Administration of the Child Care Subsidy Program

Federal agencies have a number of options for administering the program. Regardless of which option they choose, administration includes the following activities:

• Marketing the program to their employees;
• Making available subsidy application forms;
• Making subsidy determinations;
• Notifying employees of the determination decisions;
• Notifying employees of the agency’s dependent care assistance plan (DCAP);
• Assuring that all of the agreement documents are signed by the parents/guardians;
• Assuring that the employees are using licensed and/or regulated child care, whether center-based care or family child care; and
• Documenting and submitting the required reports to OPM. See Appendix G: OPM Reporting Form

Agencies can choose to administer the program themselves or contract with an organization that provides subsidy services. Typically, contractors charge a percentage of the disbursements as their fee for services. Agencies should work with their acquisition offices to determine the appropriate contracting method for establishing an agreement to contract with an appropriate organization. A sample Statement of Work is provided in the Appendix H of this document that may be helpful for agencies that choose to contract for services. Most agencies have chosen to contract for these services.