Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) Only
reasonable costs that are necessary for the accomplishment of program goals and
objectives shall be allowable. A cost is reasonable if, in its nature or
amount, it does not exceed what would be incurred by a prudent buyer under the
circumstances prevailing at the time the decision was made to incur the costs.
Accordingly, the Board shall seek to approve expenditures for goods and
services at a cost that is as low as possible without sacrificing the quality
of goods or services received. Parameters for frequently incurred costs,
including staffing costs, will be developed by the Board based on analysis of
regional variations in costs for comparable services.
1) In determining allowable costs for new
programs (i.e., those without audited historical cost data), the Board will
consider the special education and related services that will be required in
response to the unique characteristics of the children to be served.
2) For new residential programs, allowable
costs may be determined based on costs approved by another child care agency of
the State of Illinois.
b) Reasonable cost ceilings for support,
administration and occupancy costs shall be determined as follows:
1) All providers will be grouped by type of
program offered based on actual costs for support, administration, and
occupancy of facilities. Allowable costs for support, administration and
occupancy utilize a cost range ceiling of 125% of the median per diem cost for
support, administration, and occupancy as a reasonable upper limit.
2) For a private for-profit provider,
reimbursement will be allowable at 115% of the median cost for support,
administration and the physical plant operation and maintenance portion of the
occupancy costs for all facilities where a similar type of program is offered.
When actual costs exceed 115% of these medians, a cost ceiling of 125% of these
medians will be utilized.
3)
Calculation of median costs for the coming rate year will be based on cost
reports received prior to April 15. Cost reports not received prior to April 15
may be included in the median calculation using the prior year's cost report,
adjusted for inflation, as established by the Board.
c) Reported costs will be updated for
inflation experienced and projected for the time between the period covered on
the cost report and the middle of the current school year. The Board will
develop an appropriate index for inflation factors each year using the
component method to update costs of programs for the same time
periods.
d) Allowable costs
approved by the Illinois Purchased Care Review Board for any nonpublic school
program or segment thereof shall not exceed the allowable costs for that
program approved by any other Illinois State agency for the same program or
program segment.
e) Each Illinois
State agency that approves room and board rates for nonpublic providers will
notify the Illinois Purchased Care Review Board of the approved rate for each
nonpublic program receiving funding subject to Section 14-7.02 of the School
Code.
f) The Board may use as bases
for allowable costs those costs reimbursed by the state in which a provider's
facility is located. These may, however, be adapted to meet known differences
in cost determination methodologies. The Board may waive allowable cost
provisions for a provider's out-of-state program or programs. Circumstances
that would lead the Board to waive allowable cost provisions include but are
not limited to the following:
1) Fewer than
six Illinois children are served by the program or programs except that until
August 31, 2023, the Board may waive the allowable cost provisions when it
deems the number of pupils placed with a provider by Illinois school districts
totals twelve or fewer;
2) The
out-of-state provider submits a substitute cost report as prescribed by the
Board and/or the provider requests that the Board adopt the official rate of
another state or local governmental agency;
3) The out-of-state provider will only
provide treatment services at a non-negotiable or stated cost and the treatment
services are not available in other settings;
4) The placement of a child in the
out-of-state program is the result of a court order; or
5) The provider is providing emergency and
student-specific placement pursuant to 23 Ill. Adm. Code
226.330(g)
or (i).
g) For school year 2021-2022 (SY21-22) only,
the rate for any out-of-state provider accepting six to twelve Illinois
students for which a rate was calculated for SY21-22 will not be retroactively
adjusted for SY21-22. Effective school year 2022-2023, for providers with
twelve or fewer students placed by Illinois school districts, the Board may
waive the certified audit and/or cost report pursuant to Section
900.320(b)(1)
regardless of whether rates were calculated for SY22.
h) Per-student allowable costs shall be
determined in the following manner:
1)
Per-student allowable costs for room and board will be determined based on
actual enrollment or 90% of licensed capacity, whichever is larger.
2) Per-student allowable education costs
shall be determined based on program enrollment, as reported by the provider
and verified by ISBE. This verification shall be based on the total
reimbursement days claimed by all school districts for each program. In the
event of a discrepancy between the enrollment reported by the provider and the
enrollment reported by ISBE, the higher enrollment figure shall be used in
determining the per-student allowable education cost, except as provided for in
Section
900.342(a)(6).
i) Cost determination for an
out-of-state public school program shall be made based on documented prior
costs or the operating budget for the public program.
1) Cost information shall be reported
annually by an authority representing the out-of-state public school district
or other public entity operating the program.
2) Additional information such as enrollment,
school calendar, weighting factors, or budget detail may be required if such
information is not included with the cost information submitted for
review.
3) Any increase in the
actual costs of a program determined after the original cost determination
shall be submitted to the Board in the form of an appeal. The Board must
approve any increase before payment is made by any Illinois school district.
Only appeals that address changes in the current school year will be
considered.
