Financial

The federally-funded Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides financial assistance to eligible families who are working, searching for employment, in training or in an educational activity and need child care services to support their efforts to achieve and/or maintain self-sufficiency. CCCAP is administered in Weld County through the Department of Human Services (DHS).

Currently, Weld County's eligibility level is at 185% of the Federal Poverty Level. Families whose gross income does not exceed 185% of the Federal Poverty Level may be eligible for CCCAP. To find out if your family may qualify, you can download this PDF(PDF, 172KB) to review the gross income guidelines.

Families enrolled in CCCAP are required to pay a portion of their child care costs, called the parental fee. The amount you pay is based on your gross income and the number of people in your household.

To apply for CCCAP, parents must complete an application and provide information about their income and work or training program. Electronic applications can be submitted through the Colorado PEAK website or you may download an application here(PDF, 2MB). You can also pick up a paper application from DHS.

Call (970) 400-6017 or email HS-CCCAP@weldgov.com for more information.

By choosing to provide care for children of parents receiving CCCAP financial support, a provider helps more children have access to quality child care - something they might not receive otherwise. Too often, people have misconceptions about government assistance and will stigmatize those who need it. People receiving assistance are just regular folks who need temporary help, and they deserve the same quality child care as those who are able to afford to pay out-of-pocket. 

Parents need stable, reliable and affordable child care to achieve self-sufficiency, and a caregiver can help them achieve this. When children are well cared-for and their parents can pursue work or school, families thrive and communities prosper. Brighter futures begin with partnerships between caregivers and families, enabling both to achieve success.

In order for a child care provider to accept and receive CCCAP payments, they must be contracted with DHS. To become contracted with DHS, the family receiving CCCAP must request an enrollment packet from their case manager. The family and child care provider complete the packet together and submit the completed packet back to the case manager.

Call (970) 400-6017 or email HS-CCCAP@weldgov.com for more information.

Q. How does the system know who is supposed to be at the provider?
A. ATS pulls this data from the county system, CHATS, the child’s authorization schedule for CCCAP. Private Pay child’s schedules are reading from what the parent or provider entered in ATS.

Q. What if parents have shared custody and one parent needs to check the child in/out on a day when they do not have a CCCAP authorization?
A. Each parent may have their own case in ATS (for example, father of the child has a CCCAP case in ATS and mother of the child is Private Pay). They may add each other as delegates on each case if they choose. Each will use their PIN to record attendance.

Q. How quickly will changes to a CCCAP authorization be accessible in ATS?
A. The information should be available within a few minutes.

Q. Do we still need to maintain the daily sign in/out paper logs?
A. Licensing recognizes ATS as a valid electronic signature which meets all licensing requirements. For situations where the provider is entering the check ins/outs into ATS (i.e., the device is not available for the families to use), the provider will need to maintain the paper check in/out logs, have the families sign those logs, then enter the data into ATS for approval by the families. It’s recommend, not required, to maintain paper check in/out logs too.

Q. Do we still need sign in/out sheets for Private Pay families?
A. ATS may be used for Private Pay families, which would be a recorded electronic signature and paper sign in/out would not be required. If ATS is not used for Private Pay families, you still need a system of record for check ins/outs to meet licensing requirements, which may be the paper logs.

Q. How does overnight care work if the system checks the child out at 11:59 pm?
A. The overnight rate needs to be authorized by the county and ATS will automatically check the child out at 11:59 pm and check the child in at 12:00 am.

Q. Are we able to print attendance from ATS for the food program?
A. ATS does not have an attendance report to print. You will need to continue to process other programs as you do now. The state is looking at options for getting this information to the CDPHE food program.

Q. Is there a limit to the number of delegates a parent may add?
A. No.

Q. Who has the capability to create a delegate?
A. Only the primary parent may add, edit or delete a delegate. Providers and delegates do not have the accessibility to create or edit delegates.

Q. Do delegate check in/outs need to be confirmed by the primary parent?
A. No, only provider initiated transactions require a confirmation from the primary parent.

Q. Do delegates have their own PIN to check children in/out?
A. Yes, once the primary parent has created a delegate, the delegate will receive an e-mail with the hyperlink to set their own 8-digit PIN.

Q. Can you be in Kiosk view on the parent check in/out computer and in the Provider Administration mode on a desktop at the same time?
A. Yes. You may have multiple devices functioning in different modes at the same time.

Q. What is required for my device to work with ATS?
A. It’s recommended to use Google Chrome or Firefox for the internet connectivity for the ATS community. If using the ATS Mobile functionality, you will need the ability to download the application from Google Play or the Apple Store. Example: The Kindle Fire cannot access either Google Play or the Apple Store and can only be used for the ATS community application (consistent internet connection), not the mobile application (no internet available).

Q. Do providers need to supply the device on which parents check the child in/out?
A. Yes. It is a licensing requirement for check ins/outs to be completed at the provider location. For situations where the provider is entering the check ins/outs into ATS (i.e., the device is not available for the families to use), the provider will need to maintain the paper check in/out logs, have the families sign those logs, then enter the data into ATS for approval by the families.

Q. Do providers need to register their device(s) with ATS?
A. No. ATS is accessed from the device at the site-specific provider using login credentials (e-mail address and password).

Q. Who can view Private Pay family information?
A. The provider and the private pay family are able to view private pay information in ATS.

Q. As a provider, I have multiple sites (multiple license numbers); may I use the same e-mail to log into each site?
A. No, each site needs to have a unique e-mail address.

Q. When the device is in Kiosk mode, does it time out?
A. If a parent is logged into ATS in Kiosk mode, the system will log them out after 30 seconds of inactivity. Beyond that time frame, the device may go into sleep mode but parents will be able to input the PIN once the device is brought out of sleep mode. However, after several hours of inactivity, the provider will have to sign in again on the device.

Q. What if a provider does not want to incur the cost of the internet?
A. Providers may download the ATS Mobile App and record attendance transactions using the application off-line functionality. The provider would need to take the device to a location that offers free Wi-Fi at least once a week and “sync” (transmit) the information.

Q. How do parents sign in/out their child(ren) if they drop-off or pick-up at a location that does not have internet access?
A. A provider who has downloaded the ATS Mobile App may use the application to record the transactions without internet connectivity, and then upload this data when they get to a location with internet access.

Q. Will payments still be made as they are with the POS device?
A. Payments will remain the same, paid weekly two weeks in arrears.

Q. Are we able to still do manual claims if we can’t correct the problem in 9 days?
A. Please contact your county to discuss their manual claim policy. As a rule, manual claims will not be permitted if attendance could have been recorded using ATS as designed.

Q. Can family members share the same e-mail account?
A. No. Each ATS user must have a unique and accessible e-mail account to obtain their e-mail containing the hyperlink to set the PIN.

Q. Can parents share a PIN, or is it possible for duplicate PIN numbers?
A. No. Each ATS user will have their own PIN and PIN numbers may not be duplicated. The PIN records the user’s name when checking in/out creating an electronic signature.

Q. What does a parent do if they forget their PIN?
A. When ATS is in the Kiosk mode, the parent will click “Forgot PIN." The system will prompt the parent to enter their e-mail address. They will receive an e-mail with a link to reset the PIN. The reset PIN e-mail link is only good for 24 hours, so it should be set as soon as possible.

Q. How do Private Pay families receive the e-mail to set the PIN?
A. The provider will click the paper airplane icon beside the parent’s name on the Household tab in ATS.

Q. Do PINs expire?
A. No.

Q. Where are providers and parents able to access ATS training materials?
A. Click here to be redirected to the Colorado Office of Early Childhood CCCAP page and navigate to the Attendance Tracking System (ATS) Information and Resources drop-down menu.

Q. Is there a Help Desk?
A. Yes. Call 1-844-447-4441, Option 3, or email cdhs_ats_helpdesk@state.co.us for a quicker response.

Q. What is the recommendation for checking children in/out when they attend school? Is this a check in/out that providers are responsible for?
A. Children must be checked in/out when they arrive or leave the facility. If a parent is not available to record a transaction, the provider will initiate the check in/out and the primary parent must confirm the transaction before payment can be issued.

Q. Are parents able to complete previous check in/outs?
A. No, parents do not have the functionality to complete previous transactions. The provider can create the previous transaction and the primary parent will need to confirm this within the nine (9) day previous check in/out period in order to receive payment.

Q. May there be multiple check in/out times per day for children?
A. Yes.

Q. If there is a check in and not a check out for a day, is the parent still able to check in the next day?
A. Yes, the child may be checked in daily and is not dependent on transactions from previous days.

Q. How long does a parent have to confirm a provider initiated transaction?
A. There is a total of nine (9) calendar days, from the date of attendance, which a provider and parent have to complete and confirm a transaction.