Problems in day care payments resolved Ramsey County took action after crisis in system last year

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIRGINIA RYBIN STAFF WRITER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Several months ago, Debbie Tonsager of St. Paul was deluged with calls from fellow day care providers for Ramsey County because their checks were weeks or months late. In July, Tonsager, co-coordinator of the East Side Providers' Network, called because her latest payment was $48 short. She had the money within a week.

``Now that our voices are being heard, I think we are getting a quicker response,'' Tonsager said.

Or, as Carolyn Collins, chairwoman of the Summit-University Family Child Care Network, put it, ``I think the county is working harder now and listening to providers.''

County Board Chairman Rafael Ortega and Board Members Janice Rettman and Victoria Reinhardt report that, like the leaders of the day care groups, they are receiving few, if any, complaints, in contrast with several months ago.

``In the last couple of months, I've had one call,'' Ortega said.

A crisis developed in November, when computer software problems and other glitches resulted in payment delays of a month or longer for more than 700 providers.

A Pioneer Press investigation found that the massive backlog was merely a symptom of a larger problem of delays in payment. While the earlier problems affected fewer providers, they nevertheless caused financial problems for women who work independently in their homes and depend on prompt county checks to pay their bills.

The county has discussed some of the changes now being made for a long time. Officials said the payment crisis was a factor in speeding up those changes.

``There was an urgency that wasn't there before,'' said Dave Haley, executive assistant to county Human Services Director Tom Fashingbauer.

The county and Resources for Child Caring, an agency that has a county contract, process payments, mostly from state and federal dollars, to about 2,300 day care providers who serve about 3,200 families. Some of the children's parents are on welfare while preparing for work or in the first year on the job. Others have low incomes; some of these parents have never received welfare.

The day care providers are keys to reducing welfare rolls -- a goal mandated by federal and state laws. If the parents can't get subsidized child care, many can't go to work. In today's hot job market, many providers might have quit if the problems had continued.

The county established a hot line for providers whose payments are late. Tonsager called Resources instead because she had a partial payment, not a late one.

Mary Nelson, the county's manager of financial aid for child care, said checks are mailed to those who call the hot line within two days unless there is a question about whether the parent is eligible. Providers can pick up their checks, rather than waiting for delivery by mail, if the mistake was the county's fault.

A providers' ``bill of rights'' states that all payments will be issued within 10 working days after an accurate claim form is received.

One problems for providers is built into the system; they submit claim forms after two weeks of service. In contrast, most privately paid providers of day care get their money in advance of the service.

Many providers would like prepayment. But Haley and Nelson said the change would be costly and could be obsolete in 18 to 24 months. The Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning is in the process of selecting a company to design an automated statewide payment system. If this is established, Ramsey County's prepayment system would no longer be used; the state could include that feature in its system.

http://www.pioneerplanet.com/news/mtc_docs/002691.htm

-- Doris (reaper1@mindspring.com), August 08, 2000