Provider Updates: 09/01/2020
Please read full message for all VPK & SR attendance updates before submitting attendance.

Contact our office at 772.220.1220 if you have any questions. We are here to help!

Thank you and be safe!

Early Learning Coalition of Indian River, Martin & Okeechobee Counties
School Readiness Updates
SR Attendance:

Please communicate with your early learning coalition to inform them of any temporary closures that occurred during the month before submitting your attendance. Attached will find the screenshot on how to do the attendance. 

  1. For the SR Program in general, mark absences as usually in the Provider Services Portal. For absences related to COVID‐19, choose the reason code ( D ) "Absence due to Disaster." Comments and documents are not required. Please do not submit the attendance before August 31, 2020, and any attendance submitted prior would be rejected due to issues in the portal. Submit your completed attendance roster no later than September 03, 2020. If you have any problems, please notify the Coalition asap. 
  2. If a child is no longer attending your center, please terminate the enrollment before your attendance is submitted. On the top menu of your dashboard, click on "Enrollments" and then "Manage SR Enrollments." Family Services Specialist. Enrollments cannot be left open for a child to use services occasionally. This practice prohibits the Coalition from serving children in need.
  3. If your site had a temporary closure during the month, you should see an asterisk (*) for the day closed, and no further action is needed; if you don't see the ( *), please contact us ASAP before submitting attendance. 
  4. Full-time Reimbursement to School Readiness (SR) Providers for School-Age Children during the School: Reimbursement for Full-Time Care and Parent Fees: Based on the circumstances described above and in consideration for parents requiring child care to continue working, SR providers offering full-time services for school-age children not attending brick and mortar schools, will be reimbursed the approved full-time school age rate, including absences, paid holidays, and temporary closures. Upon reinstatement of parent fee requirements, parents will be responsible for the part-time parent copayment (DEO EO-20-06).
  5. This guidance applies to all SR provided billing groups, including the most recent billing group labeled BG1-ESS (for first responders and health care workers). Provider EFS Mod Processing: Providers must change the unit of care from part-time to full-time when reporting attendance in EFS Mod. If a provider does not change the attendance to full time for these cases, the Coalition will be rejecting the attendance roster for the provider to make the necessary changes
  6. Attendance of children of First Responders and Health Care Workers will follow Rule 6M-4-500. The rule indicates that no absences can be paid before the first day of attendance and that only 3 absences are allowed w/o any doctor's notes. After the 3 days, a doctor note or a parent note will be required, etc.
  7. The Coalition must have a completed application, including a payment certificate, for each child to receive payment.  Before the Coalition pays a provider, we will review the childcare payment certificate that will include the child(ren) 's and the provider's names. The signatures of the parent to authorized care coalition staff will approve the payment.
 Payment Certificates

   At the time of enrolling new children, the Family Services Department notifies SR Providers, via email, with instructions on how to accept/reject the enrollments. The email also contains instructions for the parent on how to accept Terms and Conditions and electronically sign the School Readiness Payment Certificate. SR Providers need to ensure that the SR certificates are being signed by the Families they are serving. This is a document SR Providers to keep for up to 5 years for auditing purposes.
6M-4.500 Child Attendance and Provider Reimbursements.

  • (c) If a child is absent for five (5) consecutive days of the child’s regularly scheduled attendance, during a calendar month, with no contact from the parent, the provider shall submit written notification to 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.
  • (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 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 eligibility 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 eligibility 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) When an at-risk child has an unexcused absence or seven consecutive days of excused absences, the school readiness provider shall notify the Department of Children and Families or community-based lead agency and the early learning coalition. The coalition shall document any contact made with the provider, referring agency and parent in the case file. This paragraph shall apply to all at-risk children under the age of school entry.
VPK Updates
VPK Attendance:

Please communicate with your early learning coalition to inform them of any temporary closures that occurred within the month before attendance is submitted.

1.)Completed attendance roster as usual. Please do not submit the attendance before August 31, 2020, and any attendance submitted prior would be rejected due to issues in the portal. Submit your attendance roster no later than September 3, 2020, by 5:00 pm.

2.)If your site had a temporary closure during the month, you should see an asterisk (*) for the closed days, and no further action is needed. If the (*) is not showing, please contact us ASAP.

3.)For days that your center was open for VPK, mark attendance and absences as follows:
a)  If a child was present, mark that day with an "X."
b)  If a child was absent, mark that day with an "A."

4.)Parental Choice Certificates "Short forms "Long Forms "document the parent attestation to the child's attendance if they resume offering the VPK program. 
a) If the program does not resume, the provider will document why the form is not complete, i.e., temporary closure due to COVID-19.
b) The forms should be completed and signed by the parents whose children are in attendance for providers who remain open. For those children who are marked absent and do not return, follow the procedure noted above. 

5.) In the event of a transfer, closed sites will not receive payment for children transferred to another open site after the transfer date.