Child Care Telephone Billing System - Providers

What's it all About:

  • The IDHS Child Care Telephone Billing system is an alternative to mailing the Child Care certificate to the local Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency at the end of the each month.
  • The Telephone Billing system will help you get your payments quicker.

How it Works:

If you call the IDHS Child Care Telephone Billing system instead of mailing a certificate to your local CCR&R -

  • The information gets into the 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
  • You get immediate confirmation that your payment has been entered

How to get Started:

  • All licensed homes and license-exempt home providers of approved cases will be mailed a Child Care Telephone Billing agreement form
  • Mail the completed form to your local CCR&R

Learning the System

  • You will be mailed instructions on how to use the system and practice certificates to enter
  • Call the number listed on the instructions and enter the practice certificate information
  • After you have completed the practice certificates successfully, you will be able to bill for child care over the phone

Your Password

After IDHS has confirmed that you have successfully completed the practice certificates, you will be mailed a letter that includes your payment password

  • Keep this number/letter for your records
  • Do NOT share or give your password to ANYONE!

What you Need

You will need the following items before you call in your billing information

  • Your SSN or FEIN
  • Your password
  • The Child Care Certificate with all information completed, including a signature by both you and the parent

Calling the System

  • To submit your billing information, dial 1 (800) 787-9316.
  • The billing system is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Entering Information

  • You may enter information either by using the phone key pad or by speaking the information
  • If you reply using the phone key pad, you must complete the ENTIRE process the same way
  • If you choose to speak, the system can be accessed in either English or Spanish
  • Speak slowly and clearly
  • Call from a quiet room

Speaking to the System

  • Use the phone handset instead of a speaker phone or hands-free headset
  • Use a land line (regular phone) instead of a cell phone
  • If you must use a cell phone, call from a stationary position with a strong signal
  • Speak only the requested information (If asked to say "account information", do not say, "I would like account information" or "account info", say "account information".)
  • If you are having problems, are calling from a noisy location, or do not have a good connection, use the touch tone keys on the phone instead.

Verifying your SSN

The Billing system will ask for your Social Security number (SSN).  Be sure to use the same number you indicated on the Child Care Application and W-9 form and enter your:

  • Social Security Number (SSN) or
  • Federal Employers Identification Number (FEIN)

The system will confirm your SSN is on the State's computer system.  If the number is not correct or is not listed on the computer system, you must contact your CCR&R.

Entering your Password

The system will also ask for your password.  This is the number that is located on the IDHS letter you received when you applied.

Lost/Forgotten Passwords

If you have lost or forgotten your password, or would like to change it for any reason, you must call the Telephone Billing system.  You will receive a new password letter in the mail with your password information.

Address Verification

The Child Care Payment will be sent to the address listed on the certificate; however,

  • If the address on the certificate is not correct, you must change it on the certificate, complete the billing information (including both signatures), and mail it to the CCR&R.
  • If the address needs to be changed, you cannot use the Telephone Billing system.

When to Bill

  • The system will ask if you would like to enter a certificate for any of the past four months that have been approved but not yet billed.
  • You cannot enter information for a service month before the end of that month.
  • The earliest you can bill is 6:00 a.m. the first day of the following month (after service occurred). 

For Example: You cannot enter billing for the month of March until 6:00 a.m. on April first or later.

Peak Hours

  • The system's phone lines may be busy during peak hours - between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
  • To avoid a busy signal, call before 6:00 a.m., after 5:00 p.m. or on the weekend.

The First Case

  • After you have selected a month, the system will state the first case name.
  • The system will ask you for attendance information for each child you are approved for from the first family

Eligible Days

  • If you are a licensed provider, you 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.
  • The number of approved eligible days are listed on the Child Care Certificate that was mailed to you for the month.

License-Exempt Providers

  • License-exempt providers will not be asked about eligible days.
  • License-exempt providers will only need to enter the number of days a child received care.
  • If the child attended more days than the number of eligible days, the telephone system cannot be used.

Increasing Days

  • To increase the days, you must complete and mail the paper certificate, noting the change in eligible days and the reason for the change

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

Decreasing Days

  • If the child was eligible for fewer days than approved, licensed providers must enter the new number of eligible days in the system at this time

(For example: If the child stopped attending your program before the end of the month, you 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 you have entered information on the last child approved for this case, the system will ask if you are still providing care for the family.
  • If you are not, you must enter the last day care was provided.

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.

Additional Months

  • 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 you complete the billing by phone, DO NOT mail the certificate to the CCR&R
  • Both you and the parent must sign the certificate and all information on the certificate must be complete.
  • You MUST keep the certificate for five (5) years.

Tracking Payments

  • You may track the status of payments through the IDHS Payment Inquiry Line at 1 (800) 804-3833. 
  • The Payment Inquiry Line is updated every day at 4:00 p.m.
  • Please wait two (2) working days after entering billing information before checking your payment status.
  • The Payment Inquiry Line tells you 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 will mail the check to you.
  • You may also determine the status of a check (also called a warrant) by visiting the Comptroller's website at http://www.dhs.illinois.gov/ppi/
  • Click on the "Vendor Payment" button on the far, left side of the screen
  • Enter your Social Security Number (SSN) and click the OK button
  • Click the "Payments" button
  • Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the "Find Warrants" button
  • Information will show for all checks written to you for the current fiscal year (July-June).
  • The warrant number, zip code it was mailed to, date it was issued, check amount, and the status (Date Cashed - if already cashed, or Outstanding - not yet cashed) will be listed.

GET PAYMENTS EVEN FASTER

Have your child care payment deposited directly into your bank account!  Click on the Direct Deposit button on the Comptroller's Vendor Login Screen or call (217) 557-0930 to learn more about this procedure.

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