Florida’s Office of Early Learning
RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:
6M-4.500Child Attendance and Provider Reimbursements
NOTICE OF CHANGE
Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 43 No. 42, March 2, 2017 issue of the Florida Administrative Register.
6M-4.500 Child Attendance and Provider Reimbursements
(1) through (3) No change.
(4) Absences.
(a) through (b) No change.
(c) If a child is absent for five (5) consecutive reimbursable days of the child’s regulary scheduled attendance, during a calendar month, with no contact from the parent, the provider shall submit written notification to notify the local coalition or its designee who in turn shall determine the need for continued care. The coalition shall document in the case file all attempts to contact the parent by the coalition, any contact made with the provider, or referring agency, if applicable, and parent.
(d) If the child has ten (10) unexplained absences during a total calendar month of attendance, with no contact from the parent, the provider shall submit written notification to notify the local coalition or its designee who in turn shall determine the need for continued care. The coalition shall document in the case file all attempts to contact the parent by the coalition, provider, or referring agency, if applicable. If a determination is made that school readiness services are no longer needed, the local coalition or designee shall send a notice of termination to the parent and school readiness provider at least 2 weeks prior to disenrollment pursuant to Rule 6M-4.200, F.A.C. If the authorized eligibilty period ends in less than 2 weeks, the notice of disenrollment will be sent stating that services will end on the last day of the current eligiblity period. However, an at-risk child may not be disenrolled from the program without the written approval of the Child Welfare Program Office of the Department of Children and Families or the community-based lead agency. A notice of termination shall be maintained in the case file and provided to the parent, provider and referring agency.
(e) No change.
(5) through (6) No change.
(7) Reimbursement for Quality Improvement Programs.
(a) through (b) No change.
(8)(c) Reimbursement for Combined Quality Programs. A child care provider that is currently receiving a gold seal differential and participating in in a state or local quality improvement program, as documented by the coalition and approved by the Office of Early Learning, may receive a differential rate higher than the coalition’s base approved reimbursement rate for each care level and unit of care. The reimbursement rate for the quality improvement differential shall not exceed twenty (20) percent above the provider’s private pay rate.
