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Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS)
Frequently asked questions on the CCSS are available here.
Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Scheme
As announced in the 2010 Budget, the Community Childcare Subvention Scheme (CCSS) will be superseded from 1st September 2010 by a new Community Childcare Subvention (CCS) Scheme. The CCS is a mainstream scheme, and there is no end date associated with it. Contracts will be entered into on a rolling one-year basis.
The new scheme is largely based on the interim CCSS, with the following features:
• The Rate of Subvention for Band A parents will remain at €100 per week for a Full
Daycare place, with pro-rata reductions for part-time, sessional and half sessional places.
• The Band A rate will be extended to include recipients of Family Income Supplement
(FIS), who are currently on Band B.
• Weekly Subvention for recipients of Jobseekers Benefit/Assistance will be capped at 2 ½
days per week, i.e. a part-time place each day. The rate is unchanged, and so full
capitation will apply to such parents availing of sessional and half-day places, but where
the child attends full daycare, no more than €50 subvention will apply per week. This will
NOT apply to other Band A parents, e.g. One Parent Family Payments.
• Consideration is being given to introducing a capitation fee to provide ring-fenced free
childcare places in daycare services which will be made available to qualifying FAS
trainees and VEC students. This would replace the current system where such parents can
avail of €70 Band B subvention plus €63.50 FAS/VEC childcare allowance. It is expected
that the capitation offered will be up to €170 per week for a full-time place.
• Band C parents (i.e. low income working parents above the FIS threshold e.g. medical and
GP visit card holders) will be reclassified as Band B and will qualify for an increased rate
of €50. This new Band B may also apply to parents who were Band A last year, although
most of these are expected to qualify for Band A as a result of the re-classification of FIS.
• Places of exactly 3 hours 30 minutes duration will be brought in line with the Pre-School
Regulations, and will be classified as sessional places. Places of at least 3 hours 31
minutes, but no more than 5 hours duration, will continue to be counted as part-time
places.
• The baby supplement of €30 per week. will be discontinued.
• The minimum grant for services on the islands or isolated rural locations will be retained
at the current rate.
The CCS scheme year will be in line with that of the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme (September - August), and services will make their first CCS returns to the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (OMCYA) in September 2010. The effect of this is that the CCSS return made by services to OMCYA in October 2009 (and in January 2010, should you choose to participate in that return) will set subvention levels for the period January - August 2010 (i.e. 8 months). All calculations for January - August funding will therefore apply on a pro-rata basis, including any relevant top-ups. Services currently funded under the CCSS will be contacted by the OMCYA in due course and invited to enter the new scheme from 1 September 2010. Funding for the period September 2010 to August 2011 will be based on September 2010 returns. Arrangements will be made to make advance payments for services in the autumn of 2010, pending verification of the returns made by services to the OMCYA.
Further information on the New Electronic Financial Reporting System for CCSS is
available.
Childcare Services participating under this scheme will get a compliance visit
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