(a) The Lead Agency shall certify that the payment rates for the provision of child care services under this part are sufficient to ensure equal access, for eligible families in the area served by the Lead Agency, to child care services comparable to those provided to families not eligible to receive CCDF assistance or child care assistance under any other Federal, State, or tribal programs.
(b) The Lead Agency shall provide a summary of the facts relied on to determine that its payment rates ensure equal access. At a minimum, the summary shall include facts showing:
(1) How a choice of the full range of providers, e.g., center, group, family, and in-home care, is made available;
(2) How payment rates are adequate based on a local market rate survey conducted no earlier than two years prior to the effective date of the currently approved Plan;
(3) How copayments based on a sliding fee scale are affordable, as stipulated at Sec. 98.42.
(c) A Lead Agency may not establish different payment rates based on a family's eligibility status or circumstances.
(d) Payment rates under paragraph (a) of this section shall be consistent with the parental choice requirements in Sec. 98.30.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to create a private right of action.