New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 9 - EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Part 3 - CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE; REQUIREMENTS FOR CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
Section 8.9.3.7 - DEFINITIONS
Universal Citation: 8 NM Admin Code 8.9.3.7
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. Terms beginning with the letter "A":
(1)
"Attending a job training or educational program" means actively
participating in an in-person or online job training or educational
program.
(2)
"At-risk child
care" means a program for families at-risk as determined by the
department.
B. Terms beginning with the letter "B": [RESERVED]
C. Terms beginning with the letter "C":
(1)
"CACFP" means
the child and adult care food program, administered by the Early Childhood
Education and Care Department.
(2)
"Child with a disability or special needs" means a child with an
identified disability, health, or mental health conditions requiring early
intervention, special education services, under an individualized education
plan (IEP) or an individualized family service plan (IFSP), or other
specialized services and supports; or children without identified conditions,
but requiring specialized services, supports, or monitoring.
(3)
"Client" means the parent or
legal guardian of the child that the department has determined is eligible for
child care assistance benefits.
(4)
"Closure" means the client's child care case is closed with the
department.
(5)
"Copayment" means the portion of the approved and agreed upon
monthly child care cost for clients receiving child care assistance that the
client is required to pay to the child care provider. The department's payment
to the provider is reduced by the copayment amount.
D. Terms beginning with the letter "D":
(1)
"Demonstration of
incapacity" means written documentation that an individual is unable to
fulfill an eligibility requirement, such as work, school, or the ability to
provide child care, and should otherwise be excluded, in whole or in part, from
the determination of eligibility. Written documentation of incapacity includes,
but is not limited to, the following: statements or letters on a
physician's/medical professional's/treatment provider's letterhead stationary;
statements, records or letters from a federal government agency that issues or
provides disability benefits; statements, records or letters from a state
vocational rehabilitation agency counselor; records or letters from a treatment
facility/counselor; certification from a private vocational rehabilitation or
other counselor that issues or provides disability benefits.
(2)
"Department" means the New
Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department ("ECECD").
E. Terms beginning with the letter "E":
(1)
"Earned
income" means income received as gross wages from employment or as
profit from self-employment.
(2)
"Essential worker" means those who conduct a range of operations
and services in industries that are essential to ensure the continuity of
critical functions in the economy of our nation and state. During this period
of economic recovery and subject to budgetary considerations, the presumption
is that all workers are essential to the well being of the state's
economy.
F. Terms beginning with the letter "F":
(1)
"Federal poverty level" means a measure of income issued every
year by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that is used to
determine eligibility for various programs and benefits, including New Mexico's
Child Care Assistance Program.
(2)
"Fluctuation of earnings" means a family with inconsistent or
variable income Throughout the year. To calculate fluctuation of earning the
department may:
(a) average family earnings
over a period of time (e.g., 12 months); or
(b) choose to discount temporary increases in
income provided that a family demonstrates an isolated increase in pay (e.g.,
short-term overtime pay, temporary increase to pay, etc.) and is not indicative
of a permanent increase in income.
G. Terms beginning with the letter "G": [RESERVED]
H. Terms beginning with the letter "H":
(1)
"Homeless children and youth" means individuals who lack a fixed,
regular, and adequate nighttime residence, which includes:
(a) Children and youth who are temporarily
sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship,
or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks (excludes
mobile homes), or camping ground due to the lack of alternative adequate
accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned
in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
(b) children and youth who have a primary
nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or
ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings;
(c) children and youth who are living in
cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or
train stations, or similar settings; and
(d) migratory children who qualify as
homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in
circumstances described in Subparagraphs (a) through (c) of this
Paragraph.
(2)
"Household" means the household as defined below in Paragraph (1)
of Subsection C of
8.9.3.11 NMAC.
(3)
"Household income" means
household income as defined below in Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of
8.9.3.11 NMAC.
I. Terms beginning with the letter "I":
(1)
"Incidental
money" means earnings of a minor child for occasional work performed
such as baby-sitting, cutting lawns, and other similar activities.
(2)
"Infant, toddler, preschool, school
age" means the age categories used for assigning child care provider
reimbursement rates, defined as follows:
(a)
infant: zero - 23 months;
(b)
toddler: 24 -35 months;
(c)
preschool: three to five year olds; and
(d) school age: six year olds and
older.
J. Terms beginning with the letter "J": "Job training and educational program" means participation in a short or long term educational or training program, including online programs that provide specific job skills which allow the participant to enter the workforce and directly relates to enhancing job skills, including but not limited to the acquisition of a general equivalency diploma (GED), English as a second language, literacy training, vocational education training, secondary education including adult basic education and accredited high school programs, and post-secondary institutions. Educational programs include graduate and post graduate programs or classes.
K. Terms beginning with the letter "K": [RESERVED]
L. Terms beginning with the letter "L": [RESERVED]
M. Terms beginning with the letter "M": [RESERVED]
N. Terms beginning with the letter "N":
(1)
"National accreditation
status" means the achievement and maintenance of accreditation status by
an accrediting body that has been approved by ECECD. ECECD determines the
program criteria and standards to evaluate and approve accrediting bodies.
(a) The following are the only national
accrediting bodies that are approved by ECECD:
(i) the association of Christian schools
international (ACSI);
(ii) the
council on accreditation (COA) for early childhood education and after school
programs;
(iii) the international
Christian accrediting association (ICAA);
(iv) the national accreditation commission
for early care and education programs (NAC);
(v) the national association for the
education of young children (NAEYC) academy for early childhood program
accreditation;
(vi) the national
association of family child care (NAFCC); or
(vii) the national early childhood program
accreditation (NECPA).
(b) Effective July 15, 2014 accrediting
bodies that have been previously approved that are not on the above list will
no longer be ECECD approved national accrediting bodies.
(2)
"Non-temporary change in
activity" means the family has experienced a change in activity that
does not meet the definition of a "temporary change in activity" as defined in
Paragraph (3) of Subsection T of
8.9.3.7 NMAC.
(3)
"Non-traditional hours of
care" means care provided between the after hours of 7:00 p.m. and 7:00
a.m. Monday through Friday or care provided during weekend hours between 12:00
a.m. Saturday morning and 12:00 a.m. Monday morning.
O. Terms beginning with the letter "O":
(1)
"Open case"
means a case that has not been closed as a result of a failure to recertify, or
that has not been closed due to becoming otherwise ineligible for child care
assistance benefits.
(2)
"Overpayment" means a payment of child care assistance benefits
received by a client or provider for which they are ineligible based on
incomplete or inaccurate information provided by either the client or the
provider, or agency error.
P. Terms beginning with the letter "P": "Provider types" means the characteristics of child care providers, which determine their approved reimbursement rate, capacity, staffing levels etc. as follows:
(1)
"In-home"
care means care provided in the child's own home.
(2)
"Registered home" means
child care provided in the home of a provider who is registered with the
department to care for up to four children. All registered homes receiving
child care assistance subsidies must be enrolled and participate in the child
and adult care food program (CACFP), unless they are exempt.
(3)
"Licensed family child care
home" means child care provided in the home of a provider who is
licensed by the department to care for up to six children.
(4)
"Licensed group child care
home" means child care provided in the home of a provider who is
licensed by the department to care for up to 12 children.
(5)
"Licensed center" means
child care provided in a non-residential setting, which is licensed by the
department to provide such care.
(6)
"Out-of-school time care"
means child care provided to a kindergartner or school age child up to age 13
immediately before or immediately after a regularly scheduled school day or
when regular school is not in session.
(7)
"Family, friend, or neighbor
(FFN)" means care provided temporarily in a home and only in the case of
a public health emergency.
Q. Terms beginning with the letter "Q": [RESERVED]
R. Terms beginning with the letter "R":
(1)
"Recertification" means the process by which a client's
eligibility to continue to receive child care assistance benefits are
determined.
(2)
"Registration/educational fee" means a fee charged to private pay
and families receiving child care assistance for materials and
supplies.
S. Terms beginning with the letter "S":
(1)
"Sanctions" means a measure imposed by the department for a
violation or violations of applicable regulations.
(2)
"SNAP" means the
supplemental nutrition assistance program administered by the U.S. department
of agriculture, which helps low-income families purchase healthy food. SNAP was
previously referred to as food stamps employment and training
program.
(3)
"Special
supervision" means the special supervision for child(ren) as defined
below in Subsection G of
8.9.3.11 NMAC.
(4)
"Star level" means a license
indicating the level of quality of an early childhood program. A greater number
of stars indicates a higher level of quality.
(5)
"Suspension" means the
voluntary cessation of child care benefits at the client's request, during
which the client remains eligible.
T. Terms beginning with the letter "T":
(1)
"TANF" means the
temporary assistance to needy families program administered by the U.S.
department of health and human services. TANF is the successor to the aid to
families with dependent children (AFDC) program and provides cash assistance to
qualified low-income families with dependent children.
(2)
"Teen parent" means a
biological parent under the age of 20 who is attending high school, working
towards a general equivalency diploma (GED) or attending any other job skills
training or educational programs directly related to enhancing employment
opportunities.
(3)
"Temporary
change of activity" means one of the following events:
(a) limited absence from work for employed
parents or legal guardians for periods of family leave (including parental
leave) or sick leave;
(b)
interruption in work for a seasonal worker who is not working between regular
industry work seasons;
(c) student
holiday or break for a parent or legal guardian participating in training or
education;
(d) reduction in work,
training or education hours, as long as the parent or legal guardian is still
working or attending training or education; and
(e) cessation of work or attendance at a
training or education program less than three months.
(4)
"Termination" means the
client's child care case will be closed due to cause.
(5)
"Tribal per capita payments"
means cash distributions from tribal trust funds or casino revenues to
individual tribal members.
U. Terms beginning with the letter "U":
(1)
"Underpayment"
means a payment made by the department for services provided which did not
fully reimburse the client or provider.
(2)
"Unearned income" means
income in the form of benefits such as TANF, workmen's compensation, social
security, supplemental security income; child support, pensions, contributions,
gifts, loans, grants and other income which does not meet the definition of
earned income.
V. Terms beginning with the letter "V": [RESERVED]
W. Terms beginning with the letter "W": "Working" means employment of any type, including self-employment and teleworking. For TANF recipients, this includes work experience or community service or any other activity that meets the TANF work activity requirements.
X. Terms beginning with the letter "X": [RESERVED]
Y. Terms beginning with the letter "Y": [RESERVED]
Z. Terms beginning with the letter "Z": [RESERVED]
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