Effective Date - July 1, 2010
1101 Child Care Benefit Computation
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Child Care - ARW, Chapt. 1, Purchase of Service |
A. Require the assistance unit to meet the income limits in Table I, Steps 1-5.
B. Issue a DFS 205 to the provider for 30 days of assistance within seven working days of the date of application when:
1. The assistance unit appears to be eligible based on the statement of the parent/caretaker on the initial application;
2. The parent/caretaker has chosen a licensed provider who is currently registered on JAS; and
3. The assistance unit has not received benefits due to presumptive eligibility within the previous 12 months;
4. Continue to process the application and approve or deny as appropriate.
C. Establish the number of hours to be authorized and the rate of payment to be made.
D. Determine the period of time the authorization is to cover, not to exceed six months, beginning with:
1. The date of the child care application; or
2. The date the approved activity began (see Section 701); or
3. The date the child first entered care, whichever is later.
E. Assistance cannot begin before the provider registration process is completed and on file and before the child care provider is licensed, when applicable.
1. Require the provider registration process to be completed during the 30-day application processing period; and
2. Require the provider to submit a signed and dated Licensing Application (DCL-01) to the regional licensing specialist during the 30-day application processing period when the provider must be licensed. (See Section 401)
F. Base the number of hours of child care assistance needed by a self-employed assistance unit upon the net income divided by the federal minimum wage.
G. Allow the actual time the parent(s)/caretaker(s) participates in a work requirement activity as verified by the Benefit Specialist or CM.
H. Approve up to one hour per day to cover transportation time to and from the activity and the child care facility and up to one hour for meals when the parent(s)/caretaker(s) is working or participating in an educational activity.
I. Authorize students according to the length of time her/his studies are scheduled (i.e., college - length of time per semester, vocational class - length of time to complete but not to exceed six months).
1. Allow time for special situations as indicated by the instructor as part of the class work (i.e., computer lab work, art shows, music concerts or tutoring);
2. Provide two hours of dependent child care, if needed, for each hour the POWER-SASFA recipient is required to be in class, lab or other required instructional activitiy not to exceed the statewide maximum limit;
3. Disallow time for studying, which includes time needed to do research for term papers, excluding POWER-SASFA students as outlined in 2.
J. DO NOT exceed 16 hours in a 24 hour day for payment of child care services unless:
1. Overnight travel is necessary for the parent(s)/cartaker(s) to accept or maintain employment; and
2. The absence of the parent(s)/caretaker(s) does not exceed 30 days.
K. Authorize seasonal workers according to the type of work expected and length of time the work will continue.
L. Pay the provider a portion of the cost based on the Sliding Fee Scale, Table I.
M. Require the client to be responsible for the child care charges not covered by DFS.
N. Assure the authorization(s) accurately reflects the assistance unit’s child care need and document the rationale for the authorized child care hours in the case record.
O. Generate an authorization to pay the actual charge, the statewide limit, or the DFS provider rate, whichever is lower.
P. Base payment to the provider on the provider's usual rate schedule for private pay customers not to exceed the provider's daily, weekly, or monthly rate and not to exceed the hourly rate established by the provider for DFS purposes, whichever is less.
1. Make payment to a licensed provider based on an hourly, part day or full day rate when the provider charges by the hour, daily, weekly or monthly;
2. Make payment to a legally exempt relative and non-relative provider based on an hourly rate;
3. Do not exceed the rate the provider charges based on a family rate when more than one child receives care from the same provider;
4. Make payment according to the authorization for each child;
5. Base the hourly payment rates on the child’s age as of the first day of the month;
6. Disallow payment for hours or part/full day slots not indicated on the authorization;
7. Do not exceed the actual costs billed, even if the authorization would allow more;
8. Do not exceed the provider's actual monthly, weekly or daily fees charged to non-DFS clients when paying the provider based on the hourly rate established for DFS computer purposes;
Q. Make the following quality capacity payment to licensed child care providers on behalf of eligible children:
1. For infants between the ages of birth through eleven (11) months:
a. One dollar and forty cents ($1.40) per hour of child care if the provider has hourly rates; or
b. Five dollars and sixty cents ($5.60) per part day of care; or
c. Eleven dollars and twenty cents ($11.20) per full day of care.
2. For toddlers between the ages of twelve (12) months through twenty-three (23) months:
a. One dollar ($1.00) per hour of child care if the provider has hourly rates; or
b. Four dollars ($4.00) per part day of care; or
c. Eight dollars ($8.00) per full day of care.
R. Generate payment for a special needs child up to an additional $250 per month if the following conditions are met:
1. The special needs must be verified and specified by a medical professional;
2. The provider must submit proof of specialized education, experience and/or training to meet the special needs of the child from an appropriate professional;
3. The parent or caretaker must apply for and accept any services which are available to meet the special needs before special needs child care can be approved;
4. A DFS or contract supervisor must approve the payment; and
5. Payment must be manually generated through the Wyoming On-Line Financial System (WOLFS).