New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services
Subchapter C - Social Services
Article 2 - Family and Children's Services
Part 415 - Child Care Services
Section 415.4 - Local district responsibility
Universal Citation: 18 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 415.4
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 39, September 25, 2024
Each local social services district shall be responsible for compliance with the following requirements:
(a) Initial eligibility.
(1) At the time of application for child care
services, the social services district must inform the applicant of:
(i) the various child care services programs
available and the requirements of the child care services programs for which
the applicant may be eligible including information about the child care
guarantee for applicants and recipients of public assistance and for families
transitioning from public assistance set forth in section 410-w (3) of the Social
Services Law. Such information must describe the actions that the family needs
to take in order to be eligible for the child care guarantee;
(ii) the applicant's responsibility for
reporting all relevant facts to the social services district in order that a
proper determination of the applicant's eligibility for child care assistance
can be made, for reporting immediately to the social services district any
changes to such facts after the application has been submitted but before
eligibility has been determined, and for providing the documents or other
information which the applicant must submit to verify such facts;
(iii) the fact that any investigation needed
in order to determine the applicant's eligibility will be undertaken;
(iv) a recipient's responsibility for
notifying the social services district immediately of any change in financial
circumstances that puts the family income over 85 percent of the state median
income, living arrangements, employment, household composition, child care
provider or other circumstances that affect the family's need or eligibility
for child care services;
(v) a
recipient's responsibility to contribute toward the costs of the child care
services by paying a family share, if required as determined in accordance with
section
415.3(e)
of this Part;
(vi) the child care
providers with which the social services district has arrangements for the
provision of child care services to recipients;
(vii) a recipient's option to choose between
the eligible providers set forth in section
415.1(g)
of this Part;
(viii) a recipient's
responsibility to locate child care. In addition, a public assistance recipient
who needs child care in order to comply with his or her work requirements must
be notified of the provisions in section
415.8
of this Part regarding the recipient's responsibility to locate child care and
to inform the district of the recipient's efforts to locate child care
including following up on referrals from the district, the applicable local
child care resource and referral agency and/or any other child care agency to
which the recipient is referred by the district;
(ix) information to assist a recipient to
make an informed choice regarding the provider from which the recipient wishes
to receive child care services; and
(x) a recipient's right to have child care
services provided without discrimination on the basis of race, religion,
national origin, sex, handicapping condition or political
belief.
(2) All
applications for child care assistance must be processed promptly. A
determination of programmatic and financial eligibility must be completed
within the time-frame set forth in section
404.1(d)
of this Title except where the applicant requests additional time, where
difficulties in verifying eligibility lead to a delay or where other reasons
beyond the social services district's control lead to a delay. The reason for a
delay in making such determination must be recorded in the case record and
communicated to the applicant.
(3)
Initial eligibility for child care assistance must be determined pursuant to
the requirements of this Part, Part 404 of this Title and, where applicable,
Part 385 of this Title. In addition, required documentation is a necessary
prerequisite to the determination of eligibility and must be
retained.
(4) If an application for
child care assistance is approved, the social services district must send
written notice to the applicant for child care services, in accordance with
section 404.1(f) of this
Title. The notice must include: the determination of eligibility for child care
services; the family share to be paid by the applicant, if required; the
effective date(s) of such family share and the family share payment procedures
which must be followed; the period for which child care assistance is
authorized; the name of the worker or unit responsible for case management and
the telephone number; a statement regarding the continuing responsibility of
the applicant or recipient to report any change in his or her status that would
impact their continued eligibility; the right of the recipient to accept or
reject the service; and the applicant's right to a fair hearing in accordance
with Part 358 and section
404.1(f) of this
Title.
(5) If an application for
child care services is denied, the social services district must send written
notice to the applicant of the determination of ineligibility and of the
applicant's right to a fair hearing in accordance with Part 358 and section
404.1(f)
of this Title.
(b) Continuing eligibility.
(1)
Continuing eligibility for child care services must be redetermined every 12
months, or 24 months for cases funded under the New York State Child Care Block
Grant if the district opts in its Child and Family Services Plan to authorize
child care assistance for 24 months, and when case factors indicate that
redetermination could be beneficial to the family by reducing family share or
increasing the amount of child care assistance; provided, however, that a
social services district may not require the submission of a new application
merely because the applicant is no longer eligible for public assistance or no
longer eligible for a child care guarantee. The district must establish
procedures to enable families to keep their child care services without
interruption as long as the families remain eligible for such services
including procedures to transfer families from one unit of the district to
another when necessary.
(2) All
factors concerning need and eligibility for child care services must be
reconsidered, reevaluated and verified during redeterminations. The periodic
redeterminations conducted by the social services district do not eliminate the
responsibility of a recipient of child care services to report to such district
any change in financial circumstances that puts the family income over 85
percent of the state median income, living arrangements, child care
arrangements, employment, household composition or other circumstances that
affect the family's need or eligibility for child care services.
(3) If a recipient is redetermined to be
eligible for child care services, the social services district must send
written notice to the recipient of the determination of eligibility for child
care services; the family share payment procedures which must be followed; and
the recipient's right to a fair hearing in accordance with Parts 358 and 404 of
this Title.
(4) If a recipient is
determined to no longer be eligible for child care services, the social
services district must send written notice to the recipient of the
determination of ineligibility and of the recipient's right to a fair hearing
in accordance with Part 358 and section
404.1(f)
of this Title.
(c) Child care services requirements.
(1) A recipient must have the option to
choose between the eligible providers set forth in section
415.1(g)
of this Part; provided, however, that:
(i) a
recipient may choose a provider of informal child care or a provider of
legally- exempt group child care only for child care services provided under
the New York State Child Care Block Grant Program;
(ii) a social services district may
disapprove a provider chosen by a recipient in a preventive or child protective
case if the district has reason to believe that it would be contrary to the
health, safety or welfare of the child to receive child care services from that
provider;
(iii) a child care
provider chosen by a recipient must be validly licensed, properly registered or
enrolled, as appropriate; and
(iv)
a child care provider chosen by a recipient must permit a child's caretaker to
have: unlimited and on demand access to such child; the right to inspect, on
demand and at any time during the hours of operation of the home or facility,
all parts of such home or facility used for child care or which could present a
hazard to the health or safety of a child; unlimited and on demand access to
the provider(s) caring for such child whenever such child is in care and during
the normal hours of operation; and, unlimited and on demand access to written
records concerning such child except where access to such records is otherwise
restricted by law.
(2) A
recipient who chooses a caregiver of legally-exempt in-home child care who will
be providing such care in a child's own home must be advised of the recipient's
responsibility to provide such provider with all employment benefits required
by State and/or Federal law and the recipient's responsibility to pay the
provider at least the minimum wage if required by State and/or Federal
law.
(3) The child care services
provided must be reasonably related to the hours of employment, education or
training of a child's caretaker, as applicable, and permit time for delivery
and pick-up of the child. In the event the caretaker is no longer engaged in
their approved activity during the eligibility period, the child care services
must continue unless the recipient family has experienced a non-temporary
cessation in work or attendance at a training or education program or
experienced other circumstances set forth in 415.2(d)(4). Child care services
must be provided, if needed, to enable an employed caretaker who works
non-traditional hours to obtain up to eight hours of sleep if they have a child
who is under the age of 6 and not in school for a full day. Child care services
may be provided, if needed, to enable other employed caretakers who work
non-traditional hours to obtain up to eight hours of sleep if the social
services district indicates in its Child and Family Services Plan that it will
provide such services.
(4) When
arranging child care services, the needs of the child must be taken into
account including: continuity of child care; reasonable proximity of the care
either to the child's home and school or to the child's caretaker's place of
employment, education or training, as applicable; and, the appropriateness of
the child care to the child's age and special needs.
(5) No child may be moved by a social
services district from an existing placement with an eligible provider unless
the recipient of child care services consents to such move; provided, however,
that a social services district may require that a child receiving child care
services as part of a preventive case or a child protective case be moved from
an existing placement with an eligible provider if the district has reason to
believe that it would be contrary to the child's health, safety or welfare to
continue receiving child care services from that provider.
(6) A current list of the licensed or
registered child day care providers located in the social services district
must be maintained and made available to applicants for and recipients of child
care services.
(7) Social services
districts must inform public assistance recipients that:
(i) the exemption from work requirements for
lack of child care, if applicable, will not extend the time limitations on the
receipt of family assistance; and
(ii) the recipient will not be sanctioned for
failure to comply with work requirements as long as the recipient can
demonstrate an inability to find child care in accordance with section
415.8
of this Part. The information provided to the recipient must include the
definitions and procedures set forth in such section.
(8) A social services district must notify
applicants for and recipients of public assistance of the guarantee for child
care services and for transitional child care services available to applicants
or recipients that choose child care services in lieu of public assistance.
Recipients of public assistance also must be informed of their potential
eligibility for the guarantee for transitional child care services when their
public assistance benefits are terminated. Such notification must describe the
actions an applicant or recipient must take to obtain the guaranteed
transitional child care services. A social services district may not require
that an applicant or recipient reapply to receive the guaranteed transitional
child care services as long as the family remains eligible for child care
services.
(9) The social services
district must take action on a claim for reimbursement for child care services
submitted by an eligible provider as follows:
(i) The social services district shall allow,
disallow, or defer a claim for reimbursement, submitted by an eligible provider
to the social services district, for the purpose of providing child care
services pursuant to this Part within 21 calendar days of receiving such
claim.
(ii) The social services
district may defer a claim for reimbursement only in the following
circumstances:
(a) upon the recommendation of
a Federal, State, or local agency, when the agency has informed the social
services district that continued payments of such claims place the social
service district at risk of making payments for services that were not provided
in accordance with the applicable State regulations; or
(b) after an initial review of the claim by
the social services district revealed inaccuracies in the claim that warrant a
more detailed review; or
(c) upon
notification of the existence of a pending criminal charge involving
fraud.
(iii) The social
services district may disallow payment for claims for services provided to any
and all children receiving a child care subsidy for the time period in which:
(a) an enrolled provider is found by the
office to be operating or have operated a child care program, required to be
licensed or registered with the office, without obtaining such license or
registration; or
(b) a licensed or
registered provider is found by the office to be operating or have operated
over its licensed or registered capacity; or
(c) an enrolled informal provider is found by
the office to be caring or have cared for more children than the limits defined
in section
415.1(h)
of this Part.
(d) Jurisdiction.
(1) When a family in receipt of child care
services under the New York State Child Care Block Grant moves from one social
services district to another social services district within the State, the
former social services district is obligated to continue to pay for the
authorized child care services for the duration of the eligibility
period.
(2) For cases funded under
Title XX, the social services district in which the family resides will be
responsible for child care services.
(e) Administration.
(1) In the case of providers from whom or
from which the social services district purchases child care services,
contracts, when required by section
405.3 of
this Title, will be negotiated in accordance with the purchase of service
requirements set forth in such section; provider budgets may be reviewed and
attendance and payment records will be monitored.
(2) Required reports and claims for
reimbursement must be prepared and submitted in the form and manner and at the
times as required by the office.
(3) Records required to be maintained by the
State and Federal law and by instructions of the office must be retained as
appropriate. Under this subdivision, local districts must keep and retain
adequate claiming records, retain appropriate documentation in the recipient's
case file, and make appropriate records available for audit by appropriate
State and Federal agencies.
(4)
Social services districts may alter their participation in activities related
to arranging for, subsidizing, delivering, and monitoring the provision of
subsidized child day care, provided that the total participation of an
individual district in all activities related to the provision of subsidized
child day care must be no less than the participation level engaged in by such
individual district on the effective date of this section, to be determined
based on a review of expenditures for the calendar year January 1, 1990 through
December 31, 1990.
(5) The social
services district is responsible for reporting to the office, in the form and
manner and at the times required by the office, specific information regarding
child care services, including, but not limited to, the number of children
receiving each specific child care services, the costs of such services
separated by the type of child care providers used, and any additional
information required for the State to meet Federal reporting
requirements.
(6) Each social
services district must submit a child care services plan to the office for
approval as part of the district's multi-year consolidated services plan or
integrated county plan and any annual implementation reports, in the form and
manner and at the times required by the office. A social services district must
implement its child care services programs in accordance with the child care
services plan approved by the office.
(7) The social services district that
proposes an amendment to its Child and Family Services Plan that reduces
eligibility or increases the family share percentage for child care services
must:
(i) no later than the first day the
public notice appears in a newspaper pursuant to section 34-a of the Social Services Law or the
regulations of the office, as applicable, prominently post on the district's
website a notice of the proposed amendment describing the categories of
families whose cases will be impacted; and
(ii) at the time the public notice is
submitted to the newspaper for publication, provide a copy of such notice to
the office.
(8) The
social services district must provide written notice to families receiving
child care services at least 30 days in advance of the effective date of an
action the district takes to:
(i) implement a
plan amendment to its Child and Family Services Plan that reduces the family's
eligibility for child care services;
(ii) increase the family share percentage;
or
(iii) implement the process for
closing child care cases.
(9) When a social services district
implements the process for closing child care cases for families, the district
must:
(i) no later than the day the district
begins to send out the notices of intent to discontinue child care benefits,
post a notice on its website, that states the district is implementing the
child care case closing process set forth in its approved Child and Family
Services Plan and describes the categories of families who will be impacted;
and
(ii) immediately provide a copy
of the website notice to the office.
(f) Actions related to legally-exempt child care providers.
(1) The social
services district must provide a child's caretaker that has applied for or is
receiving child care assistance under the New York State Child Care Block Grant
Program and who is interested in using a legally-exempt child care provider
with an enrollment package and notify the caretaker that the completed package
must be submitted to the applicable enrollment agency.
(2) In accordance with guidelines issued by
the office, the social services district in which a relative-only in-home or
relative-only family child care provider lives must conduct a local child
welfare database check to determine whether such provider has had his or her
parental rights terminated under section 384-b of the Social Services Law or had a
child removed from his or her care by court order under article 10 of the
Family Court Act; and
(i) provide the
enrollment agency with the results of the local child welfare database check
within 15 days of receiving the request; and
(ii) when applicable, conduct a review of
extenuating circumstances and provide the enrollment agency with the
results.
(3) A social
services district may only make payments for child care services provided by a
legally-exempt child care provider if the child care provider has been
enrolled, either on a temporary or final basis, by an enrollment agency in
accordance with this Part.
(4) A
social services district may suspend the enrollment or deny the application for
enrollment of a child care provider, which is not required to be licensed or
registered under section 390 of the Social Services Law, if that
provider is a subject of a report of child abuse or maltreatment under
investigation by child protective services.
(5) Child care assistance cannot be
authorized for a child under three years of age for child care provided in a
legally-exempt group child care program, except for:
(i) center-based child care programs located
on tribal property which are legally operating under the auspices of a tribal
authority that is not a Child Care and Development Fund grantee, which are
operated in compliance with the applicable tribal laws and regulations for such
child care programs; or
(ii) a
child who is at least two years of age at the beginning of the school year but
will turn three years of age on or before the applicable calendar date for
which a child must be at least five years of age to be eligible for admission
to school; such a child shall be considered three years of age for the purposes
of staff-to-child ratio and maximum group size.
(6) The social services district may
terminate child care subsidy payments and/or take legal action against the
legally-exempt child care provider or caretaker as a result of any false
information, certified and attested to by the child care provider or the
caretaker on either the enrollment or re-enrollment form or any attachment
thereto.
(g) Additional local standards for subsidized child care.
(1) Where a social services district is
subsidizing child care services pursuant to any of the provisions of this Part,
the district may submit to the office justification for a need to impose
additional requirements on child care providers providing subsidized child care
services and a plan to monitor compliance with such additional requirements. A
social services district may make participation in the Child and Adult Care
Food Program a condition of enrollment for each provider of family child care
or relative-only family child care who will be providing an average in excess
of 30 hours of care per week to one or more subsidized children provided the
district sets forth this requirement in the district's Child and Family
Services Plan. No such additional requirements or monitoring may be imposed
without the written approval of the office.
(2) To the extent that a social services
district has established any additional standards for providers of
legally-exempt child care, the district is responsible for notifying applicants
for and recipients of child care assistance and child care providers of the
district's requirements. The district's monitoring process must include
procedures for notifying the applicable enrollment agency if the district
determines that such a child care provider caregiver is not in compliance with
an additional standard. Any such procedures established by the social services
district shall not cause a delay which prevents the enrollment agency from
completing the review of the enrollment package.
(h) Administrative actions related to child care providers.
(1) In
accordance with guidelines established by the office, a social services
district may refuse to allow a child care provider that is not in compliance
with regulations promulgated by the office, or any approved additional
requirements of the social services district, to provide subsidized child care
services to a child.
(2)
Disqualifications and administrative reviews.
(i) A social services district may disqualify
a provider from receiving payment for child care services provided under the
child care subsidy program if a provider:
(a)
is criminally convicted of fraud;
(b) is found to be civilly liable for
fraud;
(c) has voluntarily admitted
to filing a false claim for reimbursement for child care services;
(d) has been disqualified from the Child and
Adult Care Food Program, by the New York State Department of Health and/or its
sponsoring agency, for submission of false information on the application,
submission of a false claim for reimbursement or failure to keep required
records;
(e) has failed to comply
with the terms of a repayment plan with the social services district;
(f) has a conviction of any activity that
occurred in the past seven years that indicated a lack of business integrity;
or
(g) has been found by a social
services district, after the social services district has conducted an
administrative review in accordance with subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph,
to have submitted a false claim(s) to a social services district for
reimbursement; or
(h) has failed to
comply with the terms of a repayment plan for grant programs administered by
the Office.
(ii) An
administrative review by a social services district must include the following:
(a) A review of the claims submitted to the
social services district and any other information or documentation obtained by
the social services district to determine the accuracy of the information
contained in the claims; and if a social services district determines after
such a review that a provider submitted inaccurate information in the claims,
then a preliminary review report must be prepared by a social services district
and sent to the child care provider that is the subject of the review for a
response.
(b) A child care provider
must be given 20 days, from the date the district sent the preliminary review
report to respond to the report. A child care provider may respond in writing
presenting evidence and arguments that the provider believes refute the
findings of the preliminary review report, or may request a formal review by a
social services district, which allows a provider, in person, to present
evidence and arguments in support of his/her position.
(c) If no response from a provider is
received by a social services district within 20 days from the date of the
postmark of the preliminary review report, the report may be finalized by a
social services district. A final report, issued under this subclause, may be
the basis for a social services district to disqualify a provider from
providing subsidized child care.
(d) If a response from a provider is received
by a social services district within 20 days from the date of the postmark of
the preliminary report, the social services district must review and evaluate
the response and may make appropriate changes based on the response from the
provider, before issuing a final review report. Upon completion of the review,
the social services district shall issue a final review report, such report
must be sent to the child care provider that is the subject of the
review.
(e) A child care provider,
upon receipt of a final review report, must be given 10 days from the date of
the postmark of the final review report to respond, and to request a formal
review by the social services district. A final review report issued under this
subclause, where a provider does not request a formal review within the 10-day
specified timeframe, or does not provide a response that disproves the findings
of said report, may be the basis for a social services district to disqualify a
provider from providing subsidized child care.
(f) A social services district, upon receipt
of a request for a formal review by a provider found in a final review report
to have submitted inaccurate claims, must conduct such a review within 30 days
of receipt of the request.
(g) A
social services district at a formal review must allow a provider, in person,
to present evidence and arguments in support of the provider's
position.
(h) A social services
district, after a formal review and after reviewing the evidence and arguments
supplied by a provider at a formal review must make a final determination of
whether a provider submitted false claims. A final determination that a
provider submitted false claims may be the basis for a social services district
to disqualify a provider from providing subsidized child
care.
(iii) A provider
who has been disqualified from receiving payment for child care services
provided under the child care assistance program by a social services district
or the Office under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph is ineligible to receive
such payments through any social services district for five years from the date
of the disqualification, if such a provider made full restitution of any and
all falsely obtained funds to the social services district or the Office. If
such a provider did not make full restitution to a social services district or
the Office, then the provider will remain ineligible to provide subsidized
child care and ineligible for future grant opportunities offered by the
Office.
(iv) A social services
district that disqualifies a provider from receiving a payment for child care
services provided under the child care subsidy program must provide appropriate
information concerning the disqualification to the appropriate regional office
of the office's division of child care services if the provider is a licensed
or registered day care provider, or to the appropriate legally-exempt caregiver
enrollment agency if the provider is a legally-exempt child care
provider.
(3) In
accordance with a plan approved by the office, a social services district will
have the right to make announced or unannounced inspections of the records and
premises of any provider that provides care for subsidized children, including
the right to make inspections prior to subsidized children receiving care in a
home where the inspection is for the purpose of determining whether the child
care provider is in compliance with applicable laws and regulations and any
additional requirements imposed on such a provider by the social services
district. A social services district must notify the office immediately of any
violations of regulations and must provide the office with an inspection report
documenting the results of such inspection.
(4) Nothing contained in this Part will
diminish the authority of the local social services district from referring a
matter to the appropriate district attorney or law enforcement
agency.
(i) Overpayments.
(1) The social
services district must take all reasonable steps to correct promptly any
overpayments for child care services to a child's caretaker or a child care
provider.
(2) Overpayments must be
recovered through:
(i) repayment by the
child's caretaker or child care provider; or
(ii) a reduction in the amount of the payment
to the child's caretaker or child care provider until the full amount of the
overpayment is collected; provided, however, that no recovery of overpayments
may be made from a child care provider where a contract for such child care
services obligates the social services district to make full payment. When no
recovery may be made from a child care provider because a contract requires
full payment, and repayment is not made from the child's caretaker, Federal
financial participation (FFP) and State reimbursement cannot be claimed for
such overpayment.
(3) In
recovering overpayments for child care services from child care recipients,
social services districts must ensure that the child care recipients retain,
for any month, a reasonable amount of funds.
(4) Recoupment of such overpayment can be
made only from child care benefits unless the child care recipient voluntarily
requests that such recovery be made from his or her available income.
(5) Overpayments must be recovered from the
caretaker(s) on whose behalf the payments were made or the provider(s) who
received payment for such services, so long as caretaker(s) or provider(s) are
deemed responsible for such overpayments whether by acts of omission or
commission.
(6) Overpayments to
child care providers or former recipients of child care services who refuse to
repay may be recovered in accordance with the legal remedies available under
State law.
(7) When an overpayment
occurs as a result of a district's failure to act promptly on information
provided by a parent or caretaker regarding circumstances affecting child care
benefits, no recovery shall be made from the party who provided such
information. When a recovery cannot be made under this subdivision, Federal
financial participation (FFP) and State reimbursement cannot be claimed for
such overpayment.
(8) Underpayments
and overpayments may be offset against each other.
(9) In all cases involving current child care
services recipients, in all cases of fraud, and in all cases where the
overpayment would equal or exceed the cost of recovery of the overpayment, the
recovery of an overpayment must be attempted.
(10) Each social services district must
collect and maintain information on the collection of overpayments and make
appropriate adjustments when claiming FFP and State reimbursement, and when
satisfying the district's maintenance of effort requirement under the New York
State Child Care Block Grant Program as set forth in section
415.7
of this Part.
(11) An applicant for
child care services who has not repaid past overpayments for previous child
care services must agree to, and comply with, a plan to make full repayment of
such overpayments as a condition of being eligible for new child care services
if such overpayments resulted from:
(i) the
failure of the applicant, or member(s) of the applicant's family unit, to
promptly notify the social services district of a change in circumstances;
or
(ii) child care services fraud
by the applicant or member(s) of the applicant's family unit who was a parent
or caretaker and responsible for such fraudulent activity.
(12) With the exception of child care
services authorized as a child protective or preventive service, a recipient of
child care services who fails to agree to a reasonable plan for repayment or
recovery of an overpayment, or who fails to comply with an agreed upon plan,
must have their child care benefits suspended or terminated until such time as
the recipient comes into compliance with such a plan.
(13) With the exception of child care
services authorized as a child protective or preventive service, a recipient or
former recipient of child care assistance who has been convicted of, or has
voluntarily admitted to, fraudulently receiving child care assistance must have
his or her child care assistance, if any, suspended or terminated and will not
be eligible for subsequent child care assistance for a period of time
determined in accordance with the time periods established in subparagraph (i)
of this paragraph. If such recipient or former recipient is a recipient of
public assistance and needs child care in order to participate in an activity
required by the social services district, the disqualification of eligibility
for child care assistance based on the former fraud conviction or voluntary
admission will be suspended during the recipient's or former recipient's
participation in the required activity. However, the disqualification period
will begin or resume once the recipient or former recipient is no longer
participating in a required activity.
(i)
Unless a court of appropriate jurisdiction specifies a different
disqualification period, the recipient or former recipient of child care
assistance would be ineligible to receive child care assistance:
(a) for 12 months for a first
offense;
(b) for 24 months for a
second offense or whenever there is an offense that results in the wrongful
receipt of child care assistance in an amount as specified by the office;
or
(c) permanently for a third
offense or whenever there is an offense that results in the wrongful receipt of
child care assistance in an amount as specified by the
office.
(ii) A recipient
or former recipient of child care assistance that has been disqualified from
receiving child care assistance by a social services district under this
paragraph is ineligible to receive child care assistance, with the exception of
child care authorized as a child protective or preventive service or needed to
participate in an activity required by the social services district, unless the
person makes full restitution or commits to a plan of restitution of all
falsely obtained funds to the social services district. If such a recipient or
former recipient of child care assistance does not make full restitution or
commit to a plan of restitution to the social services district, then the
person will remain ineligible to receive child care assistance, with the
exception of child care authorized as a child protective or child preventive
service or needed to participate in an activity required by the social services
district.
(14)
Overpayments for child care services made as a result of payment for aid
continuing for a caretaker who loses a fair hearing or whose fair hearing is
withdrawn, abandoned or defaulted must be recovered as prescribed in this
subdivision.
(j) Due process requirements.
(1)
Written notice of the determination of eligibility, the family share to be paid
by the applicant, or ineligibility for child care assistance, as well as any
modifications thereto, must be sent to the applicant or recipient in accordance
with section 404.l(f) of this Title. Recipients of child care assistance must
receive timely and adequate notice of any change in child care assistance,
except that changes in the manner or amount of payment for child care
assistance by a social services district may be made with only adequate notice
pursuant to section
358-3.3 of
this Title, unless those changes result in a discontinuation, suspension,
reduction or termination of such benefits, or force a change in child care
arrangements.
(2) An applicant for
or recipient of child care services must be notified of the right to a fair
hearing in accordance with Part 358 of this Title whenever there is a
determination affecting his or her family's eligibility for child care
services.
(k) Nothing contained in this Part will diminish the authority of the office to conduct inspections of licensed or registered child care providers or to provide for such inspections through purchase of services in accordance with section 390 of the Social Services Law. Nothing contained in this subdivision will obligate the office to take any action to enforce any additional requirements imposed by a social services district on child care providers providing care to children receiving child care subsidies.
(l) Each social services district must establish comprehensive fraud and abuse control activities for the district's child care subsidy program. A social services district must provide details on its comprehensive fraud and abuse control activities in the district's consolidated services plan or integrated county plan, which must include, but not be limited to:
(1)
identification of the criteria the social services district will use to
determine which child care subsidy applications suggest a higher than
acceptable risk for fraudulent or erroneous child care subsidy payments and
procedures for referring such applications to the district's front end
detection system;
(2) a sampling
methodology to determine which cases the social services district will seek
verification of an applicant or recipient's continued need for child care
including, as applicable, verification of participation in employment,
education or other required activities; and
(3) a sampling methodology to determine which
providers of subsidized child care services the social services district will
review for the purpose of comparing the provider's attendance forms for
children receiving subsidized child care services and any Child and Adult Care
Food Program inspection forms to verify that child care was actually provided
on the days listed on the attendance forms.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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