§ 3514. Payment to providers

(a)(1) The Commissioner shall establish a payment schedule for purposes of reimbursing providers for full- or part-time child care services rendered to families who participate in the programs established under section 3512 or 3513 of this title. The payment schedule shall account for the age of the children served, and all providers in the same child care setting category shall receive a reimbursement rate payment, which shall be dependent upon whether the provider operates a child care center and preschool program, family child care home, or afterschool or summer care program. The reimbursement rate shall then be adjusted to reduce the differential between family child care homes and center-based child care and preschool programs by 50 percent.

(2) Payments shall be based on enrollment. The Department, in consultation with the Office of Racial Equity and stakeholders, shall adopt rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 that define “enrollment” and the total number of allowable absences to continue participating in the Child Care Financial Assistance Program. The Department shall minimize itemization of absence categories.

(b) The Commissioner may establish a separate payment schedule for child care providers who have received specialized training, approved by the Commissioner, relating to protective or family support services.

(c)(1) The payment schedule established by the Commissioner may reimburse providers in accordance with the results of the most recent Vermont Child Care Market Rate Survey.

(2) The payment schedule shall include reimbursement rate caps tiered in relation to provider ratings in the Vermont STARS program. The lower limit of the reimbursement rate caps shall be not less than the 50th percentile of all reported rates for the same provider setting in each rate category.