CDSS – CDMIS User Manual; Appendix A: Family Identification/Case Number
Family Identification/Case Number
The Family Identification/Case Number (FICN) information field indicates a specific family receiving subsidized child care services through an agency’s contract. This is the unique identification or case number that an agency assigns to a family receiving subsidized child care services through an agency’s contract.
Agencies are encouraged to use these numbers in the CDD-801A to help locate cases sampled in the CDD-801B.
Where to Find It
On the Confidential Application for Child Development Services and Certification of Eligibility form (CCD 26), the FICN is located in a box in the upper right-hand corner of the first page.
Rules and Guidelines
- This information field is required.
- The same FICN cannot be used for more than one family.
- The FICN cannot contain the Head-of-Household (HoH) Social Security Number (SSN) or the child SSN.
- The FICN cannot contain the first and/or last name of the child or HoH.
- The maximum length of this field is 15 characters.
- The only allowable characters in this field are the letters A – Z (upper and lower case are acceptable) and the numbers 0 – 9.
Error Messages and Solutions
See Appendix B: Error Message Codes for solutions to error messages.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is a Family Identification/Case Number (FICN)? Our agency hasn’t been using this. What numbers or letters should we use?
- The FICN is generated by an agency to uniquely identify each family receiving subsidized child care services through an agency’s contract. The FICN should make it easier for an agency to locate the family file when it is sampled for the CDD-801B. An agency may use numbers or letters or a combination of both to identify families. The FICN can be as simple as assigning numbers to a family beginning with the number one (1) and assigning the next available number as new families are enrolled. How the FICN is created is up to each agency; however, agencies are limited to the allowable characters as stated in the FICN Rules and Guidelines section.
- Does my agency have to report a FICN for each family?
- We have a family that was previously enrolled, had a break in service, and then returned. We cannot locate the old FICN assigned to this family. Can we issue a new FICN?
- It is preferable to use the same FICN that the family had before, but if an agency does not have a record of that information, a new FICN may be created.
- One of our families has two children receiving services in different sub-agencies. When we try to report the family under the other sub-agency, we get the error “A duplicate FICN already exists for this report month/year in another sub-agency. How do we report this family correctly?
- A family may only be reported once in a report period regardless of the types of programs that provide the subsidized child care services to the children in that family. Even though an agency has created separate sub-agencies for reporting subsidized child care services under the different programs, the CDSS - CDMIS does not limit or restrict who is reported under those sub-agencies. Where an agency reports families receiving different subsidized child care services through an agency’s contract is up to the agency. Select the sub-agency in which a family will be reported, then ensure all children receiving subsidized child care services in this family are listed.