Follow the Proper Attendance Reporting

Auditors for the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) are working to ensure compliance with reporting attendance. In addition to submitting absences in the provider portal, all providers must keep a backup attendance method for up to three years. 

Auditors will request your backup attendance method and compare it to what is submitted in the provider portal or your Child Care Management System (CCMS). The audit team is finding that many programs are not keeping backup attendance or that this does not match what is being submitted in the portal for payment.

If your backup attendance does not match what is submitted in the portal, or if you fail to respond to the request for backup attendance, you will receive a Corrective Action Plan from OECOSL. This could result in negative action taken against your license, and provider repayments may be required.

Backup attendance options may include:

• Child Care Management System (if parents are the ones using the system to log their children in and out)
• Paper sign-in sheets including daily time in and out with parent's signature confirming
• Other electronic tracking methods (if parents are the ones using the system to log their children in and out)

Backup attendance must include:

• Child's first and last name
• Date of attendance
• Time in and time out
• Parent signature or initials (at least weekly)

Please note that food program menus do not meet the requirement for backup attendance.

For more Pay by Enrollment provider support, call the OECOSL Child Care Support Line at 1-800-299-1627.