Section 148-30-7 - IMPROPER SALARY SUPPLEMENT FUNDING PAYMENTSA.Underpayments and Overpayments1. If the Department pays an Early Care and Education Program less Salary Supplement Funding than its eligible Educators are entitled to in Salary Supplements under this rule, the result is an Underpayment. The amount of the Underpayment is the difference between the total amount of Salary Supplements all employees were eligible for in a given period and the amount of Salary Supplement Funding received by the Program for the same period.B.Overpayments1. If the Department pays an Early Care and Education Program more Salary Supplement Funding than its eligible employees are entitled to for Salary Supplements under this rule, the result is an Overpayment. The amount of an Overpayment determined under this subsection is the difference between the amount of Salary Supplement Funding received by the Program for a given period and the total amount of Salary Supplements all employees were eligible for over the same period.2. If an Early Care and Education Program uses Salary Supplement Funding for any purpose other than to pay a correct Salary Supplement to each eligible Early Child Educator, the result is an Overpayment. The amount of an Overpayment determined under this subsection is the difference between the amount of Salary Supplement Funding received by the Program for a given period and the total amount of Salary Supplements paid by the Program to Educators to increase wages over the same period.C.Underpayments1. The Department must receive notification of an alleged Underpayment from the Early Care and Education Program along with supporting documentation sufficient to establish the Underpayment within thirty (30) calendar days of the date Salary Supplement Funding is issued to the Early Care and Education Program. The Department will review the provided documentation and its own records to determine if an Underpayment occurred. The Department will provide written notice of its decision on an alleged Underpayment.2. In the event of an Underpayment, the Department shall pay an Early Care and Education Program the amount of the Underpayment within sixty (60) calendar days of the date that the Department determines that an Underpayment occurred. If the Early Care and Education Program has an outstanding Overpayment, the amount of the Underpayment shall be used to offset the outstanding Overpayment and any remaining balance of the Underpayment shall then be paid to the Early Care and Education Program.3. Early Care and Education Programs that disagree with a Department determination regarding an Underpayment may request a hearing to appeal that determination.D.Determination of Overpayment1. Overpayments may be discovered within three (3) years of the date that the Department pays an Early Care and Education Program Salary Supplement Funding. Overpayments may result from Department administrative error or be caused by the Early Care and Education Program. Overpayments caused by the Early Care and Education Program may be voluntarily reported by the Early Care and Education Program, or will be determined by the Department through its Compliance Monitoring as described in this Rule.2. Overpayments caused by Department administrative error will be recouped by the Department from the Early Care and Education Program. The Department shall recover Overpayments as provided in sections 7(E)-(F) of this Rule, below.3. Overpayments that are not caused by a Department Administrative Error shall be classified as caused by the Early Care and Education Program.4. Overpayments caused by the Early Care and Education Program shall include, but not be limited to:a. Inaccurate reporting of licensing status or Early Childhood Educator eligibility requirements, such as the number of Early Childhood Educators at a given PDN Registry level.b. Cashing a replacement check for Salary Supplement Funding after falsely claiming that the original check was lost, stolen or destroyed.c. Providing inaccurate or insufficient Payroll Records for Compliance Monitoring.5. The Department shall make a preliminary determination of whether the Overpayment was caused by a misrepresentation.6. Where the Department makes a preliminary determination that an Early Care and Education Program may have committed a misrepresentation, the case may be referred to the DHHS Fraud Investigation Unit pursuant to 22 M.R.S. § 13 and the Department may pursue establishment of a misrepresentation.E.Notice of Overpayment1. Early Care and Education Programs shall be provided with written notice of Overpayment by the Department.2. The written notice of Overpayment shall be sent to the Department's last known address for the Early Care and Education Program, by U.S. Postal Service first class mail.3. The written notice of Overpayment shall contain:a. Amount of the Overpayment;b. Period of the Overpayment;c. A statement that the Overpayment will be considered payable in full thirty (30) calendar days from the date of the notice;d. Explanation of why the Overpayment occurred;e. Responsibility for repayment through Maine Revenue Services Tax Setoff (if applicable); andf. Contact information for the Department for making repayment arrangements.F.Methods of Repayment1. Overpayments must be repaid to the Department in full within thirty (30) calendar days of: a. When the Program voluntarily reports the Overpayment, orb. The date of the written notice of Overpayment.2. Programs may request an alternative repayment plan from the Department, which the Department may approve at its sole discretion.3. If the Program fails to repay the full amount of the Overpayment to the Department, or does not comply with a Department-approved repayment plan, the Department will withhold Salary Supplement Funding until the amount of the Overpayment is recouped. If the Early Care and Education Program does not actively receive Salary Supplement Funding, the Department shall recover the Overpayment through the quickest legally permissible means.10-148 C.M.R. ch. 30, § 7