Daniel Prince
Providers will have to apply for new rates
The South Carolina Department of Social Services announced last week that starting October 1, the department’s Division of Early Care and Education implemented a new reimbursement rate structure issued to child-care providers participating in ABC Quality and accepting SC Voucher recipients.
The maximum amount that providers are reimbursed is increasing. The new structure is based on the individual age of the child as opposed to a grouping of ages. This process is not automatic, and providers will have to apply for a rate increase. For more information, call the SC Voucher Program at 1-800-262-4416.
The overall rate increase will save families money by reducing the portion they have to pay to cover tuition expenses. It will also provide financial support to child-care providers who may be recovering from financial losses during the pandemic. DSS has issued a fifth round of COVID Support Child Care Operating Grants to help providers that had to close temporarily or have lost revenue due to low enrollments as a result of the pandemic. The grant opportunity is available to assist licensed or registered child-care centers, group child care homes, and family child care home providers in paying for their child care facility expenses. For more information, visit scchildcare.org.