c)
Parents and other relatives eligible to receive child care services include:
1) Clients who receive Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) under Article IV of the Public Aid Code participating
in work and/or training-related activities as specified in their Responsibility
and Service Plan (RSP) (see 89 Ill. Adm. Code
112.74)
as approved by the Department's TANF case worker.
2) Parents or other relatives who request a
3-month period to establish an eligible employment or education activity
(allowed once every 12 months through 6/30/2022).
3) Working families, including teen parents
enrolled full-time in elementary or high school or high school equivalency
classes to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent, whose monthly
incomes do not exceed the following amounts by family size at the time of
initial program application:
|
Family Size |
Gross Monthly Base Income |
|
2 |
$2,874 |
|
3 |
$3,620 |
|
4 |
$4,367 |
|
5 |
$5,114 |
|
6 |
$5,860 |
|
7 |
$6,607 |
|
8 |
$7,354 |
|
9 |
$8,100 |
|
10 |
$8,847 |
The above income guidelines will be indexed annually so that
the thresholds are no less than 185% of the most current Federal Poverty Level
(FPL) for each family size.
4) At the end of each eligibility period,
families must fall into the following income guidelines to remain eligible for
another 12-month eligibility period:
|
Family Size |
Gross Monthly Base Income |
|
2 |
$3,233 |
|
3 |
$4,073 |
|
4 |
$4,913 |
|
5 |
$5,753 |
|
6 |
$6,593 |
|
7 |
$7,433 |
|
8 |
$8,273 |
|
9 |
$9,113 |
These income guidelines will be indexed annually so that the
thresholds are no less than 185% of the most current FPL for each family
size.
5) Any time a family's
countable income exceeds 85% of the State Median Income (SMI), the case will be
canceled 10 calendar days after the date the termination notice was sent to the
family and providers.
|
Family Size |
Gross Monthly Base Income |
|
2 |
$4,489 |
|
3 |
$5,546 |
|
4 |
$6,602 |
|
5 |
$7,658 |
|
6 |
$8,714 |
|
7 |
$8,912 |
|
8 |
$9,110 |
These income guidelines will be indexed annually so that the
thresholds are no less and no more than 85% of the most current SMI level for
each family size.
6) If the
countable income for a family is between 225% FPL and 85% SMI at the end of an
eligibility period, and all other eligibility factors are met, the family will
be eligible for a 90-day graduated phase-out period that begins the first day
of the new eligibility period. If the family requests child care assistance at
any time after the graduated phase-out period, the request must be treated as a
new application and the family must have family income below 200% of FPL to
qualify.
7) Families who do not
receive TANF and need child care services in order to attend school or training
(up to and including the acquisition of the first Bachelor's Degree) whose
monthly income does not exceed the monthly income ceilings in subsection
(c)(2). Clients can be approved for education/training activities that will
lead to multiple certificates within a designated career path (e.g., from
Certified Nursing Assistant to Licensed Practical Nurse) or Associate Degrees,
but only the first Bachelor's Degree. Clients may also be approved for
additional vocational certificate programs if they are beginning a new career
path in a new field or if classes are required to remain certified in their
current employment. Child care services approved under this Part must be
reasonably related to the education or training activity, including class hours
and research, study, laboratory, library and transportation time, and unpaid
educationally required work activities such as student teaching, an internship,
a clinical, a practicum or an apprenticeship. Teen parents enrolled full-time
in elementary or high school or high school equivalency classes will be
eligible for full-time, full-year child care, including summers, when using a
licensed child care provider, up to and including a three-month period after
graduation, in order to secure employment or to prepare for higher education.
If a parent is claimed as a dependent by another person for federal income tax
purposes, that parent is only eligible if his or her income, when added to the
income of the other person, does not exceed the monthly income ceiling in
subsection (c)(2) for that family size. All education programs under this Part
must be administered by an educational institution accredited under
requirements of State law, including, but not limited to, the Barber,
Cosmetology, Esthetics, Hair Braiding, and Nail Technology Act of 1985 [225
ILCS 410], the Real Estate Act of 2000 [225 ILCS 454], the Public Community
College Act [110 ILCS 805], the University of Illinois Act [110 ILCS 305], the
Chicago State University Law [110 ILCS 660], the Eastern Illinois University
Law [110 ILCS 665], the Governors State University Law [110 ILCS 670], the
Illinois State University Law [110 ILCS 675], the Northeastern Illinois
University Law [110 ILCS 680], the Northern Illinois University Law [110 ILCS
685], the Western Illinois University Law [110 ILCS 690], or the Department of
Financial and Professional Regulation. Social service agencies that provide
recognized English as a Second Language (ESL) and other adult education courses
and programs are not required to hold or maintain any separate type of
accreditation, as long as the program they offer is supported by an accredited
institution.
A) Below Post-Secondary
Education Eligibility and Participation Requirements This category of education
includes literacy and other adult basic education, English as a Second
Language, and high school equivalency examination preparation programs.
Clients/applicants who have already earned a vocational certificate are still
eligible for below post-secondary education activities if they have not already
earned a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate.
i) There is no work requirement for the first
24 non-consecutive months the client participates. Families eligible to receive
child care services while they attend an education or training program under
this Section must not already possess a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate
Degree.
ii) From the
25th month on, the client must work at least 20
hours per week. Child care provided to a teen parent to obtain a high school
diploma or its equivalent does not count against this 24-month limit.
Individuals enrolled in below post-secondary education must maintain a "C"
average if this measurement is used by the institution to determine
satisfactory progress. The client will be allowed one eligibility period below
a "C" average to bring the grades up to a "C" average. When grades are not
used, progress will be determined by the written policy of the institution to
establish a comparable grade level upon completion of the academic term. The
determination of satisfactory progress must be reported upon completion of each
eligibility period.
B)
Vocational Education Eligibility and Participation Requirements Programs in
this category of education may be offered by a public community college, public
or private university, or private business/technical school.
i) The program usually results in the receipt
of a Certificate of Achievement or Completion and/or prepares the client for a
specific job or to obtain a license required by some occupations. Families
eligible to receive child care services while they attend an education or
training program under this Section must not already possess a Bachelor's,
Master's or Doctorate Degree. Clients/applicants may be approved for multiple
vocational certificate programs if they are within a designated career path
(e.g., from Certified Nursing Assistant to Licensed Practical Nurse) or are
beginning a new career path in a new field, or if classes are required to
remain certified in their current employment.
ii) There is no work requirement for the
first 24 non-consecutive months the client participates. From the
25th month on, the client must work at least 20
hours per week. Individuals enrolled in vocational education must maintain a
"C" average if this measurement is used by the institution to determine
satisfactory progress. The client will be allowed one eligibility period below
a "C" average to bring the grades up to a "C" average. When grades are not
used, progress will be determined by the written policy of the institution to
establish a comparable grade level upon completion of the academic term. The
determination of satisfactory progress must be reported upon completion of each
eligibility period.
C)
Post-Secondary Education
i) This category of
education includes all undergraduate college level courses that could result in
an Associate or the client's first Bachelor's Degree. Families eligible to
receive child care services while they attend an education or training program
under this Section must:
* be enrolled in a program accredited under requirements of
State law as stated in subsection (c)(3).
* not already have a Bachelor's, Master's or Doctorate
Degree, if requesting child care to earn an Associate Degree. Child care will
not be approved for attainment of a second Associate Degree.
* not be in an, or have completed an, advanced degree program
(beyond a Bachelor's Degree). Child care will not be approved for education
beyond the attainment of a Bachelor's Degree.
ii) There is no work requirement for the
first 48 non-consecutive months the client participates. From the
49th month on, the client must work at least 20
hours per week. Clients who do not work and who need child care to attend
college must maintain a 2.5 grade point average (GPA) (on a 4.0 scale) if this
measurement is used by the institution to determine satisfactory progress.
Clients who work 20 hours or more per week in paid employment while they attend
college must maintain a 2.0 GPA (on a 4.0 scale). In the absence of a GPA,
satisfactory progress will be determined by the written policy of the
institution. The determination of satisfactory progress, including test/retest
results or GPA, must be reported upon completion of each eligibility period. If
the client's GPA falls below 2.5 or 2.0 for those students who work or at any
time the client does not maintain satisfactory progress, the client may
continue to go to school for another eligibility period. If the GPA is below
2.5 or 2.0 two eligibility periods in a row, the client will be ineligible for
child care until his or her GPA is at or above 2.5 or 2.0.
D) For child care services received under
education/training, a parent enrolled in web-based courses or correspondence
learning from an accredited university or college is only eligible for child
care assistance if both of the following are met:
i) The class is offered only at a regularly
scheduled time (i.e., 11:00 a.m. every Monday and Wednesday) or the parent must
leave the home to have access to a computer.
ii) The child or children for whom care is
requested must be under the age of six, except during the summer or school
breaks. Care shall not be authorized during the hours the child is in school or
is home schooled, or if the child is in a two-parent family when the other
parent is available to care for the child.
E) Study Time
Child care services may be granted for up to one hour of
study time per week for each classroom hour or course credit. When possible,
study periods should be arranged around regularly scheduled classes in order to
provide a consistent and uninterrupted routine for children in care. Study time
granted to add an extra day of care must be approved first by the Department's
Bureau of Child Care and Development Policy Unit.
8) Relatives (other than parents) who receive
child-only TANF benefits as a Representative Payee for children in need of care
while they work.
9) Families with
active CCAP cases in which all parents in the household are called into active
military duty and the relative caregivers are employed or in an approved
education/training activity.
10) In
the event the Department must limit participation due to insufficient
appropriations or available resources, applicants included in the priority
service groups are:
A) Recipients of
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families as described in subsection
(c)(1);
B) Teen parents enrolled
full-time in elementary school, high school or high school equivalency classes
to obtain a high school degree or its equivalent;
C) Families engaged in an eligible employment
and/or educational activity with a special needs child and family income that
does not exceed 185% of FPL for their family size;
D) Working families whose monthly incomes do
not exceed 185% of the most current FPL for their family size;
E) Families that are not recipients of TANF
whose monthly incomes do not exceed 185% of the most current FPL for their
family size that need child care assistance to participate in education and
training.
