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The Great Start Compensation Support Payment Program was signed into law in May 2023, providing Minnesota with a permanent program designed to support the child care industry and child care workers. This FAQ with page has the most commonly asked questions about the program. More questions and answers will be added in the future, so check this page frequently.
Child care program types eligible for funds include:
In addition, the above programs must be in an allowable license/certification state with the Minnesota Department of Human Services or their Tribe for the entire funding period (under Minnesota Rules, Chapters 9502, 9503, 245H or 119B). Please see FAQ 1.7 for a list of allowable license states. Newly licensed/certified providers will be eligible for Compensation Support Payments when their license/certification has been in effect for the entire funding period
Program must not have been:
To receive funds, an eligible program must have been operating and serving children for at least a portion of the funding period. Temporary closures including seasonal closures for summer-only and school year-only programs are allowable, however, programs that permanently close during the funding period are ineligible.
Additionally, providers must meet a minimum daily attendance requirement that varies by provider type and other considerations. Please see the minimum daily attendance requirements in FAQ 4.3.
Providers can apply once a month for Compensation Support Payments. Application periods are generally open for eight (8) days and close at 4:30 p.m. on the last day of the application period.
Funding periods from October 2023 – December 2023 can be found on the Compensation Support Payments program page, under the “Compensation Support Payments award amounts” heading.
First, check your email account’s spam and junk folders to make sure your application link email didn’t end up there. If it did, move your application link email to your inbox so that the link will work.
If you still cannot find your application link email, you can request a new application link email by following the steps below.
Steps for requesting a new Compensation Support Payment application link email:
Click on the following link to request a new Compensation Support Payment application link email: https://edocs.mn.gov/forms/DHS-8070K (link only active during Compensation Support Payment application periods).
Once on the above linked webpage, follow the below steps.
If you still do not see your new application link email contact Child Care Aware right away at 651-290-9704 or supportfunds@childcareawaremn.org. If you contact Child Care Aware before the application submission deadline, they will try and forward you a copy of your new application link email.
If you are having trouble submitting your Compensation Support application, use these strategies to troubleshoot:
If you are still having trouble submitting your Compensation Support application or you have not received your submission confirmation email, please contact Child Care Aware at 651-290-9704 or supportfunds@childcareawaremn.org as soon as possible.
**Please reach out to Child Care Aware before the application period closes and allow enough time to receive assistance. Do not wait until the final hour of the application period to submit your application or contact Child Care Aware.**
For providers licensed or certified by the State of Minnesota, below are the allowable license/certification states.
State statute requires that Compensation Support Payment award amounts be based on the number of full-time equivalent staff who regularly care for children in the program, including sole proprietors (i.e., family child care providers) or independent contractors.
"Staff who regularly cares for children" is defined as a paid staff person whose job description or responsibilities include interacting with, caring for and supervising children enrolled in the program. More information on the funding formula is available under “Compensation Support Payment award amounts” section on the Compensation Support program page.
Providers who provided care during the lookback period AND were paid out during the lookback period for service provided during the lookback period through the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Early Learning Scholarships (ELS), or both, or are located in a Child Care Access Equity Area will receive a 10% increase to their Compensation Support Payment for that round. The department will determine eligibility for the 10% increase based on payment records for CCAP and ELS, as well as physical location information from licensing or certification records.
CFDA numbers are only assigned to federal funds, Compensation Support Payments are funded by state dollars. There is no CFDA number for Compensation Support Payment funds.
The UFARS – used by school districts to report Transition Grant and Compensation Support Payment funds received in 2023 to the Minnesota Department of Education – finance code is 000 and the source code is 369.
Compensation Support Payment award amounts are calculated based on the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff who regularly care for children in the program. The monthly application will require you to list the individuals, both full- and part-time, and their hours worked caring for children during the previous calendar month. Based on that information, the exact FTE amount for each individual and the sum total FTEs for your program will be automatically calculated by the application.
Child care centers and certified child care centers
Be prepared to supply documentation that supports the information provided in the application regarding staff and hours worked. The Minnesota Department of Human Services may request this.
Family child care providers
Be prepared to supply documentation that supports the information provided in the application regarding individuals and hours worked. It may be requested by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Yes, providers who receive Compensation Support Payment funds are required to keep records of their daily attendance. Providers are required to record the below items for each child.
Providers are not required to have parents, guardians, or trusted adults dropping off and picking up the child sign-in and sign-out children, however it is encouraged to the extent possible. Providers must keep daily attendance records, including the above items, and make those records available to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) upon request.
Eventually, providers will also be required to submit their daily attendance records to the department as part of the monthly Compensation Support Payments application process. Providers will not need to report daily attendance records until mid-2024.
The department established a minimum attendance requirement for Compensation Support Payment eligibility to ensure a minimum level of service was provided in return for state funding. The department places high value on using state funds responsibly to secure community trust for continued public investment in this program. Below is the minimum attendance requirement for each provider context.
Yes, as long as a provider is operating and caring for children for a portion of the funding period, a provider may temporarily close and still be eligible for that Compensation Support Payment round. Providers must have been in good standing with the Minnesota Department of Human Services throughout the whole funding period.
Providers who permanently close during a funding period are not eligible for that Compensation Support Payment round. Additionally, providers must also meet the minimum attendance requirement to be eligible to apply.
Eligible providers must attest in writing to:
Child care providers must agree not to:
Providers are required to increase compensation for staff who regularly care for children above the provider’s baseline compensation. Please see FAQ 4.15 for details on baseline compensation.
Programs may use the Compensation Support Payment funds for one or more of the following options. Providers accepting these funds must ensure the funds are not used to pay for any allowable use that has already been paid for with other federal, state, Tribal or local funds.
Centers: Child care centers licensed under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9503, certified license-exempt child care centers under chapter 245H, and Tribally licensed child care centers must use Compensation Support money received for the following purposes:
Family Child Care: Family and group family child care homes licensed under Minnesota Rules, chapter 9502, and Tribally licensed family child care homes must use money received under this section for one or more of the following purposes:
Below is a list of some, but not all, examples of allowable ways to increase compensation under Compensation Support:
Baseline compensation is only determined for Licensed and Certified Child Care Centers. Licensed Family Child Care providers will NOT have baseline compensation.
Baseline compensation is intended to establish personnel costs excluding grant funds received and distributed to early childhood educators directly caring for children. A provider’s baseline compensation is what they would pay early childhood educators without grant funding. Baseline compensation is a general indicator of the level above which a provider would be expected to raise compensation to meet the Great Start Compensation Support Payment program’s requirement to increase compensation.
Providers will not be asked to calculate their baseline compensation. Your application will calculate your baseline compensation, based on the information you entered in your application, and display it to you. In the first few Compensation Support Payment applications, a provider will be asked for the amount of grant funds (Stabilization Grants and Transition Grants) and payment funds (Compensation Support Payments) they have distributed during the prior month. This amount will be subtracted from the total personnel costs you entered for the prior month in your application.
The department understands there are many unique circumstances that could occur during a specific month that may result in the personnel costs or grant/payment funds distributed being higher or lower than typical. This is why baseline compensation will be used as an indicator but not a definitive tool to assess program compliance.
Below is an example of how a provider’s baseline compensation will be determined.
You can answer the application question asking for your highest attendance on a single day by using your highest attendance in a daily session. The department recognizes that it may be difficult for programs with multiple daily sessions to figure out non-duplicated attendance counts between all session, as the same children could attend multiple sessions.
Providers can receive Compensation Support Payments through one of two methods: (1) mailed check, the default method of payment, and (2) direct deposit.
Mailed check
MMB will mail monthly payments to the authorized agent, center operator, or license holder at the address on file with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Licensing Division. This is the default payment method.
Please note, mailed payments cannot be forwarded by the postal service and will be returned to Minnesota Management and Budget if your address on file is not current, which will delay you receiving your payment. All address changes need to be made by your county licensor (family child care providers), Tribal licensor, or Minnesota Department of Human Services licensor (child care centers and certified child care centers).
Direct deposit
Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), a state agency, will transfer monthly payments to provider bank accounts. To set up direct deposit, a provider must (1) register as a supplier with MMB, (2) provide bank information, and (3) select electronic funds transfer as their method of payment. Then providers must complete and submit a Supplier Verification Form to DHS to connect their supplier information with their Compensation Support Payments information. Full directions for setting up direct deposit and FAQs can be found on the Supplier Verification Form webpage.
For assistance, please contact Child Care Aware at 651-290-9704 or supportfunds@childcareawaremn.org. Please include your license ID, certification number, or CCAP registration number in all communications.
Providers should expect to receive mailed checks within 15 calendar days of their award announcement.
Providers should contact their Department of Human Services, county, or Tribal licensor as soon as the change occurs and ask their licensor to update their information. Additionally, if a provider is contemplating an operating status change (e.g., moving from school year only to full year operations) that may affect their eligibility.
Those with additional questions or who are contemplating other changes that may affect their eligibility for funding should contact Child Care Aware at 651-290-9704 or supportfunds@childcareawaremn.org to determine impacts.
Providers who move during the funding period remain eligible for the funds as long as they continue to meet eligibility criteria. If you are opening a new licensed or certified program, please contact the Department of Human Services at compensationsupport.dhs@state.mn.us.
Providers planning to move should work closely with their Minnesota Department of Human Services, Tribal, or county licensor to ensure the move does not impact funding eligibility.
Yes, the IRS and Minnesota Department of Revenue considers this funding as income. Providers who receive these funds will be mailed a 1099-G form by January 31 of following year, showing how much was paid to the provider in that year. Providers are encouraged to consult with an accountant or tax expert to fully understand the tax implications of this funding.
If you have not received your 1099-G form by mid-February, you can contact the Minnesota Management and Budget’s 1099-G help line at 651-201-8201 or email W9-1099.MMB@state.mn.us to request a copy. Minnesota Management and Budget can provide a copy of your 1099-G form through secure email, ZIXmail, by request.
If providers have questions after receiving their 1099-G form, they can contact MMB. First Children’s Finance, a Minnesota-based nonprofit, may be able to provide overall budgeting and financial planning for any tax liability, as well. To contact First Childrens Finance, email infoMN@firstchildrensfinance.org or call 1-866-562-6801.
Data pertaining to providers, including information submitted as part of an application, is classified as licensing data, under which certain data is public or private. Minn. Stat. § 13.46, subd. 4; Minn. Stat. § 119B.02, subd. 6(a). Examples of private data that cannot be shared with the public are an individual’s Social Security number and data that can potentially identify children, families, or staff in programs.
Payment data is public under Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.02, subdivision 6(b) only if the payment was made to a licensed child care center or a licensed-exempt child care center, and if the following circumstances are met:
To the extent that payment data identifies children or families, this data is considered private data: Minn. Stat. §§ 13.46, subd. 2(a) and 13.46, subd. 4.
If you have data-related inquiries, please contact the Minnesota Department of Human Services by sending an email to dhs.datarequest@state.mn.us.
These funds do not constitute a loan and child care providers who comply with Compensation Support Payment requirements will not be required to pay funds back to the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS). However, funding recipients found to have violated the terms of the application process or attestation, or who are found to have provided false or misleading information to the department may have prior payments recouped, be deemed ineligible for future funds, and/or be referred to the Office of Inspector General for additional action.
If you are concerned that a Compensation Support Payment recipient is not following the funding requirements, you can submit a report by calling 651-431-3968 or 800-627-9977 or emailing dhs.oig.ccaptips@state.mn.us with “Great Start Compensation Support Payment Complaint” in the subject line. Include as much detail as you can, including:
Any tips reported will remain anonymous and details about who submitted the tip will never be shared with the program alleged to be non-compliant.
If a provider is selected for an audit, they will be asked to provide documentation. Requested documentation may include, but is not limited to, any or all of the following:
Child care providers located in Child Care Access Equity Areas are eligible for a 10% increase to their Compensation Support Payment amount. Providers will receive a 10% increase to their monthly payment if one or more of these criteria are met:
Child Care Access Equity Areas are identified using U.S. Census data about the people who live there. The areas are based on census tracts, which are geographic areas used by the U.S. Census. The census tracts that the Department of Human Services has designated as Access Equity Areas include higher rates of vulnerable populations. These areas are identified by these measures:
The Department of Human Services will update the list of Child Care Access Equity Areas at the start of each state fiscal year (July 1) using updated data on the measures listed above.
Follow this link to view a map of where the Access Equity Areas are located: Child Care Access Equity Areas FY24 Map. You can zoom in on the map to the location of your program to see whether it is included in a Child Care Access Equity Area (shaded blue on the map).
Alternatively, you can use the Census Geocoder to look up your program’s census tract number and find that number in the table to the right of the map to see whether that census tract is an Access Equity Area or not.
