New York CCTA: Sending Attendance From CheckInKids to KinderConnect (2026)

The Short Version

CCTA is how counties outside New York City receive and pay child care assistance attendance. Providers record and submit attendance in KinderConnect, and the county reviews and pays it. Your county enrolls you first; then CCTA Support connects CheckInKids, and the check-ins and check-outs your families make in CheckInKids become the attendance you submit each month.

How CCTA Works

CCTA serves every local department of social services outside New York City; providers paid by New York City use ACS systems instead. Providers record and submit attendance in KinderConnect, and counties review submittals and calculate payments in their own part of the system.

Since April 1, 2025, every district outside the city has been required to process and pay claims through CCTA and to offer providers web submittal. Whether you must submit through it depends on the county. Erie requires it for contracted providers, while counties such as Onondaga, Niagara and Lewis make it optional and encourage it.

Connecting CheckInKids, Step by Step

1. Ask your county to enroll you for web submittal. Contact the department of social services that pays you for child care assistance. It sends your CCFS ID and a verification code. For licensed and registered programs the CCFS ID is your license or registration ID; for legally-exempt providers it is your enrollment number.
2. Register in the CCTA provider portal at ccta-newyork.com and keep at least one Provider Administrator on the account.
3. Ask us to turn on KinderConnect for your center at hello@checkinkids.com.
4. Call CCTA Support at 877-369-6106, option 9, say you use CheckInKids, and ask them to activate the KinderBridge link. They give you a Provider ID and a group password.
5. Enter them in CheckInKids on the KinderConnect page, Setup tab. Choose your start date and press Find matches. Children whose name and birth date match exactly link at once; you confirm close matches and link any others by hand.
6. Send attendance, then submit monthly in KinderConnect. Licensed providers also enter the payment amount they request. The county must allow, disallow or defer the claim within 21 calendar days.

New York Rules That Shape Your Monthly Claim

Four statuses

Erie County's guide lists four attendance statuses: Present, Not scheduled, Absent and Program Closure. It notes there is no requirement to give a reason for an absent day.

Absences carry the hours the child would have attended

An absence is a day the child was scheduled to be in care but did not attend. In CCTA it is entered with the child's regular in and out times, the hours the child would have attended.

Program closures

A program closure is added for every child scheduled that day, with a short reason. Erie caps professional development closures at two full days per fiscal year and requires a note for culturally specific and professional development closures.

Up to 80 absences and 20 closures a year

Nassau County's 2026 audit says OCFS requires counties to pay up to 80 absences and 20 program closures per child, per provider, per state fiscal year, which runs from April 1 to March 31. Most counties checked publish those caps, but Onondaga lists specific closure days instead. The regulation text published online still shows older, lower numbers, so follow what your county applies. Erie pays absences and closures only if private-pay families are charged for them too.

Exact, signed times

Erie requires a parent's signature for both the time in and the time out. Onondaga asks for the actual drop-off and pick-up times and requires providers to keep attendance records for at least seven years from the date of service. Erie pays on schedule when a submittal arrives by the third business day of the month.

How CheckInKids Helps

• Check-ins and check-outs are recorded as they happen, to the second, never rounded, and sent to KinderConnect in the time zone saved for your center.
• Families and authorized pickups check in with the phone number on file, and the kiosk can ask for a signature at check-in and check-out.
• Check-ins and check-outs carry the name of the person who made them, and KinderConnect receives it. One with no name, such as one made with a shared staff PIN, is held back instead of sent.
• A day with a problem, such as a check-in with no check-out, is held back with the reason so you fix it first.
• Days outside a child's authorization are shown but never sent.

A Practical Checklist

1. Ask your county to enroll you for web submittal and send your CCFS ID and verification code.
2. Register in the CCTA provider portal with a Provider Administrator.
3. Ask CheckInKids to turn on KinderConnect, then call CCTA Support for your Provider ID and group password.
4. Enter them in CheckInKids and link your subsidy children.
5. Get your county's provider guide: signatures, closures and billing deadlines.
6. Submit each month in KinderConnect.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to use CCTA in New York?

Since April 1, 2025, every district outside New York City has been required to process and pay child care assistance claims through CCTA and to offer providers web submittal. Whether you must submit through CCTA depends on your county: Erie requires it for contracted providers, while counties such as Onondaga, Niagara and Lewis make it optional, so ask your county.

Does CCTA cover New York City?

No. Providers paid by New York City use ACS systems instead.

Where do I get my CCFS ID and verification code?

From the county department of social services that pays you. For licensed and registered programs the CCFS ID is your license or registration ID; for legally-exempt providers it is your enrollment number.

How do I record an absence in CCTA?

An absence is a scheduled day the child did not attend. It is entered with the hours the child would have attended, the regular in and out times. Erie County notes that no reason is required.

How many absences and closures are paid?

Nassau County's 2026 audit says OCFS requires counties to pay up to 80 absences and 20 program closures per child, per provider, per state fiscal year (April 1 to March 31). Most counties checked publish those caps, but Onondaga lists specific closure days instead, so check your county's own rules.

KinderConnect and KinderBridge are KinderSystems products. This guide is not legal advice; confirm requirements with your county and OCFS.