must be 18 years or older. MSDH regulates the following types of child care staff (all regulations are established by the MSDH, and can be found in detail in the MSDH Regulations (www.msdh.ms.gov)

1) Director- 21 years or older, and meets MSDH minimum education requirements

2) Director Designee

3) Caregiver-18 years or older, and meets MSDH minimum education requirements

4) Caregiver Assistant-16 years or older, shall only work under supervision

C. Completion of the e-Ledger Training Webinar - Director and Owner DECCD provides e-Ledger training webinars on a regular basis. Applicants must register on the DECCD website or the consumer education website, and the webinar orients providers to participation in the CCPP, including how to receive payment for care. The e-ledger training webinar may be submitted before or after application submission, however the application cannot be approved until the training webinar is successfully completed.

D. Completion of Basic Health Safety and Nutrition Assurances Form- certifies that provider will comply with CCPP Health and Safety requirements, and a copy must be kept on the provider premises- must be signed by Director and Owner.

E. Completion of Health and Safety orientation training (contents discussed in detail below) by the Director and all staff.

F. Completion of Criminal Background checks (details discussed below)- Director and all staff.

G. Maintains a Standard Designation by completing/updating the application in the Provider Integrated Portal (PIP), and compliance with recommendations for Technical Assistance (TA) if applicable. Includes implementation of curriculum that aligns with the Mississippi Department of Education's (MDE) Early Learning Standards.

H. The child care facility must be located within the State of Mississippi.

I. After the Application is accepted by DECCD, the provider must submit:

1) W-9 Internal Revenue Service Tax form- required to receive payment, must be signed by the owner

2) Provider Statement of Agreement- an agreement between the provider and DECCD wherein the provider agrees to comply with CCPP policies and requirements, must be signed by the owner and the director if the owner is not the same person as the director.

J. The CCPP application, forms, and information about becoming a provider are available on the consumer education website under the provider tab and may be submitted through the document upload portal or by mail, email, fax, or in person.

Notes

18 Miss. Code. R. 17-7.2

45 CFR 98.40; 45 CFR 98.41; Miss. Code Ann. § 43-1-2(4); Miss. Code Ann. § 43-1-4 Revised: May 2023

Adopted 3/6/2020 Amended 11/1/2021 Amended 5/15/2023