|
|
Department
of Human Services Families
First Online Policy Manual Child Care |
Revised: |
33.3 |
CHILD CARE ELIGIBILTIY CRITERIA |
|
|
|
Certain eligibility criteria determine
which children receive child care
services. Care is available for: ·
Children
under age 13. ·
Children age
13 and older who are under court supervision. ·
Children age
13 and older who are physically or mentally incapable of self-care. ·
Children who
live in the home and for whom the caretaker has care and control but who are
not in the assistance unit. ·
Children who
would be included in the assistance unit except for the fact that they
receive SSI. ·
Child care
payments will not be made to: -
The child’s
parent, step-parent, guardian, or any member of the assistance unit. -
Persons or
agencies found guilty or validated as child abuse perpetrators. ·
The
caretaker relative has certain choices regarding how child care is paid and
to whom. The caretaker may choose
regulated or unregulated care.
Regulated care is licensed by the Department. Unregulated care is not licensed, but is
monitored by the child care specialist. ·
Unregulated
care may not be provided in the child’s home, unless it is also the
provider’s home. ·
Child care
is provided in units of care based on the number of hours for which child
care is needed per week, i.e., full-time, part-time, or extended time. A full-time unit of care is defined as a
weekly schedule of 20 to 60 plus hours of child care needed. Child care can be provided while the parent
or caretaker works, goes to class or other educational/training activities
such as lab, study, or tutoring; and the traveling time to and from these
activities and the child care provider.
A part-time unit of care is defined as 1 to
19 hours per week, e.g., for a child who only needs before and/or after
school care or for child care needed while the parent or caretaker attends
FSC assessment, unless there is no part-time care available. An extended time unit of care is only for
Families First participants. If a
participant is placed in activities that require more hours of child care
than allowed by one full-time unit of care, then the participant may receive
an extended time unit which provides up to 150% of a full-time unit. Only a DHS supervisor can authorize
extended time units. TCC cases are not
eligible for extended time units, even if the AU received extended time while
they were in the Families First Program. ·
Minor
parents, who are ECs and have signed a PRP, will also receive Families First
child care if the child care is required for them to fulfill the obligations
on the PRP. Child care will not be
provided if the caretaker (whether EA or NA) is able to provide child care. |
|