Family Start Date
Description
The Family Start Date is the actual date on which the family began receiving CDD-subsidized services through your agency. This date is used by CDE to calculate the CDD-800 Annual Aggregate report. This report is a required federal report.
Where to Find It
The documentation for when a family begins receiving services should be in the family file. This date should be found on a Notice of Action but may be found in other documents as well.
Rules and Guidelines
- This information is required.
- Enter the date (month, day, and year) the family began receiving subsidized services.
- This date must be before or during the report month and year.
- If the services for all children in the family were interrupted for less than three months because of reasons such as illness or vacation, select the original date the family began receiving services with your agency, not the date services resumed.
- If the family’s services were interrupted for three months or more, select the date when the family resumed child development services, not the original date of assistance from your agency.
Example 1: The Kim family has one child, Mary, receiving subsidized services. Mary did not receive any child development services in June, July, or August 2009 because of summer vacation. Mary returned to receiving subsidized services at the same agency on September 1, 2009.
In the September 2009 report you must enter September 1, 2009, as the Family Start Date because that was the date the family resumed child care after a break of three months.
Example 2: The Smith family has two children, Joan and Mark, receiving subsidized services from the same agency. In June, July, and August 2009, Mark did not receive any subsidized services because he spent the summer with relatives in another city. Joan continued to receive subsidized services during this time. In September 2009, Mark resumed subsidized services with the same agency.
In the September 2009 report you would not change the Family Start Date because at least one child in the family did not have a break in subsidized service.
Error Messages and Solutions
The family's start date must be on or before the report month/year. [801A File Transfer], [801A Web Input]
Problem
The family start date is after the report month indicating that the family is being reported in a month that hasn't begun yet.
Solution
Confirm that you have entered family's start date correctly.
Invalid Family Start Date. [801A File Transfer], [801A Web Input]
Problem
The Family Start Date is invalid or missing.
Solution
Enter a valid date.
The Family Start Date is required. [801A File Transfer]
Problem
The family's start date is blank.
Solution
Enter the family's start date.
The Family's Start Month is required. [801A Web Input]
Problem
No family's start month was selected from the drop down list.
Solution
Select the family's start month from the drop down list (January-December).
The Family's Start Day is required. [801A Web Input]
Problem
No family's start day was selected from the drop down list.
Solution
Select the family's start day from the drop down list (1-31).
The Family's Start Year is required. [801A Web Input]
Problem
No family's start year was selected from the drop down list.
Solution
Select the family's start year from the drop down list.
FAQs About the Family's Start Date
Question 1
I don't have the family's start date. What should I do?
Answer
If this is a new family, the CD-9600 form should have the date in the box "Initial Subsidized Services Date." If this is not a new family, you should be able to determine the family's start date by looking at documents in the family file. A Notice of Action may indicate when the family began receiving services. Also check your agency's provider payment records to determine when you began paying for this family's services.
Question 2
Do I ever change the Family Start Date?
Answer
Normally, the Family Start Date will never change. The only exception would be if there was a break in service of three months or more. See the examples above under Rules and Guidelines.
