Postsecondary Child Care Grant Program Resources
Program Overview for Administrators
The Postsecondary Child Care Grant (CCG) Program provides financial support to help eligible Minnesota resident student parents pay for child care while pursuing their education. The program is administered by campus financial aid offices in partnership with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE).
As an administrator, your role is to:
- Verify student eligibility based on residency, enrollment, and child care needs.
- Process applications, ensuring that all required processing steps were followed (See Application Processing).
- Calculate awards according to program guidelines, taking into account Student Aid Index (SAI), enrollment level, and actual child care costs.
- Communicate clearly with students about CCG application process, award status, and next steps.
- Maintain compliance with program rules, audit requirements, and reporting deadlines.
- Funds reconciliation ensure awards are within school allocation and request or return funds as needed.
- Support equity and access by applying policies consistently and with empathy.
The CCG program is state-funded and limited, meaning awards are contingent on available funds. Administrators must follow established waitlist procedures when demand exceeds funding.
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.
These resources support campus financial aid staff in administering the Postsecondary Child Care Grant (CCG) program. Materials include training documents, application guidance, and reference tools for award calculation and compliance.
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
- 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.
- 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. - 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.