Workforce Services, Employment Development

Rule R986-700

Child Care Assistance

Notice of Proposed Rule

(Amendment)

DAR File No.: 34173
Filed: 10/27/2010 05:04:25 PM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

Child care will no longer be available to support diversion.

Summary of the rule or change:

Diversion is intended as a one-time payment to help a client with nonrecurrent needs. It is not intended for individuals who have ongoing needs. Payment will be made initially and the Department will not provide case management services or child care because these individuals do not need assistance on an ongoing basis. If the client is eligible for employment support child care, the client can receive child care under the provisions of employment support even if the client received a diversion payment.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Subsection 35A-3-310(3)
• Section 35A-1-104
• Subsection 35A-1-104(4)

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.

local governments:

This is a federally-funded program so there are no costs or savings to any local government.

small businesses:

This is a federally-funded program so there are no costs or savings to any small business.

persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:

There are no costs or savings to any other persons as there are no fees associated with this program and it is federally funded.

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.

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.

Kristen Cox, 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 spixton@utah.gov

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:

12/15/2010

This rule may become effective on:

12/22/2010

Authorized by:

Kristen Cox, Executive Director

R986. Workforce Services, Employment Development.

R986-700. Child Care Assistance.

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 availableduring[;

(i) the 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 seventh month after the period covered by the diversion payment; or

(ii)] the 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 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.

 

R986-700-708. FEP[, and Diversion] CC.

(1) FEP CC may be provided to clients receiving financial assistance from FEP or FEPTP. FEP CC will only be provided to cover the hours a client needs child care to support the activities required by the employment plan. FEP CC is not subject to the subsidy deduction.

(2) Additional time for travel may be included on a case by case basis when circumstances create a hardship for the client because the required activities necessitate travel of distances taking at least one hour each way.[

(3) Diversion CC is available for clients who have received a diversion payment from FEP. There is no subsidy deduction for the months covered by the FEP diversion payment.]

 

R986-700-709. Employment Support (ES) CC.

(1) Parents who are not eligible for FEP CC[ or Diversion CC] may be eligible for Employment Support (ES) CC. To be eligible, a parent must be employed or be employed while participating in educational or training activities. Work Study is not considered employment. A parent who attends school but is not employed at least 15 hours per week, is not eligible for ES CC. ES CC will only be provided to cover the hours a client needs child care for work or work and approved educational or training activities.

(2) If the household has only one parent, the parent must be employed at least an average of 15 hours per week.

(3) If the family has two parents, CC can be provided if:

(a) one parent is employed at least an average of 30 hours per week and the other parent is employed at least an average of 15 hours per week and their work schedules cannot be changed to provide care for the child(ren). CC will only be provided during the time both parents are in approved activities and neither is available to care for the children; or

(b) one parent is employed and the other parent cannot work, or is not capable of earning $500 per month and cannot provide care for their own children because of a physical, emotional or mental incapacity. Any employment or educational or training activities invalidate a claim of incapacity. The incapacity must be expected to last 30 days or longer. The individual claiming incapacity must verify that incapacity in one of the following ways:

(i) receipt of disability benefits from SSA;

(ii) 100% disabled by VA; or

(iii) by submitting a written statement from:

(A) a licensed medical doctor;

(B) a doctor of osteopathy;

(C) a licensed Mental Health Therapist as defined in UCA 58-60-102;

(D) a licensed Advanced Practice Registered Nurse; or

(E) a licensed Physician's Assistant.

(4) Employed or self-employed parent client(s) must make, either through wages or profit from self-employment, a rate of pay equal to or greater than minimum wage multiplied by the number of hours the parent is working. To be eligible for ES CC, a self employed parent must provide business records for the most recent three month time period to establish that the parent is likely to make at least minimum wage. If a parent has a barrier to other types of employment, exceptions can be made in extraordinary cases with the approval of the state program specialist.

(5) Americorps*Vista is not supported. Job Corps activities are considered to be training and a client in the Job Corps would also have to meet the work requirements to be eligible for ES CC.

(6) Applicants must verify identity but are not required to provide a Social Security Number (SSN) for household members. Benefits will not be denied or withheld if a customer chooses not to provide a SSN if all factors of eligibility are met. SSN's that are supplied will be verified. If an SSN is provided but is not valid, further verification will be requested to confirm identity.

 

KEY: child care

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [April 21], 2010

Notice of Continuation: September 8, 2010

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