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What is a Legally Unregistered Provider?
A legally unregistered provider (LUP) is a child care-giver who is not licensed or registered by the state; who enters into an informal arrangement to care for children of parents who  receive the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship.
A LUP is a friend or family member who applies to receive state payment to care for all the children in one family or up to two unrelated children from different families. If the child(ren)’s parents do not receive the Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship, the provider is not eligible to apply to be a legally unregistered provider.
Application Process:
The parent or potential legally unregistered provider  can call or email us to request a LUP application. The date the application is received in our office is the first day the LUP will be eligible for state payment, if they are approved. The state Early Childhood Services Bureau has the authority to approve or deny LUP applications, based on the information provided by the applicant, Nurturing Center staff does not have final authority. Once the application is received in our office, it takes 4-6 weeks to complete the process. It can take longer if the applicant has lived in multiple states.
LUP Eligibility:
 Must be 18 years old or older.- Must be mentally and physically capable of providing care that meets safety, health and other basic child care requirements and standards.
- Must not live with the family for whom they are providing care. The exceptions are the prospective LUP must be related as a grandparent, a great-grandparent, an aunt or an uncle. If living together proof of relationship is required. The LUP applicant cannot be part of the family’s TANF household.
- Everyone who is 18 years old or older who lives with the LUP applicant must pass background checks for both criminal and child protection services in all the states in which they’ve lived since the age of 18.
- Must attend the LUP orientation within 60 days of approval.
- Must provide care for a family who is eligible for Best Beginnings Child Care Scholarship.
- Must complete all the LUP application forms as well as submit additional information if needed.
LUP Rates per child
Child: Daily $18.80 • Hourly $3.00
Infant: Daily $19.50• Hourly $3.50
To request a LUP application or if you have any questions about becoming a legally unregistered provider, please contact Joleen at Joleen@nurturingcenter.org or you can call her at 406-756-1414 or (in Montana state) 800-204-0644.
To download the LUP Application or LUP Forms select below:
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