Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
(a) An
applicant for child care assistance must apply, in writing, on forms and in a
manner prescribed by the social services district in accordance with Part 404
of this Title. The social services district must permit the applicant to submit
an application by mail, or other electronic means as approved by the Office.
The caretaker with whom an eligible child or children lives is the applicant
for such services.
(b) The
applicant is responsible for providing accurate, complete and current
information regarding family income and composition, child care arrangements
and any other circumstances related to the family's eligibility for child care
services, and for notifying the social services district immediately of any
changes in such information.
(c)
The child(ren)'s caretaker is responsible for locating a child care provider(s)
that meets the needs of his or her child(ren). A caretaker that is unable to
locate a child care provider(s) may ask the social services district for
assistance.
(d) A family which
chooses to have a caregiver of informal child care provide child care services
in the child(ren)'s own home must provide such caregiver with all employment
benefits required by State and/or Federal law and pay the caregiver at least
minimum wage, if required by State and/or Federal law.
(e)
Family share.
(1) Each family receiving child care
assistance must contribute toward the costs of child care services by paying a
family share based upon the family's income with the following exceptions: a
family where the parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) is receiving public
assistance, a family experiencing homelessness, when such assistance is
provided to a child in foster care, when such assistance is provided to a child
as a protective or preventive service, or when such assistance is provided to a
child where the child care services unit is comprised of the eligible
child(ren) only. However, a family share may be required of any family to
recoup an overpayment for child care services.
(2) The income-based portion of the family
share for child care services must be determined by the social services
district in accordance with a sliding fee scale developed pursuant to paragraph
(3) of this subdivision. The overpayment portion of the family share, if any,
must be reflected separately from any income-based portion of the family share
and must be determined in accordance with section
415.4(i)
of this Part.
(3) The sliding fee
scale developed by the social services district must be calculated by
subtracting the state income standard, as defined in section
415.1(k)
of this Part, for the specific family size of the eligible family from the
annual gross income of the eligible family, multiplying the remaining income by
a factor of at least 1 but no more than 10 percent, as selected by the social
services district and included in the district's consolidated services plan or
integrated county plan, and dividing the product by 52 to determine a weekly
family share. The same percentage factor must be used for all families
receiving child care services that are required to pay an income-based portion
of a family share.
(4) A minimum
weekly family share of $1 must be charged to each family receiving child care
services which is required to pay an income-based portion of a family
share.
(5) Each family receiving
child care services is responsible for paying only one family share regardless
of the number of children in the family who are receiving child care
services.
(6) The family is
responsible for paying the family share in the manner determined by the social
services district. The social services district may require the family to pay
the family share to the social services district or to one or more child care
providers used by the family.
(7)
The family share will be recalculated by the social services district whenever
there is a change in income, household circumstances or child care provider
that would decrease the amount of the family share, when an overpayment for
child care services has occurred and the recovery of such overpayment will be
made through the family share, and at recertification.
(8) The failure of a family receiving child
care services to pay the family share for such services established by the
social services district or to cooperate with such district to develop an
arrangement satisfactory to the district to make full payment of all delinquent
family shares constitutes an appropriate basis for suspending or terminating
such child care services in accordance with the procedures set forth in section
404.6 of this
Title.
(f) A caretaker
seeking child care services to enable the caretaker to participate in an
approved training program must provide documentation that includes, but is not
limited to, the following:
(1) the name of the
institution offering or conducting the training program;
(2) the course of study to be pursued or in
which the person is participating;
(3) the specific vocational or rehabilitative
goal;
(4) the duration of the
training (hours per day) including no more than a total of three hours per day
to commute (from home) to and from training location; and
(5) progress reports (marks, transcripts,
letters, and like documents) which indicate that the caretaker is progressing
satisfactorily towards attaining the established vocational or rehabilitative
goal.
(g) The child's
caretaker is responsible for responding to and providing documentation
requested for an investigation, audit, or program review by a social services
district, the Office, or other authorized agency to verify the accuracy and
completeness of information on the application including, but not limited to,
household circumstances, need for child care, and compliance with the
caretaker's responsibilities under this section. The caretaker's failure to
respond to or comply with requests for documentation constitutes an appropriate
basis for the social services district to deny an application for child care
assistance or to close the child care assistance case in accordance with
415.2(d)(4).
