DCF 201.04(2h)(c)5.5. A change in economic factors affecting the cost of child care to the state, such as an increase in demand for the child care subsidy program.

DCF 201.04(2h)(c)6.6. Insufficient funding to meet the needs of all eligible families applying for or receiving a child care subsidy.

DCF 201.04(2h)(c)7.7. The purposes of the child care subsidy program.

DCF 201.04(2h)(d)(d) The department shall publish adjustments to the maximum registration fee schedule in the Wisconsin administrative register.

DCF 201.04(2r)(a)(a) Electronic. The department may issue all payments under subs. (2) and (2h) by electronic funds transfer.

DCF 201.04(2r)(b)(b) Expiration. A subsidy payment issued to a parent under sub. (2) or (2h) shall expire 90 days after the date that the department issues the payment.

DCF 201.04(2r)(c)(c) Billing and collecting. A parent’s child care provider is responsible for billing and collecting payment for child care services from the parent.

DCF 201.04(3)(3) Inactive account. The department may terminate a parent’s authorization and retract all child care subsidy funds in the parent’s account if the parent has not paid any of the child care subsidy to the provider within the previous 90 days.

DCF 201.04(4)(4) Intentional program violation. A child care administrative agency shall consider a parent’s attempt to sell access to the parent’s child care subsidy account to an unauthorized person to be an intentional program violation under s. 49.151 (2), Stats.

DCF 201.04(5)(a)1.1. A child care administrative agency or the department shall take all reasonable steps necessary to recover from a parent funds paid to a child care provider or to that parent when the parent was not eligible for that level of payment under the child care subsidy program and the overpayment benefited the parent by causing the parent to pay less for child care expenses than the parent otherwise would have been required to pay under the requirements of the child care subsidy program. Section DCF 101.23 shall apply to overpayment collection from a parent under this section.

DCF 201.04(5)(a)2.2. An overpayment shall include excess child care funds paid when there was a change in family eligibility circumstances that was significant enough that it would have resulted in a smaller child care subsidy payment or ineligibility for the child care subsidy program due to any reason, including the following:

DCF 201.04(5)(a)2.a.a. The parent failed to report a change in circumstances that may affect his or her eligibility within 10 days after the change.

DCF 201.04(5)(a)2.b.b. The parent was absent from an approved activity under s. 49.155 (1m) (a), Stats., without good cause, while the child was in the care of the provider.

DCF 201.04(5)(a)3.3. The child care administrative agency shall determine good cause under subd. 2. b. if the approved activity is employment. A parent’s absence from employment shall be considered good cause if the parent is using employer-approved sick time, personal time, or vacation time and the child is in care for no more than the hours authorized.

DCF 201.04(5)(b)(b) Provider overpayments. A child care administrative agency or the department shall take all reasonable steps necessary to recoup or recover from a provider any overpayments made for child care services for which the provider was responsible or overpayments caused by administrative error that benefited the provider. A provider shall be responsible for an overpayment if any of the following conditions are met:

DCF 201.04(5)(b)2.2. A provider was paid with child care funds for care provided at a location other than the location for which the authorization for care was issued, except for field trips.

DCF 201.04(5)(b)3.3. A provider was paid with child care funds for care during time when the provider was in violation of the applicable provision regarding limits on the maximum number of children in care or the required provider-to-child ratios for children of various ages in s. DCF 202.08 (6), 250.05 (4), 251.05 (4), or 252.42 (3).

DCF 201.04(5)(b)4.4. A provider was paid with child care funds for care during time when the provider was in violation of the terms of the provider’s license under s. DCF 250.04 (1), 251.04 (1), or 252.05 (3), including age of the children served by the center and hours, days, and months of operation of the center.

DCF 201.04(5)(b)5.5. A provider misrepresented information that resulted in the provider receiving a higher star rating and a higher maximum rate than the provider was eligible to receive under the child care quality rating system in ss. 48.659 and 49.155 (6) (e), Stats.

DCF 201.04(5)(bm)(bm) Joint liability. A provider and parent shall be jointly and severally liable for an overpayment if the provider and parent collude to violate a requirement under this chapter or s. 49.155, Stats.

DCF 201.04(5)(c)(c) Penalties for subsidy violations. If a child care provider submits false, misleading, or irregular information to a child care administrative agency or the department or if a child care provider fails to comply with the terms of the program in s. 49.155, Stats., or this chapter and the provider fails to provide to the satisfaction of the department an explanation for the noncompliance, the child care administrative agency or department may take one or more of the following steps:

DCF 201.04(5)(c)1.1. Refuse to issue new child care authorizations to a provider for a period of time not to exceed 6 months.

DCF 201.04(5)(c)2.2. Revoke existing child care authorizations to the provider.

DCF 201.04(5)(c)3.3. Refuse to issue payments to the provider, in addition to the authority granted to the department under s. 49.155 (7) (b) 4., Stats.