[Pupiltransportation] Invoice Process: Foster Student School of Origin Transportation Reimbursement

Thu Jan 25 11:11:45 PST 2018

To:                   Business Managers, Transportation Directors, and Foster Care Contacts

From:               Sarah Drinkwater, Ph.D., Assistant Superintendent of Student Services

Subject:           Invoice Process:  Foster Student School of Origin Transportation Reimbursement

In accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), students in foster care are required to remain in their school district/school of origin, even when a student's foster home placement changes; this continues for the duration of the student's placement in foster care.  It is only with a Best Interest Finding, made by the Juvenile Court, that foster students will transition from the school district /school of origin to the school district where the foster home is located.  In order to implement this mandate, school districts of origin are required to provide transportation between the student's foster home and the school district/school of origin.

Senate Bill 20, effective July 1, 2017, addresses this transportation requirement and directs the Oregon Department of Education (ODE), the Department of Human Services (DHS) and school districts to collaborate to ensure that this transportation requirement is fully implemented.  To support that effort, ODE and DHS have created an agreement in order for ODE to access federal funding provided to DHS that is available to help pay for the school district of origin transportation costs.  ODE is working on a process to pass this funding on to school districts and make transportation of foster care students under ESSA cost-neutral.

School districts will be asked to submit a quarterly invoice to ODE for the cost to transport foster care students to their school of origin.  Districts will report the full cost, and the federal funds provided to ODE from DHS will then be used to reimburse school districts for the cost of transportation not already covered by the transportation grant of the State School Fund (SSF).  OAR 581-023-0040 specifies that funds received from this DHS grant do not reduce the amount that can be claimed for reimbursement through the SSF transportation grant.

In order to protect Personal Protected Information, ODE will require that the invoice for reimbursement be submitted electronically through Secure File Transfer Protocol. The Secure File Transfer link is located on the invoice template as well as a link to the instructions.  Within the file transfer link, one will choose FosterCare at ode.state.or.us<mailto:FosterCare at ode.state.or.us> as the Recipient.  The link is also available on the ODE district website<https://district.ode.state.or.us/home/>.

ODE is requesting that school districts submit an invoice for Quarter 1 (July 1, 2017 - September 30, 2017) by February 28, 2018, followed by submission of the 2nd Quarter (October 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017) invoice by March 30, 2018.  These dates align with future Invoice Reimbursement Requests being due 45 days after the end of each quarter.  As such, Quarter 3 (January 1, 2018 - March 30, 2018) invoice will be due May 15, 2018.  The invoice document link will be made available on the ODE website.

An invoice template is being created and will be posted on the ODE website the week of  February 5th, 2018. ODE will notify school districts through appropriate listserv messages once the invoice is available.  The information that districts will be required to provide on the quarterly invoice is as follows:

********* Student Name

********* SSID #

********* DHS Case #

********* Service Start Date (of foster care transportation)

********* Service End Date (of foster care transportation)

********* Average miles transported (one-way)

********* Total cost of transportation (per day)

Upon receipt, ODE will analyze the data provided and approve reimbursement invoices. ODE will set up awards through the Electronic Grant Management System (EGMS) for districts to claim funds.   Claims will be approved once ODE secures funding from DHS, which will occur after ODE submits to DHS the documentation provided to ODE from districts.

Thank you for partnering with ODE as we strive to provide and implement this reimbursement process to encourage school stability for the foster students of Oregon. Additional information can be located at http://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/fosteringconnections .

Please direct foster care transportation reimbursement questions to:  T.J. Crockett, ODE Program Analyst at (503) 947-5724, TJ.Crockett at ode.state.or.us<mailto:TJ.Crockett at ode.state.or.us>.

Secure File Transfer Link to submit data: Secure File Transfer<https://district.ode.state.or.us/apps/xfers/>

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