No. 29301 (Amendment): R986-700. Child Care Assistance

DAR File No.: 29301
Filed: 12/01/2006, 12:52
Received by: NL

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The reason for this change is to clarify custody issues and broaden transitional assistance.

Summary of the rule or change:

Child care assistance is available to eligible individuals who have legal custody of children in need of care. This change makes it clear that a nonbinding "transfer" of custody is not sufficient and a court order is needed. The Department anticipates that they can decrease recidivism and stabilize employment if the subsidy deduction is waived for the first six months of employment instead of the current rule which waives the deduction for only three months.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Section 35A-1-104 and Subsections 35A-1-104(4) and 35A-3-310(3)

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

This is a mostly federally-funded program and any increased costs will be absorbed within current funding levels.

local governments:

This proposed amendment does not affect local governments and there will be no costs or savings to local governments.

other persons:

There are no costs or savings to any other persons as there are no fees associated with this program.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no costs to any affected persons as there are no fees associated with this program and it is federally funded. Clients eligible for the additional three months of transitional assistance will not be required to pay the subsidy deduction.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

There are no compliance costs associated with this change. There are no fees associated with this change. There will be no cost to anyone to comply with these changes. There will be no fiscal impact on any business. Tani Downing, Executive Director

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Workforce Services
Employment Development
140 E 300 S
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84111-2333

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

Suzan Pixton at the above address, by phone at 801-526-9645, by FAX at 801-526-9211, or by Internet E-mail at [e-mail]

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

01/15/2007

This rule may become effective on:

02/01/2007

Authorized by:

Tani Downing, Executive Director

RULE TEXT

R986. Workforce Services, Employment Development.

R986-700. Child Care Assistance.

R986-700-702. General Provisions.

(1) CC is provided to support employment.

(2) CC is available, as funding permits, to the following clients who are employed or are participating in activities that lead to employment:

(a) parents;

(b) specified relatives; or

(c) clients who have been awarded custody or appointed guardian of the child by court order. If there is no court order, an exception can be made on a case by case basis in unusual circumstances by the Department program specialist.

(3) Child care is provided only for children living in the home and only during hours when neither parent is available to provide care for the children.

(4) If a client is eligible to receive CC, the following children, living in the household unit, are eligible:

(a) children under the age of 13; and

(b) children up to the age of 18 years if the child;

(i) meets the requirements of rule R986-700-717, and/or

(ii) is under court supervision.

(5) Clients who qualify for child care services will be paid if and as funding is available. When the child care needs of eligible applicants exceed available funding, applicants will be placed on a waiting list. Eligible applicants on the list will be served as funding becomes available. Special needs children, homeless children and FEP or FEPTP eligible children will be prioritized at the top of the list and will be served first. "Special needs child" is defined in rule R986-700-717.

(6) The amount of CC might not cover the entire cost of care.

(7) A client is only eligible for CC if the client has no other options available for child care. The client is encouraged to obtain child care at no cost from a parent, sibling, relative, or other suitable provider. If suitable child care is available to the client at no cost from another source, CC cannot be provided.

(8) CC can only be provided for an eligible provider and will not be provided for illegal or unsafe child care. Illegal child care is care provided by any person or facility required to be licensed or certified but where the provider has not fulfilled the requirements necessary to obtain the license or certification.

(9) Neither the Department nor the state of Utah are liable for injuries that may occur when a child is placed in child care even if the parent receives a subsidy from the Department.

(10) Foster care parents receiving payment from the Department of Human Services are not eligible to receive CC for the foster children.

(11) Once eligibility for CC has been established, eligibility must be reviewed at least once every six months. The review is not complete until the the client has completed, signed and returned all necessary review forms to the local office. All requested verifications must be provided at the time of the review. If the Department has reason to believe the client's circumstances have changed, affecting either eligibility or payment amount, the Department will reduce or terminate CC even if the certification period has not expired.

 

R986-700-707. Subsidy Deduction and Transitional Child Care.

(1) "Subsidy deduction" means a dollar amount which is deducted from the standard CC subsidy for Employment Support CC. The deduction is determined on a sliding scale and the amount of the deduction is based on the parent(s) countable earned and unearned income and household size.

(2) The parent is responsible for paying the amount of the subsidy deduction directly to the child care provider.

(3) If the subsidy deduction exceeds the actual cost of child care, the family is not eligible for child care assistance.

(4) The full monthly subsidy deduction is taken even if the client receives CC for only part of the month.

(5) There is no subsidy deduction during:

(a) the months covered by a FEP diversion payment;

(b) transitional child care. Transitional child care is available[, subject to subsection (6) of this section,]during;

(i) the [three]six months immediately following the period covered by the diversion payment if the client is working a minimum of 15 hours per week and is otherwise eligible for ESCC. The subsidy deduction will resume in the [fourth]seventh month after the period covered by the diversion payment; or

(ii) the [three]six months immediately following a FEP or FEPTP termination if the termination was due to increased income and the parent is otherwise eligible for ESCC. The subsidy deduction will resume in the [fourth]seventh month after the termination of FEP or FEPTP. The six month time limit is the same regardless of whether the client receives TCA or not.

(6) A client does not need to fill out a new application for child care during the six month transitional period even if there is a gap in services during those six months.[(6) The subsidy deduction will only be waived for transitional child care if the client received ESCC during the calendar month following the termination of FEP or FEPTP or the expiration of the time covered by the diversion agreement. For instance, if a client's FEP was terminated due to increased income on May 18, and the client fails to request or is not eligible for ESCC during June, the client is not eligible for the subsidy deduction waiver. If the same client reapplies and receives ESCC for July, the client is not eligible for the subsidy deduction waiver even though July is one of the three months immediately following the termination of FEP. Likewise, if the client received a diversion payment on March 1 which covered the months of March, April and May, the client must receive ESCC anytime during the month of June. If the client does not request, receive, or is not eligible for ESCC during June but becomes eligible during August, the ESCC is subject to the subsidy deduction even though August is one of the three months immediately following the period covered by diversion.]

 

KEY: child care

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [August 1, 2006]2007

Notice of Continuation: September 14, 2005

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 35A-3-310