We are happy to accept assistance payments from several sources including FIA. However, there may be a difference between the balance due to Cradle 2 Crayons Childcare and the amount paid by FIA, and that difference is still owed to the daycare by the parents.

Effective April 2009,  the State of Michigan has made some changes to the way providers are to bill for childcare hours. . One change is that FIA also now requires parents to report the hours they spent working and transporting their
child to daycare. Parents are required to keep documentation of their work hours on file for four years in the form of pay stubs and weekly

schedules. Hours that the daycare reports will be compared with the hours that
the parents report, and any discrepancies will not be paid to the child care
provider. (Parents would be fully responsible for their daycare bill if FIA refuses
payment for any reason).

As a result, Cradle 2 Crayons Childcare will ONLY bill FIA for hours that parents are at work, even if your family has been approved for additional hours. The only exception would be sick days. FIA allows us to bill for a day that you were SCHEDULED to work, but were unable to do so due to a child’s illness.

All families are required to sign a contract with Cradle 2 Crayons Childcare stating they will pay for a minimum amount of hours each week. For a full time space, the minimum is 40 hours per week (plus any additional hours after 45 hours). For a part time family, your minimum hour commitment  is determined at the time of enrollment and stated in your contract (no bonus hours are offered).

Sometimes, parents like to bring their child to daycare on their days off to get
errands or housework done. Under the FIA billing system, that is still possible,
however I cannot bill FIA for that time. We will need to work together with excellent communication to make sure we are both reporting to FIA in a timely and accurate manner, keeping the proper records, and keeping payments up to date.

At the time of enrollment, a deposit for the first week of child care must be paid to be held by Cradle 2 Crayons Childcare . We will refund this payment to the parents as soon as we receive our first payment from FIA. Also, if you are waiting on approval from FIA, daycare expenses must be paid by the parents until you are officially approved. If your approval is back-dated, you will receive a refund or credit from the daycare for the amount you are entitled to after payment has been received by FIA.

Let me re-state that we are more than happy to work with families utilizing
child care assistance. However, the State sets some pretty strict guidelines
regarding reporting payments and verifying hours worked. We strive to be the best daycare we can be, and want to be sure we continue to have flawless inspections and audits. We hope you understand that the reason for the strictness of this payment policy is due to State regulations and is not in the “flexible- family friendly” spirit we usually like to promote in all other areas of business.