Child Care Telephone Billing System - CCR&R Staff

IDHS Child Care Telephone Billing System for CCR&R Staff (ppt)

What's it all About:

The IDHS Child Care Telephone Billing system is an alternative to mailing the Child Care certificate to the local CCR&R at the end of the each month.
The Telephone Billing system will help providers get their payments quicker.

How it works:

If providers call the IDHS Child Care Telephone Billing system instead of mailing a certificate to the CCR&R:

  • The information gets into the State's payment system faster
  • No mail delays in getting information to the CCR&R
  • The payment information may be entered 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
  • The provider gets immediate confirmation that their payment has been entered

How it Starts

  • All current licensed home and license-exempt home providers of approved cases will be mailed a notice for the new Telephone Billing system and a Child Care Telephone Billing agreement form
  • The provider will mail the completed agreement to their local CCR&R

New Approved Providers

At the time new providers are approved, CCR&R staff must mail them a notice for the new Telephone Billing system and a Child Care Telephone Billing agreement

Processing the Agreement Form

After the CCR&R receives a completed and signed Telephone Billing Agreement form from the provider, staff must enter a "Y" for IVR agreement on the provider (F12) screen on the Child Care Tracking System (CCTS)

Start Up Package

The CCR&R will mail a Telephone Billing System start-up package to all providers that return a completed Child Care Telephone Billing Agreement form

Learning the System

  • The package includes instructions on how to use the system and practice certificates for the provider to enter on the system
  • The provider must call the number listed on the instructions and enter the practice certificates

Provider Passwords

The provider must complete the practice certificates successfully in order to bill over the phone

The system will mail the provider an "Important Child Care Password Information" letter after the practice certificates have been entered.

Confirming the Password Letter

CCR&R staff may confirm that a Password letter has been sent to a provider on the Provider Forms List screen which is accessed through the F12 screen of the CCTS.

What is Needed

Providers will need the following items before calling in their billing information:

  • Their SSN or FEIN
  • Their Password
  • Their Child Care certificate, completed and signed by both the parent and the provider

Calling the Billing System

To submit billing information, the provider must dial 1 (800) 787-9316

TTY callers may dial 1 (800) 787-9318 to access the system

The Billing system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Entering Information

  • The provider may enter information either with the phone key pad or by voice
    • Once a reply using the key pad is made, ALL information following must be completed using the key pad
  • The system can be accessed in either English or Spanish

Verifying the SSN

  • The Billing system will ask the provider for their SSN. They must enter either their:
    • Social Security Number (SSN)  OR
    • Federal Employers Identification Number (FEIN)
  • This must be the same number used on the Child Care Application and W-9 form
  • The system will confirm that the SSN is on the CCTS
  • If the number is not correct or is not listed on the CCTS, the provider must contact the CCR&R

Enter the Password

The system will also ask for the password.  This is the number that is located on the letter IDHS sent to the provider.

Lost/Forgotten Passwords

  • If the provider has lost or forgotten their password, or would like to change it for any reason, they must call the Telephone Billing system
  • The provider will receive a new password letter in the mail with their new password information
  • Providers should NEVER share their password with anyone

Address Verification

  • If the address on the certificate is not correct, the provider must change it on the certificate, complete the billing information (including signatures) and mail it to the CCR&R.
  • If the address needs to be changed, the provider cannot use the Telephone Billing system.
  • The Child Care payment will be sent to the address listed on the certificate.

When to Bill

  • The system will ask if the provider would like to enter a certificate for any of the past four months that have been approved, but not yet billed.
  • Information cannot be entered for a service month before the end of that month.
  • The earliest a provider can bill is 6:00 a.m. the first day of the following month

(EXAMPLE: Billing for March cannot be entered until 6:00 a.m. on April first or later.)

The First Case

  • After a service month has been selected, the system will state the first case name
  • The system will ask for attendance information for each child approved from the first family

Eligible Days

  • If the provider is licensed, they will be asked to confirm the total number of full-time and part-time days the child was eligible for care during the month of service.
  • License-exempt providers will not be asked about eligible days. They will only need to enter the number of attended days.

Adding Eligible Days for Licensed Providers

  • If the child attended more days than the number of eligible days, the Telephone Billing system cannot be used.
  • Providers must complete and mail the paper certificate to the CCR&R, noting the change in eligible days and the reason for the change

(EXAMPLE: Increasing the eligible full-time days by 1 day due to a school holiday.)

Reducing Eligible Days for Licensed Providers

If the child was eligible for fewer days than approved, licensed providers may enter the new number of eligible days in the system.

(EXAMPLE: If the child stopped attending the provider's day care before the end of the month, they may reduce the number of eligible days.)

Attended Days

The system will ask both licensed and license-exempt providers for the number of full-time and part-time days the child attended.

This will be repeated for each child approved in this family.

Last Month of Care?

  • After information has been entered for the last child approved on this case, the system will ask if the provider is still providing care for the family.
  • If they are not, the provider must enter the last day care was provided.
  • All payments that are indicated as the provider's last month of service will go onto an Incomplete Payment list screen on the CCTS.

Incomplete Payment List Screen

CCR&R staff will be required to review payments on the Incomplete Payment List screen daily.

Other types of payments that will appear on the Incomplete Payment List screen include:

  • OVRPYMNT = The provider has an overpayment balance
  • NOTCERT = The provider is no longer certified on SAMS
  • IVROUTST = The provider entered a "Y" for still providing care for the family, but the provider's address is not in Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, or Kentucky.

Information Review

  • The system will then review the information that was entered.
  • The month of service and the number of full-time and part-time days entered will be confirmed.

Additional Families

  • If there are additional families approved whose billing information has not yet been entered, the system will ask about the next family.
  • If not, the billing process is complete for this month.
  • If the provider is approved for earlier months that have not been entered yet, the billing process will start again for each of those months.
  • After all months are completed, or if the provider chooses to skip those months and enter them at a different time, the call will end.

The Child Care Certificate

  • If billing is completed by phone, the provider SHOULD NOT mail the certificate to the CCR&R.
  • Both the provider and the parent must sign the certificate and all information on the certificate must be complete.
  • The provider MUST keep the certificate for five (5) years.

How the Payment is Made

  • When payments are entered for a case using the Telephone Billing system, the payment goes directly to the CCTS and IDHS Vouchering Unit.
  • Information is then sent to the Illinois State Comptroller's office where the check (warrant) is then printed and mailed.

Child Care Tracking System

  • The F2 and F3 screens of the Child Care Tracking System will indicate that the payment was entered via the Telephone Billing system.
  • A detail screen of the payment will still be available for CCR&R staff to view.

Incomplete Entry

  • If a provider does not fully complete the entry of a certificate, the information that was entered will be used to make the payment.
  • In order to receive additional payment for that case and service month, the provider must submit a Supplemental Billing.

Tracking Payments

  • Providers may track the status of payments through the IDHS Payment Inquiry Line by calling 1 (800) 804-3833.
  • The Payment Inquiry Line is updated every day at 4:00 p.m.
  • Providers should wait two (2) working days after entering billing information before checking the Inquiry Line for that payment.
  • The Payment Inquiry Line tells when a payment was entered (either through the Telephone Billing system or by the CCR&R) when the payment was approved (vouchered) by IDHS, and when the Comptroller's office has mailed the check.

Thanks for learning about the IDHS Telephone Billing System.  We appreciate your continued partnership and for sharing our mutual interest in providing quality care services.