Current through August 26, 2024
(1) SCHEDULE.
(a) The department shall set a schedule for
parent copayment responsibilities for all parents who receive a child care
subsidy, except as provided under sub. (2). Copayment amounts will be based on
the size of the assistance group, the assistance group's gross income, the
number of children in the assistance group in child care, and the number of
hours authorized for a child care subsidy. The copayment schedule is provided
in Table DCF 201.08.
(b) A parent's
share of payment may be more than the copayment amount determined using the
copayment schedule in Table DCF 201.08. If a provider's price is higher than
the department's maximum rate, the parent's share of payment will be the
difference between the provider's price and the subsidy payment, plus any
additional fees the provider charges.
(2) EXCEPTIONS.
(am) Notwithstanding sub. (1), no parent may
be assessed any copayment responsibility if any of the following conditions are
met:
1. The parent is the child's foster
parent.
2. The parent is the
child's subsidized guardian or interim caretaker under s.
48.623,
Stats.
3. The parent is a kinship
care relative receiving payments under s.
48.57(3m) or (3n), Stats., and the child was placed in
the kinship care relative's home under a court order.
4. The biological parent of the child is a
minor attending school subject to the requirements of s.
49.26, Stats.
Note: Section
49.26(1) (e), Stats., prohibits copayment
responsibility for a minor teen parent who is attending school subject to the
Learnfare school attendance requirement.
(bm) A parent shall be assessed the minimum
copayment amount for the number of children in the assistance group under Table
DCF 201.08 if any of the following conditions are met:
1. The parent is the kinship care relative of
a child that was not placed in the relative's home under a court
order.
2. The parent is under the
age of 20 and is attending high school or participating in a course of study
meeting the standards established under s.
115.29(4),
Stats., for the granting of a declaration of equivalency to high school
graduation.
(cm) A parent
that leaves a Wisconsin works position for unsubsidized employment shall be
assessed the minimum copayment based on the number of children in the
assistance group for whom the parent is receiving a child care subsidy until
the parent's next eligibility redetermination.
(dm) A parent that no longer meets the
conditions of this subsection due to a change in circumstances, such as
adoption of the child, may not be assessed the full copayment responsibility
until the parent's next eligibility redetermination.
Note: If a provider's price is higher than the
department's maximum rate, a parent with no copayment responsibility under this
section will still be responsible for the difference between the provider's
price and the subsidy amount, plus additional fees the provider
charges.
(3)
ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) The department may adjust
the amounts in the schedule to reflect the following factors:
1. A change in child care prices or
rates.
2. A change in the funding
available for the child care subsidy program.
3. A change in costs due to a change in the
consumer price index.
4. A change
in the federal poverty level.
5. A
change in economic factors affecting the cost of child care to the state, such
as an increase in demand for the child care subsidy program.
6. Insufficient funding to meet the needs of
all eligible families applying for or receiving a child care subsidy.
7. The purposes of the child care subsidy
program.
(b) The
department shall publish adjustments to the copayment schedule in the Wisconsin
administrative register.
(c) If the
department proposes to make adjustments to the copayment schedule that would
increase parental copayments by 10% or more, the department shall promulgate an
administrative rule to make such adjustments, and the department shall not
issue an emergency rule to implement such adjustments before providing advance
public notice of at least one month.
(4) COPAYMENT INCREASES DURING 12-MONTH
ELIGIBILITY PERIOD. During a parent's 12-month eligibility period, the parent's
copayment amount may not be increased unless any of the following conditions is
met:
(a)
Increased hours. The
increased copayment amount corresponds to an increase in the number of hours
authorized for a child care subsidy to the parent.
(b)
Income at or above 190 percent at
redetermination. All of the following conditions are met:
1. At the parent's last eligibility
redetermination, the gross income of the assistance group was at or above 190
percent of the federal poverty level but under 200 percent of the federal
poverty level.
2. The increased
copayment amount corresponds to an increase in the federal poverty level of the
assistance group under Table DCF 201.08.
3. The copayment amount does not exceed the
amount that is assessed for an assistance group at 200 percent of the federal
poverty level under Table DCF 201.08.
(c)
Income at or above 200 percent at
redetermination. All of the following conditions are met:
1. The gross income of the assistance group
was at or above 200 percent of the federal poverty level at the parent's last
eligibility redetermination.
2. The
parent's copayment increases by $1 for every $3 by which the gross income of
the assistance group exceeds 200 percent of the federal poverty level.
TABLE DCF 201.08
Wisconsin Shares Copayment Schedule
Update to Table DCF 201.08 Based on the 2023 Federal
Poverty Guidelines
Effective February 1, 2023
Click Here to
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The Department of Children and Families sets a schedule for
parent copayment responsibilities for all parents who receive child care
financial assistance under s.
49.155, Stats. Section DCF 201.08 (3) provides that the department may adjust the amounts in the copayment
schedule based on a change in the federal poverty level. The department shall
publish adjustments to the copayment schedule in the Wisconsin Administrative
Register.
