Section 148-30-4 - GENERAL REQUIREMENTSA.OCFS Responsibilities. The Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement System administered by OCFS:1. Maintains 3 tiers based on the MRTQ PDN Registry levels of Early Childhood Educators. The second tier provides a salary supplement that is at least 50% greater than the first tier, and the third tier is at least 50% greater than the second tier.2. Pays Salary Supplement Funding to each licensed Early Care and Education Program once per month. The amount of Department-approved Salary Supplement Funding paid to a Program shall be based on the information provided in the Registration Portal. a. Enrolled Early Care and Education Programs will receive email notification from the Department if an Educator becomes ineligible due to ineligible position title, inactive MRTQ PDN Registry status, or ineligible MRTQ PDN Registry Career Lattice, or does not have a direct care responsibility.3. If an eligible Educator changes employment mid-month to another enrolled Early Care and Education Program, the Department will contact the Early Care and Education Programs to request updates to their MRTQ PDN Registry and the Registration Portal based on the Educator's employment status for current month's Salary Supplement Funding.4. Provide technical assistance to Early Care and Education Programs, including instruction on registering and updating information in the Registration Portal and explanations of the tiers.B.Early Care and Education Program Responsibilities. Any Early Care and Education Program that receives Salary Supplement Funding must:1. Pay Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplements out to eligible Early Childhood Educators at least once per month in accordance with the following: a. Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplements can be paid either through separate payments or in the Educator's regular paycheck and included in the following payroll cycle as long as Payroll Records show documentation that correct Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplements were actually paid to each eligible Educator. Programs are responsible for ensuring and documenting that Salary Supplement Funding received by the Department is used to increase Educator wages, consistent with this rule.i. The Department may allow Programs an administrative fee, as feasible based upon the total number of staff registered with the Salary Supplement System and the annual program budget as determined by the State of Maine. The administrative fee amount will be clearly identified in the Registration Portal with the monthly Salary Supplement Funding allowance. Any additional money retained by the Program and not paid out to Educators will result in a determination of Overpayment of Salary Supplement Funding.b. Salary Supplements paid by Programs to Educators under this rule must actually increase wages for eligible Educators. Salary Supplements may not be used to supplant wages earned by the Early Childhood Educator. For example, lowering an Educator's base wage and making up the difference with a Salary Supplement is a violation of this rule and will result in a determination of Overpayment of Salary Supplement Funding.c. If an Early Childhood Educator no longer works at an Early Care and Education Program, the Registration Portal must be updated prior to the next Salary Supplement Funding payment period to reflect the departure.2. Review and update staff changes on the Registration Portal by midnight of the last day of each month prior to the next Salary Supplement Funding payment.3. Maintain accurate Payroll Records which detail each individual Educator's Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement total and retain those records for a minimum of three (3) years, and make those records available to the Department upon request. Payroll Records must be sufficient to demonstrate that each Early Childhood Educator received the correct Early Childhood Educator Workforce Salary Supplement Payment every month they were eligible for such Salary Supplement.4. Have an accurate vendor code on file with the Department; and5. Participate in Compliance Monitoring.C.Monthly Updates. Participating Early Care and Education Programs must update Early Childhood Educator names, career lattice level, and email addresses whenever staffing changes occur within the program. The staffing changes must be updated in both the PDN Registry and in the Registration Portal by midnight of the last day of each month. Payments received are for the previous month's employed Early Childhood Educators.10-148 C.M.R. ch. 30, § 4