Mississippi Administrative Code
Title 18 - HUMAN SERVICES
Part 17 - Division of Early Childhood Care and Development Child Care Payment Program Policy Manual
Chapter 1 - Introduction

The Child Care Payment Program (CCPP) is administered by the Division for Early Childhood Care and Development (DECCD) at the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). The CCPP is designed to provide child care assistance to qualifying parents and guardians.

The CCPP is designed to assist low-income Mississippi families by offering a seamless system of high-quality child care through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) subsidy program. The CCDF provides federal funds to subsidize the cost of child care for low-income families who are engaged in work, education, or job training and who have children under the age of 13 or children under age 19 who have special needs. Information contained in this manual is in compliance with the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014, CCDF regulations, and the CCDF state plan. The CCDBG is designed to improve the overall quality of child care by defining health and safety standards for child care providers, enhancing the child care workforce, and offering CCDF recipients a choice in affordable child care from all available child care providers who participate in the CCPP. DECCD assists eligible parent(s) in pursuing child care assistance by providing access to a list of CCPP-approved providers, and information on child development while helping parents make informed consumer choices. DECCD also provides assistance and support to child care providers who aspire to offer quality child care. CCPP-approved providers are responsible for providing early childhood learning in an environment that meets health and safety standards outlined in the CCDBG.