Why Some Providers Say They Are Stuck in the Middle and Not Getting Paid
It all started with an eye opening audit. Millions of dollars in fraud from the Michigan Department of Human Services... money that was supposed to pay for child care for low income families.
Now the state is changing the billing procedure, but some day care providers are speaking out, saying they are the falling victim to some unfair and unintended consequences.
Betty Reed has been taking care of kids at her daycare in Grand Traverse County for years. Some of those families qualify for state aid to cover the cost while parents are at work. And it didn't take too much effort for Betty to get the payments.
Betty says, "And our check was prompt. Every two weeks it was here. We'd put down the hours the children were here and it was here."
But last month new rules brought some new changes. Now parents and providers must both submit the hours the child is in daycare. And while that extra step doesn't sound like much, it can mean a big difference in Betty's bottom line.
Betty says, "Our hours have to match and if they don't we don't get paid for it."
In fact according to DHS if there are any filing errors, the day care provider might not get paid.
I talked with a DHS spokesperson, she says while there could be many reasons the provider might not get paid in a timely manner, she says there is nothing wrong with the system.
But since the new system began the state has extended the hours of the unit that resolves these problem.
"I called the case worker- she said you think we had problems before, we really have problems now because we don't know how to work the system. So they can't tell me when we will get paid for these children."
Some day care providers say it's not worth it and are refusing to accept children who rely on state aid, while other providers are changing their billing
Betty says, "Now the parents have to pay me until the state kicks in because this is my income. If they have a minimum wage job I'm sure most of their check is coming to daycare, but in the same respect I can't wait that long to get paid either.
Everybody is in a tough situation, but daycare providers are getting the worst end of the deal."
The Department of Human Services spokesperson I talked with says that they will be reviewing the new system in a few months to see how it's working, but until then there are no plans to change it.
What have your experiences been with the Department of Human Services? I'd like to hear from you leave your comments below.
