Fiscal:
Reimbursement

Introduction to
Reimbursement

Contracts are reimbursed in monthly apportionment amounts, which are determined by Early Education Nutrition Fiscal Services (EENFS) according to projected earnings calculated from the contractor’s Enrollment, Attendance, & Fiscal Report data.

Reference

Fiscal Handbook: Enrollment, Attendance, & Fiscal Reporting, & Reimbursement Procedures for Early Education Contracts

Video Description: This video discusses contract reimbursement and apportionments as it relates to a State Preschool program.

Reporting Deadlines

Contractors are required to submit monthly or quarterly Enrollment, Attendance & Fiscal Reports depending upon their contract.

Monthly reporting is required for “Contractors on conditional or provisional status”. For all other contractors, attendance reports are submitted quarterly for the periods ending.

Reports are due by the 20th of the month following the end of the reporting period. Attendance data is submitted online within the California Preschool Accounting Reporting Information System (CPARIS).

Reports NOT received or that are incomplete are delinquent & apportionments will be withheld.

Reports applicable to your contracts may be found on CPARIS within the reporting tab. Within the Reporting Tab are two subcategories:

• Current Forms: contains the reports that are currently due

• All Report Forms: contains all report forms that are open, available for editing, have upcoming deadlines, are certified, and/or are overdue for being certified 

Prior to submitting the first Enrollment, Attendance & Fiscal Report of the fiscal year, contractors must submit the certification of assurances.

NOTE: To support contractors with entering fiscal & attendance data into CPARIS, the user manual may be found on the Child Development Fiscal Services webpage.

Apportionments

Apportionments are advanced to contractors based on the apportionment schedule. After initial payment, subsequent payments are based on reported data in CPARIS.

To determine the apportionment amount for any particular month:

Contract Earnings x Cumulative Month % – Apportionments Paid to Date = Payment 

Contractors will receive funds via FoundationCCC through electronic fund transfer or paper checks.

CPARIS allows contractors to view their apportionment payment detail as well as to collect fiscal and attendance data for preschool contractors. 

Limits of Reimbursement

Beginning Fiscal year 2026-2027, contractors will be reimbursed based on the 3 limits of reimbursement:

1. Contract Maximum Reimbursable Amount,

2. Net Reimbursable Program Costs

3. Service Earnings

   Service Earnings will be calculated based on the product of the adjusted child days of enrollment for certified children times the contract rate.

What might this look like in a program:

2026-2027 Example:

• Scranton Community Action Agency has a Maximum Reimbursable Amount or MRA of $850,000.

• The total Service Earnings for the year totaled $800,000 while their Net Reimbursable Expenses totaled $845,000

• Based on the above, Scranton will be reimbursed $800,000 as the service earnings were less than the maximum reimbursable amount.

• Scranton Community Action Agency will need to explore other funding sources such as tapping into their reserve account to cover the excess expenses of $45,000 that will not be reimbursed.

Helps contractors determine the number of children funded to serve by service county

To fully earn a contract through service earnings, contractors should estimate how many enrolled children their contract's Maximum Reimbursable Amount (MRA) can support.

Funded Enrollment Calculation Formula:

MRA ÷ Contract Rate ÷ Adjustment Factor ÷ Minimum Days of Operation (MDO) = Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Children

This calculation provides a starting estimate of the number of children needed to fully earn a contract. Actual service earnings, however, are based on the adjusted child days of enrollment for certified children multiplied by the contract rate.

What are Child Days of Enrollment (cdes)?

Child days of enrollment or cdes, is the total of every child’s enrollment for the days the contractor is open to provide services. Enrollment for each child depends on certified enrollment which is reflected on the Notice of Action.

What might this look like in a program:

Dunder Mifflin Child Development Center has a MRA of $800,000.

1. Start with the MRA: $800,000

2. Divide by the contract rate: $55.27

3. Divide by the full-time adjustment factor: 1.0

4. Divide by the minimum days of operation: 246

   $800,000 ÷ $55.27 ÷ 1.0 ÷ 246 = 59 FTE children

   Based on this calculation, Dunder Mifflin CDC would need approximately 59 full-time equivalent children enrolled to fully earn its contract through service earnings.

Exceptional Needs/Severely Disabled Set Aside

Helps contractors determine the number of children required to meet the set aside

State Preschool contractors are required to set aside 5% of funded enrollment for children with exceptional needs.

To calculate the set aside, contractors will multiply the contract MRA by the full-time exceptional needs adjustment factor of 2.4 and again by 5%.

The CDE will determine the extent to which contractors are earning their set aside amount based on child days of enrollment reported under the exceptional needs & severely disabled adjustment factor category within the Enrollment, Attendance and Fiscal report.

Contractors who are not fully earning their set-aside will be given a service-level exemption credit to be reimbursed for identified expenses without meeting the service requirement.

NOTE: This would be the difference between the contract set-aside amount and the actual exceptional needs and severely disabled service earnings.

Notification Letters

After reports are submitted by the agency, Fiscal Services provides a notification letter along with earning calculation worksheet regarding the upcoming apportionment:

• Preliminary Review: Contractors are projected to earn

• Apportionment Adjustment: Contractors are projected to under earn & apportionment is reduced

• Apportionment Withhold: Apportionment is entirely withheld due to noncompliance

NOTE: Regardless of the letter received, contractors should carefully review the earnings calculations worksheet to address any possible overspending or enrollment problems & make adjustments as needed.

Notification letters & the Earning Calculation Worksheet may be found within CPARIS.

Year-End Calculation

Year-end reports are calculated at the end of the Fiscal year to determine a contract’s total reimbursement. The year-end calculation may result in one of the following:

1. No additional payments due to the contractor if the contractor fully earned the contract

2. Calculated billing due to over-advancement of contract funds as a consequence of not earning the contract

If the year-end calculation results in a billing, the contractor will receive a Preliminary Billing Notification along with the calculation worksheet.

What this might look like in a program:

• Upon notification of a calculated billing, the contractor should review the previously submitted report data for accuracy.

• Ensure any approved Emergency Closures are included within your reports.

After reviewing the video lesson & sketch pad notes, it’s time to check for understanding by completing a Knowledge Check. Note that Individual Knowledge Checks will conclude with a Certificate.

Start Individual Knowledge Check (ProProfs) >

Access Group Knowledge Check (Kahoot!) >