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Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program: A Project of the ACF/Child Care Bureau

Presentation: Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program

This document is also available in PowerPoint and Word.

Slide 1

Measuring Improper Payments in the Child Care Program:  A Pilot Project of the ACF/Child Care Bureau

Mary Jo Thomas
Team Leader
Intergovernmental Personnel Act Executive

Slide 2

Why have a pilot project?

  • Improper Payment Information Act of 2002 (IPIA)
  • Related OMB Guidance
  • To discover methods that could help States, Territories and Tribes identify, measure, and prevent errors in the administration of child care funds

Slide 3

Pilot Project Objectives

  • Determine a strategy for estimating improper payments in the Child Care program
  • Produce recommendations for improved monitoring and administration regarding improper payments and fraud
  • Provide better definitions of child care payment error and child care fraud
  • Gather documented "best practices," plus other technical assistance materials, as well as promising data collection and reporting tools

Slide 4

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Overview

  • Block grant composed of three distinct funding elements (Mandatory, Discretionary, Matching)
  • Provides maximum flexibility for States, Territories and Tribes
  • Provides maximum choice for parents

Slide 5

Flexibility:  Policies vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction

  • Eligibility rules for parents
  • Amount of co-pay
  • Regulation of child care providers
  • Waiting lists
  • Payment mechanisms
  • Locally OR state-administered
  • Located in Education Agency OR Social Services Agency OR Workforce Development Agency

Slide 6

Gathering Perspectives:  Pilot Project States

FIELD SITES

  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Indiana
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Virginia*

PARTNER STATES

  • Georgia
  • Maryland
  • Oregon
  • South Carolina
  • Wisconsin

*A shorter site visit was held in Virginia

Slide 7

Pilot Project Activities

  • Recruitment of Field Sites and other Partners
  • Initial Meeting of All Partners in Washington DC
  • Field Site Visits
  • Regular Communication with Regional Offices and States
  • Collaboration with Other Organizations (GAO, United Council on Welfare Fraud, American Public Human Services Association, HHS Office of the Inspector General)

Slide 8

Outcomes

  • Final Report:  September 2004
  • Options for Estimating Payment Errors in the Child Care Program
  • Options for Improving Program Integrity