Support for Montana child care providers

Providers can access Best Beginnings Scholarship information by creating (or using an existing Okta account, then accessing the HHS Child Care Licensing Portal Tile.

Okta support phone number is 406.444.9500 Email HHSServiceDesk@service.mt.gov

No. Paper checks can be mailed, but if there is a mailing delay, CCB is not liable for the safety of the check in the mail.

Create a ticket with MAQCS at: https://mtdphhs.my.site.com/MAQCSChildCareLicensing/s/contact-us?language=en_US There is not currently a phone number to contact tech support.

As long as all requirements are met, documentation submitted and approved, the scholarship will back date to the first of the month all the requirements were met and scholarship approved.

The parent must report the change and the new provider will not be paid until the next month. Since care is paid for the whole month to the provider, BBS cannot be paid to 2 providers in a given month.

The staff member would need to sign up or use an existing Okta account and you can add them to your profile. Child Care Licensing links them to your facility.

The submit button is available after all attendance has been entered. It is on the Child Care Scholarship Children tab under attendance tracking.

Yes. If approved, the scholarship pays for attendance slots for the whole month if the child attends at least once during the month.

Half-time hours are 25 hours per week or less. Full-time hours are 26-50 hours per week.

Not at this time. Parents will need to communicate their needs for part-time or full-time care as well as any provider changes.

No. The timeframe is set by CCB. This is a program integrity feature that allows for timely notice to the parent and provider to review attendance and submit a review if needed. It is currently one day, but may be adjusted later to 7 calendar days. If they do not take action within the review window, the payment will be released.

Providers should round to the nearest quarter hour. There is a dropdown option in the daily attendance that is set to quarter-hour increments. In the case of sign-in and out review, the estimation is understood as an expectation and will not impact the attendance review.

No. Providers will need to mark the child as absent before it will allow you to submit attendance.

Yes. CPS workers send referrals to Eligibility Staff members who create the case and authorize care within MAQCS. Providers submit attendance as they would with any BBS case; there is no parent review process for CPS cases.

No. The child is authorized for either half-time or full-time care and the provider is paid for the authorized hours.

Providers submit attendance by 5pm Wednesday. Invoices are created in the system and are randomly assigned to ES workers for review on Thursday. Invoices released by ES for payment review Monday by 5pm. The Child Care Bureau reviews them for final release on Wednesday by 5pm. Payments process Thursday with EFT deposit or checks are mailed on Friday by 5pm. *individual bank policies may impact availability and/or deposit timeline for EFT payments.

The policy changes were effective on 02/01/2026. The changes will take place as cases renew or a change causes the policy to be implemented. Policy letters were mailed 02/01/2026. The letters are also located on their website. https://dphhs.mt.gov/ecfsd/ChildCare/BestBeginningsScholarships

Care can only be set with one provider for a full-time slot or a part-time slot. Parents with full-time can select one full-time slot or 2 part-time slots only.

BBS will start paying for care as of the 1st of the month if all eligibility requirements are met and approved.

There is a registration field in the rates section of the provider portal. The fee only has to be entered once. The provider does not need to request payment. MAQCS automatically pays the fee at the beginning of the eligibility period once a calendar year.

Yes. The parent must submit the change in the parent portal: in my authorizations, select the child's current authorization, click view, and enter the new provider's name in the reason box. Care will start on the 1st of the following month.

Yes. You are more than welcome to contact the child care agency, Family Connections, or Child Care Resources to get verification. We are limited on what we can discuss about cases due to confidentiality.