Subsidized child care services may be provided only by: A family child care home; A child care center; or An individual approved by the CCS Branch to provide informal child care. Maryland EXCELS Participation. Effective June 29, 2015, the operator of a child care center or a family child care home may not receive CCS Program reimbursement for child care services provided on or after that date unless the operator has applied on or before that date to participate in Maryland EXCELS. Within 12 months of acceptance into Maryland EXCELS, the operator of a child care center or a family child care home shall request Maryland EXCELS to publish the program’s quality rating in order to remain eligible for continued CCS Program reimbursement. An informal child care provider is not eligible to participate in the Maryland EXCELS program. Tiered Reimbursement. Eligibility for tiered reimbursement payments is limited to a child care center or a family child care home that has a published Maryland EXCELS quality rating level of 3, 4, or 5. An informal child care provider is not eligible for tiered reimbursement payments. An eligible provider shall be paid a tiered reimbursement amount for each CCS Program child in care that is: In addition to the child’s subsidy payment; and Reflective of the applicable percentage specified at §C(4) of this regulation. A tiered reimbursement payment amount is determined by multiplying the child’s subsidy amount by the applicable percentage specified for the provider’s Maryland EXCELS level: A provider’s tiered reimbursement payments become effective for the first service period following the provider’s publication at Maryland EXCELS at quality level rating 3, 4, or 5. Informal Child Care. The customer may choose to use an approved informal child care provider. The contractor shall provide payment for the following informal child care arrangements: Relative care; In-home care; and Babysitting. In addition to submitting a CCS Program services application, the customer shall submit to the contractor a signed statement, on a form provided by the contractor, that specifies: Where the informal care is to be provided; The relationship of the child to the informal child care provider; and The names and ages of each child who will receive informal child care. Unless approved as an informal child care provider before April 1, 2015, each individual who provides informal child care shall be a Maryland resident. An informal child care provider and each individual 18 years old or older who is a resident in the home shall apply for a fingerprint-supported State and federal criminal background check. Criminal Background Check Review. An individual who wishes to serve as an informal child care provider and each individual 18 years old or older who is a resident in the home shall apply for a fingerprint-supported State and federal criminal background check. The CCS Branch may not approve an individual to serve as an informal child care provider if the individual or a resident in the home who is 18 years old or older has received at any time a conviction, a probation before judgment disposition, a not criminally responsible disposition, or a pending charge for the commission or attempted commission of: A crime involving a child, cruelty to animals, domestic violence of an intimate partner or spouse, or a weapons or firearms violation of federal or State law; A sex offense; A violent crime classified as a felony; Abduction or kidnapping; Abuse of a child or an adult; Confinement of an unattended child; Manufacturing, distributing, or dispensing a controlled dangerous substance if committed during the preceding 5 years; Perjury; Pornography; Possession with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a controlled dangerous substance if committed during the preceding 5 years; or Reckless endangerment. Child Abuse and Neglect Record Review. The contractor shall conduct a child abuse and neglect record review for each individual who: Applies to serve as an informal provider; or Resides in the informal care home and is 18 years old or older. At least once every 2 years that an informal provider continues to provide care, the contractor shall conduct a new child abuse and neglect record review for: The provider; and Each resident of the home who is 18 years old or older; The individual applying to serve, or serving, as an informal provider shall submit to the contractor a signed, dated, and notarized consent form that authorizes the CCS Branch to conduct a review of child abuse and neglect records for information about: The individual; and Each resident in the informal child care home who is 18 years old or older. If a child abuse and neglect record review finds that the subject of the review may have been responsible for abuse or neglect, the contractor shall make a request to the local department of social services for the details of the finding. Informal Care Home Child Capacity. Unless approved otherwise by the CCS Branch, an informal child care home may not contain more than: Six children present in care at the same time; or Two children younger than 2 years old in care at the same time. In determining the maximum child care capacity of an informal care home, the contractor shall count a resident in the home who is younger than 6 years old as a child in care. An individual is approved to serve as an informal child care provider as of the date on which the contractor is in possession of documentation showing that the individual and each resident in the home who is 18 years old or older has successfully passed a: Criminal background check; and Review of records of abuse and neglect of children or adults. Payment to an approved informal provider is effective on the date that the individual is approved to serve as an informal child care provider. The contractor may not approve payment: If an informal child care provider or a resident in the home who is 18 years old or older has not successfully passed a: Criminal background check; or Review of records of abuse and neglect of children or adults; or For any day on which the provider is determined to be out of compliance with the child capacity requirements set forth at §D(8) of this regulation. Disapproval of payment to an informal provider pursuant to §D(11)(a) of this regulation shall be effective as of the day on which the contractor receives information that the provider or a resident in the home who is 18 years old or older has not successfully passed a criminal history background check or a review of records of abuse and neglect of children or adults. If payment is disapproved, the contractor shall provide written notification of that disapproval to the: Provider; and Parent of each child in care. An individual providing, or applying to provide, informal child care services does not have hearing and appeal rights under the CCS Program except in the case of an intentional program violation.