Transfer of Funds FAQs

General

1. What is a transfer of funds?

   A transfer of funds is the process of temporarily releasing or receiving funds from one contract to another. Contractors can temporarily request additional funding or temporarily relinquish unearned funds during the fiscal year (FY) if they are projected to over- or under-earn their contract Maximum Reimbursable Amount (MRA). The California Department of Education (CDE) facilitates two types of transfers:

   • Intra-agency Transfers – only available to non-Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) who hold both a California State Preschool Program (CSPP) and General Child Care and Development (CCTR) contract
   • Voluntary Temporary Transfers (VTTs) – available to all contractors

   
   Both transfers may only be requested for the current FY, meaning these are one-time transfers and the transfer amounts will be reverted in the next FY.

2. When would a California State Preschool Program (CSPP) contractor benefit from a transfer of funds?

   Contractors should request a transfer of funds if they are over-earning their CSPP contract, meaning the Projected Fiscal Year (FY) Adjusted Contract Earnings exceed the contract Maximum Reimbursable Amount (MRA), excluding any Exceptional Needs/Severely Disabled Service Level Exemption Credit.

Intra-Agency Transfers

1. What is an intra-agency transfer?

   California Education Code (EC) Section 8216(a) requires that the California Department of Education (CDE) and the Department of Social Services (DSS) arrange intra-agency adjustments between CSPP and General Child Care and Development (CCTR) contracts for the same agency and funding allocation in an effort to promote the full utilization of child care and development funds. Intra-agency transfers are only available to non-Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) CSPP contractors that hold both a CSPP and CCTR contract. Contractors may request a transfer of funds during the stated transfer periods. The contractor must have an over-earning and under-earning contract to request a transfer. All transfers can only be requested for the current fiscal year (FY) only.

2. When can contractors request an intra-agency transfer?

   Non-Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) contractors have two opportunities to request a transfer of funds: (1) January 1–15 and (2) April 1–15 of the same contract year. Contractors will request an intra-agency transfer using the Agreement Transfer Request of Funds Form, which is made available through the California Preschool Accounting Reporting Information System (CPARIS) during the transfer periods. The transfer request can be found in the Agreements/Transfer Requests for Funding submenu.

Voluntary Temporary Transfers

1. What is a voluntary temporary transfer (VTT)?

   Education Code (EC) Section 8256 requires the department to arrange inter-agency transfers between different contractors with the same type of contract when both agencies mutually agree to a temporary transfer of funds. Inter-agency transfers are known as VTTs. The VTT process is available to both Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) and non-LEAs. Contractors must self-identify as an under- or over-earner and submit a transfer request that includes an amount of contract funding they can temporarily release or accept.

2. When can contractors request a VTT?

   CSPP contractors have two opportunities to request a VTT: (1) November 1–15 and (2) May 1–15 of the same contract year. VTT letters are located on the California Department of Education (CDE) website. VTT requests will be accepted electronically with Adobe Acrobat digital signature.

Approvals

1. Are transfer requests automatically approved?

   No, generally, the California Department of Education (CDE) will review all transfer requests and will determine whether the amount of the transfer is supported by the contract’s projected fiscal year (FY) contract earnings. The CDE may request additional justification to support the transfer request. For intra-agency transfers, the decision to approve or deny the CSPP/General Child Care and Development (CCTR) transfer request will be made by CDE and the Department of Social Services (DSS). For VTTs, the decision to approve or deny voluntary and temporary transfers of contract funds will be made exclusively by CDE and all parties will be notified of the outcome.