Postsecondary Child Care Grant Program Resources

Campus financial aid administrators are responsible for confirming that each applicant meets the program’s eligibility requirements before awarding funds. Verification should include the following checks:

• Residency: Student must be a Minnesota resident student.
• Enrollment: Student must be enrolled in at least one credit at a participating Minnesota institution. Both undergraduate and graduate students may apply.
• Child Age: Eligible children must be 12 years or younger, or up to age 14 if the child has a documented disability.
• Exclusions: Students are not eligible if they receive full‑time Child Care Assistance (40+ hours per week) or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) benefits. Students are not eligible if another source (scholarship, grant, stipend, or individual) fully covers their child care costs.
• FAFSA/MN Dream Act: Student must have completed either the FAFSA or the Minnesota Dream Act application for the current academic year.
• Provider Information: Child care provider must complete their portion of the application, verifying hours and rates. They must also respond to provider verification outreach from the financial aid administrator.
• Change Reporting: Students must report changes in provider, hours, or rates within 10 days. Administrators must update awards accordingly.
• Documentation: Administrators may request additional documentation to confirm child care arrangements or costs when needed.

Campus financial aid administrators are responsible for reviewing and processing all Postsecondary Child Care Grant (CCG) applications. Each application must be complete and verified before an award can be made.

Steps for processing applications:

• Confirm Student portion (Section A): Ensure the student has completed all required fields, including enrollment information, child details, and financial aid application (FAFSA or MN Dream Act).
• Confirm Provider portion (Section B): Verify that the child care provider has completed their section, including hours, rates, and signature.
• Check for completeness: Applications missing signatures, provider information, or required documentation should be returned to the student for correction.
• Verify eligibility: Review residency, enrollment, child age, and exclusions before proceeding.
• Complete provider verification: must be done before awarding and then as often as the school sees fit thereafter.
• Determine award status: Use program guidelines to calculate the award amount or determine if the student must be placed on a waitlist due to limited funding.
• Communicate with students: Notify applicants promptly of their award status, denial, or waitlist placement. Communications should be clear, professional, and empathetic.
• Maintain records: Keep copies of applications, supporting documentation, and award calculations for audit purposes.

*Note: Ensure MNAid status is updated to the appropriate status: Under review, Awarded, Paid, or Waitlisted.

Campus financial aid administrators must ensure that all Postsecondary Child Care Grant (CCG) awards are processed in accordance with program rules and state requirements. Compliance protects both students and institutions, and accurate reporting is essential for audit readiness.

Administrator responsibilities include:

• Confidentiality: Ensure student and provider information is handled securely in accordance with institutional and state privacy requirements.
• Recordkeeping: Maintain complete files for each applicant, including applications, provider documentation, award calculations, adjustments, and communications.
• Monthly reconciliation: ensures all awards are within school allocation. This also allows the school to know how much additional funds to request during reallocation windows or how much to return back to OHE if needed.
• Audit readiness: Ensure records are organized and accessible for review by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) or auditors.
• Change reporting: Update awards promptly when students report changes in provider, hours, or rates (within 10 days).
• Denials and waitlists: Document reasons for denial or waitlist placement, and retain copies of communications sent to students.
• Fraud vs. misrepresentation: Distinguish between intentional fraud and student misunderstanding in internal notes; escalate suspected fraud to OHE.
• Data accuracy: Verify that reported child care costs align with provider documentation and that awards do not exceed program limits.
• Annual reporting: Submit required campus reports to OHE by established deadlines, including award totals, student counts, and compliance certifications.

Campus financial aid administrators are responsible for determining award amounts in accordance with program rules and adjusting awards when circumstances change.

Award Calculation guidelines:

• Maximum award: Up to $6,500 per eligible child per 9-month academic year, not to exceed 40 hours of care per week. Actual award determined by CCG calculator. Students are eligible to receive an extra term of eligibility for summer term attendance.
• Minimum award: $50/semester or $33/quarter. Awards below this threshold should not be issued. Actual award determined by CCG calculator.
• Infant care adjustment: Awards may be increased by up to 10% for children under 18 months if higher rates are documented.
  • Institutional opt-in: This adjustment is only available if the institution has opted in and received approval from OHE.
• Student Aid Index (SAI): Award amounts are based on the student’s SAI, enrollment level, and actual child care costs.
• Enrollment impact: Awards are prorated based on enrollment status (full‑time vs. part‑time).
• Provider Verification: Complete before awarding following provider verification guidelines
• County Verification: Complete county verification if the student checked yes to either Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) or Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) on their application before awarding.
• Funding limits: Awards are contingent on available campus allocations; waitlist procedures must be followed when demand exceeds funding.

Adjustments to awards:

• Change reporting: Students must report changes in provider, hours, or rates within 10 days. Administrators must update awards accordingly.
• Enrollment changes: Adjust awards if a student’s enrollment level changes during the term if necessary, following the Withdrawal or Reduced Enrollment Status section in the CCG Manual.
• Provider changes: Verify new provider Section B and complete provider verification before adjusting awards.
• Audit documentation: Maintain records of all adjustments, including student communications and recalculated award amounts.

Recorded training sessions for financial aid administrators will be available here. 
Coming Soon

Future recordings will cover application processing, compliance, and award calculation best practices. Please email me trainings you would like to see here. 

 

• Child Care Grant MNAid Training PowerPoint
  Overview of the MNAid Student Portal and CCG application process.
• Child Care Grant Training 
  General training for financial aid administrators on CCG program rules and workflows.
• MNAid Training Documents
  Step-by-step guides and screenshots to assist with navigating the MNAid system.
• Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) and Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) Quick Guide
• Conflicting Information Form Quick Guide
• CCG Case Study - Midterm Changes
• CCG Case Study - Multiple Providers
• How to Calculate Your Post-March Funding Request Quick Guide
  
   

• School Age Children Verification Form
  The School Age Children Verification form is a recommended form for schools to use if the number of hours a child is in care could conflict with the number of hours a child should be in school.
• CCG Income Verification Form
  The Income Verification Form helps child care grant processors confirm that students receiving the Postsecondary Child Care Grant have the income or support needed to cover their existing child care expenses, particularly when FAFSA information does not clearly reflect how these costs are being met. This form should be used in accordance with your institution’s policies and procedures. It was previously titled the Conflicting Information Form, and a corresponding quick guide is available under the Training Materials accordion.
• 2026-2027 Award Notice
  The Award Notice should be used to inform students of their term award amounts and important reporting requirements. If an institution chooses to use its own version of the Award Notice, it must include all information required by OHE, including: reporting requirements, child name, term, award amount, disbursement details, repayment conditions, required 10‑day change reporting, and the Financial Aid Administrator certification section.
• 2026-2027 Denial/Termination/Ineligible/Waitlist Notice
  The Denial/Ineligible/Termination Notice should be used to communicate when a student does not qualify for an award for any reason, including but not limited to program eligibility requirements, child‑care eligibility requirements, or application and reporting requirements. If an institution decides to use its own notice, it must include all information required by OHE, including the denial or ineligibility reason, required waitlist language, the appeals process instructions, and the Financial Aid Administrator certification section.

• DHS Maximum Provider Rates
  Reference for verifying reasonable provider rates, including infant care adjustments.
• Postsecondary Child Care Grant - Campus Processing Checklist
  A Word version of this checklist is available upon request if a school would like to edit it to include their own internal policies and procedures.
• Postsecondary Child Care Grant Application Sample
  This sample shows what the 2026–2027 Postsecondary Child Care Grant Application will look like after a student completes the online portion in the Student Portal and is prompted to print it. Financial Aid Administrators will be able to print the application from MNAid on behalf of the student once the student has started it in their Student Portal beginning July 1, 2026. Administrators will also be able to print a blank version of the application in MNAid for students experiencing technology issues; however, applications not initiated in the Student Portal must be manually entered into MNAid by the Financial Aid Administrator. 
• MNAid Administrator Portal
  Financial Aid Administrator portal for viewing applications and processing.
• MNAid Student Portal
  Students must complete the online CCG application through the MNAid Student Portal. Students must also complete the FAFSA or MN Dream Act application for the current academic year.
  *Please note that you cannot access the Student Portal if you have logged into the Administrator Portal without first clearing your cache, opening in incognito mode, or open in a browser that the Administrator Portal has not been used.

2025-2026 State Financial Aid Manual: Postsecondary Child Care Grant Program

2021-2022 State Financial Aid Manual: Postsecondary Child Care Grant Program

Comprehensive manual outlining eligibility, award calculation, compliance, and reporting requirements.