No. 27830 (Amendment): R986-700. Child Care Assistance

DAR File No.: 27830
Filed: 04/15/2005, 05:18
Received by: NL

 

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The purpose of this change is to clarify when increased payments are available for child care.

 

Summary of the rule or change:

The proposed amendment sets eligibility requirements for increased child care for children with disabilities or special needs. Federal regulations allow the department to provide child care subsidies at a higher rate for these children if needed.

 

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Section 35A-1-104 and Subsection 35A-3-310(3)

 

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

This is a federally-funded program so there are no costs or savings to the state budget. The department has always allowed increased payment. This proposed amendment merely establishes the eligibility criteria for those payments.

 

local governments:

This rule does not apply to local government and therefore there are no costs or savings to local governments. Local governments do not administer or consume services under this program.

 

other persons:

There are no costs or savings to any other persons as there are no fees associated with this program and it is federally funded. The only persons affected by this rule are parents of disabled and special needs children. There are no costs to those parents for participation. A parent just needs to make application for additional funding with the Department and if eligible, funding will be made available.

 

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no costs or savings to any affected persons as there are no fees associated with this program and it is federally funded. This rule change only affect parents of children who are disabled or have special needs. It will not cost those parents any money to comply with this amendment. A parent just needs to apply and if eligible, the Department will provide the subsidy. There is no fee or cost for applying.

 

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. It will not cost anyone any sum to comply with these changes. This is a federally-funded program and the money is within current Department budgets to pay any costs associated with this change. Tani Downing, 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:

05/31/2005

 

This rule may become effective on:

06/01/2005

 

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.

(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 [age 13]up to the age of 18 years if the child[ is:];

(i) [physically or mentally incapable of self-care as determined by a medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy or licensed or certified psychologist;]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" means a child identified by the Department of Human Services, Division of Services to People with Disabilities or other entity as determined by the Department, as having a physical or mental disability requiring special child care services.

(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 re-certification forms are signed and returned 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.

 

R986-700-715. Overpayments.

(1) An overpayment occurs when a client or provider received CC for which they were not eligible. If the Department fails to establish one or more of the eligibility criteria and through no fault of the client, payments are made, it will not be considered to have been an overpayment if the client would have been eligible and the amount of the subsidy would not have been affected.

(2) If the overpayment was because the client committed fraud, including forging a provider's name on a two party CC check, the client will be responsible for repayment of the resulting overpayment and will be disqualified from further receipt of CC:

(a) for a period of one year for the first occurrence of fraud;

(b) for a period of two years for the second occurrence of fraud; and

(c) for life for the third occurrence of fraud.

(3) If the client was at fault in the creation of an overpayment for any reason other than fraud in paragraph (2) above, the client will be responsible for repayment of the overpayment. There is no disqualification or ineligibility period for a fault overpayment.

(4) All child care overpayments must be repaid to the Department.

Overpayments may be deducted from ongoing child care payments for clients who are receiving child care. If the Department is at fault in the creation of an overpayment, the Department will deduct $10 from each month's child care payment unless the client requests a larger amount.

(5) CC will be terminated if a client fails to cooperate with the Department's efforts to investigate and collect alleged overpayments.

(6) If the Department has reason to believe an overpayment has occurred and it is likely that the client will be determined to be disqualified or ineligible as a result of the overpayment, payment of future CC may be withheld, at the discretion of the Department, to offset any overpayment which may be determined.

 

R986-700-716. CC in Unusual Circumstances.

(1) CC may be provided for study time, to support clients in education or training activities if the parent has classes scheduled in such a way that it is not feasible or practical to pick up the child between classes. For example, if a client has one class from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. and a second class from 11:00 a.m. to noon it might not be practical to remove the child from care between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

(2) An away-from-home study hall or lab may be required as part of the class course. A client who takes courses with this requirement must verify study hall or lab class attendance. The Department will not approve more study hall hours or lab hours in this setting than hours for which the client is enrolled. For example: A client enrolled for 10 hours of classes each week may not receive more than 10 hours of this type of study hall or lab.

(3) CC will not be provided for private kindergarten or preschool activities when a publicly funded education program is available.

(4) CC may be authorized to support employment for clients who work graveyard shifts and need child care services during the day. If no other child care options are available, child care services may be authorized for the graveyard shift or during the day, but not for both.

(5) CC may be authorized to support employment for clients who work at home, provided the client makes at least minimum wage from the at home work, and the client has a need for child care services. The client must choose a provider setting outside the home.[

(6) On a case-by-case basis, the Department may fund child care for children with disabilities at a higher rate if the needs of the child and provider necessitate. To qualify for the higher rate DSPD or another Department approved entity must first determine that the child care provider has additional ongoing costs in caring for the child. The Department may set different income eligibility criteria for clients with children determined to need consideration under this paragraph. The income eligibility rate is available at all Employment Centers.]

 

R986-700-717. Child Care for Children With Disabilities or Special Needs.

(1) The Department will fund child care for children with disabilities or special needs at a higher rate if the child has a physical, social, or mental condition or special health care need that requires;

(a) an increase in the amount of care or supervision and/or

(b) special care, which includes but is not limited to the use of special equipment, assistance with movement, feeding, toileting or the administration of medications that require specialized procedures.

(2) To be eligible under this section, the client must submit a statement from one of the following professionals or agencies documenting the child's disability or special child care needs;

(a) medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, licensed or certified psychologist, or mental health professional,

(b) Social Security Administration showing that the child is a SSI recipient,

(c) Division of Services for People with Disabilities,

(d) Division of Mental Health,

(e) State Office of Education, or

(f) Baby Watch, Early Intervention Program.

(3) Verification to support that the child is disabled or has a special need must be dated and signed by the preparer and include the following;

(a) the child's name,

(b) a description of the child's disability, and

(c) the special provisions that justify a higher payment rate.

(4) The Department may require additional information and may deny requests if adequate or complete information or justification is not provided.

(5) The higher rate is available through the month the child turns 18 years of age.

(6) Clients qualify for child care under this section if the household is at or below 85% of the state median income.

(7) The higher rate in effect for each child care category is available at any Department office.

 

KEY: child care

[April 7, ]2005

35A-3-310