Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Children and Families
DCF 201-252 - Early Care and Education
Chapter DCF 201 - Child Care Subsidy Program
Section DCF 201.02 - Definitions

(1) "Account number" means a number that appears on a parent's EBT card and is linked to the parent's electronic child care subsidy.

(1d) "Approved activity" means an activity specified under s. 49.155 (1m) (a), Stats.

(1h) "Approved activity search period" means the 3-month eligibility period after the parent permanently ceases participation in any approved activity under s. 49.155 (1m) (a)(intro.), Stats.

(1p) "Assistance group" means the individuals in a household that are included in determining eligibility for the child care subsidy program under s. DCF 201.036(2).

(1t) "Authorization" means written approval by a child care administrative agency for payment under the child care subsidy program for child care for a specific child, by a specific child care provider, for up to a specific number of hours, during a specific time period.

(2m) "Certification agency" means the department in a county having a population of 750,000 or more; a county department of social services established under s. 46.22, Stats.; a county department of human services established under s. 46.23, Stats.; a tribal agency; or any agency that contracts with any of those entities to certify child care providers under s. 48.651, Stats.

(3) "Child care administrative agency" or "agency" means any of the following:

(4) "Child care funds" means funding for child care purposes under s. 49.155, Stats., excluding s. 49.155 (1d) and (1g), Stats.

(5) "Child care price" means the amount a child care provider charges for child care services.

(6) "Child care provider" or "provider" means a provider licensed under s. 48.65, Stats.; certified under s. 48.651, Stats.; established or contracted for under s. 120.13 (14), Stats.; or licensed or regulated in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, or Michigan.

(6m) "Child care subsidy program" or "subsidy program" means the program under which the department issues payments to assist parents who are eligible under s. 49.155 (1m), Stats., with child care expenses.

(7g) "Complies with the payment schedule" as used in s. 49.195 (3m) (h), Stats., means the debtor submits each payment due on an overpayment so that it is received by the department by the due date every month over the life of the debt.

(7m) "Copayment" means an amount that is calculated by the department's automation system based on s. DCF 201.08 (1) (a) and (2) (bm) that reduces the amount of a parent's subsidy payment.

Note: See the definition of "parent's share" in s. DCF 201.02 (17e).

(7r) "Debtor" means a person who is responsible for an overpayment under s. DCF 201.04 (5) (b) or a person who is liable under s. 49.155 (7m) (b), Stats.

(8) "Department" means the Wisconsin department of children and families.

(9) "EBT card" means a card that allows a parent to electronically transfer the parent's child care subsidy to the parent's child care provider as payment for child care services.

(9g) "Employability plan" means a written agreement used in the Wisconsin works program that includes the activities that a Wisconsin works program participant will engage in during a specified time period.

(9r) "Employment plan" means a written agreement used in the food stamp employment and training program under s. 49.79 (9), Stats., that includes the activities that a program participant will engage in during a specified time period.

(11) "Federal poverty level" means the poverty guidelines that are established based on the number of individuals in a household and updated annually by the U.S. department of health and human services.

(12) "Foster parent" means a person licensed under s. 48.62 (1), Stats., or licensed by a tribal social services agency as a tribal placement home.

(13) "Gross income" means the income used in determining financial eligibility under s. 49.155 (1m) (c), Stats.

(13m) "Homeless" has the same meaning as "homeless children and youth" under 42 USC 11435 (2).

Note: This definition is included in Section 725 (2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act.

(14) "In-home provider" means a person caring for a child in the child's own home.

(15) "Kinship care relative" means a stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half brother, half sister, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, first cousin, 2nd cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, aunt, stepuncle, stepaunt, or any person of a preceding generation as denoted by the prefix of grand, great, or great-great, whether by blood, marriage, or legal adoption, or the spouse of any person listed in this subsection, even if the marriage is terminated by death or divorce.

(15m) "Maximum rate" means the maximum rate that the department will use in calculating the amount of a payment under the child care subsidy program.

(16) "Nonmarital coparent" has the meaning given in s. 49.141 (1) (i), Stats.

Note: Section 49.141 (1) (i), Stats., provides "'Nonmarital coparent' means, with respect to an individual and a dependent child, a parent who is not married to the individual, resides with the dependent child and is either an adjudicated parent or a parent who has signed and filed with the state registrar under s. 69.15 (3) (b) 3 a statement acknowledging paternity."

(16m) "Nurse practitioner" has the same meaning as "advanced practice nurse" under s. N 8.02 (1).

(17) "Parent" means a custodial parent, foster parent, kinship care relative, guardian, legal custodian, subsidized guardian or interim caretaker under s. 48.623, Stats., or a person acting in place of a parent. "Parent" also includes the spouse or nonmarital coparent of a parent who resides in the same household as the parent.

(17e) "Parent's share" means the out-of-pocket cost of child care that a parent is responsible for paying to the child care provider, including any amount charged by the provider that exceeds the amount of the parent's subsidy payment.

Note: See the definition of "copayment" in s. DCF 201.02 (7m).

(17m) "Personal identification number" means a confidential number that a parent uses with the parent's EBT card or account number to electronically access the parent's child care subsidy in a secure manner.

(17s) "Physician assistant" has the same meaning as in s. 448.971 (2), Stats.

(18m) "Private pay parent" means a parent that does not pay a provider for child care with funds from the child care subsidy program.

(18p) "Registration fee" means a fee that a child care provider charges to enroll a child or to continue a child's enrollment on an annual basis.

(19) "Slots" means the number of children within the capacity of a child care provider under the applicable law for that type of provider.

(20) "Special need" means an emotional, behavioral, physical, or personal need of a child requiring more than the usual amount of care and supervision for the child's age, as documented by a physician, psychologist, special educator, or other qualified professional. A "special need" includes a developmental disability.

(21) "Temporary break" means a parent's time-limited absence from an approved activity due to illness, leave to care for family member, a student or holiday break, an interruption in work for a seasonal worker who is not working between regular industry work seasons, or any other cessation of an approved activity as long as the parent continues to be employed or enrolled in the approved activity and the absence does not exceed 3 months.

(21m) "Twelve-month eligibility period" means the period between the initial determination of a parent's eligibility and the following redetermination or between annual redeterminations of a parent's eligibility.

(22) "Tribe" means a Wisconsin American Indian tribe recognized by the federal government.

(24) "Wisconsin works" or "W-2" has the meaning given in s. 49.141 (1) (p), Stats.

Note: Section 49.141 (1) (p), Stats., provides: "'Wisconsin works' means the assistance program for families with dependent children, administered under ss. 49.141 to 49.161."

(26) "Wisconsin works employment position" has the meaning given in s. DCF 101.03(39).