Ariz. Admin. Code § 6-5-4912

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section R6-5-4912 - Eligible Activity or Need

A. Eligible activities and needs for Child Care Assistance are described in this subsection:

1. Employment. Full or part-time employment for monetary compensation;

2. Self Employment. Full or part time self employment for monetary compensation.

3. Education and Training Activities with Minimum Work Requirement. A client who is employed shall be eligible to receive Child Care Assistance for education and training activities as prescribed in subsections (A)(3)(a), (b), and (c).

a. Post-secondary education in a college or trade school.

i. The client is employed an average of at least 20 hours per week, per calendar month.

ii. A self-employed client meets the 20-hour work requirement if the client's monthly net profit, divided by the current minimum wage standard, equates to the average 20-hour weekly work requirement.

iii. The education or training activity is related to the client's employment goal.

iv. The client's educational level is freshman or sophomore as defined by the educational institution, or the educational activities are in pursuit of an Associate Degree, or the client is in training at a vocational or trade school.

v. The client shall maintain satisfactory progress in the educational activity and remain in good standing, as defined by the educational institution.

vi. The client has not received more than the lifetime limit of 24 months of Child Care Assistance for education and training activities. Child Care Assistance authorized for educational activities before August 1, 1997, does not count toward the 24-month limit.

vii. Countable months toward the 24-month limit are those calendar months in which the Department authorized additional child care services for education and training needs; the Department shall not calculate the 24-month limit based on monthly usage.

viii. The client assumes full responsibility for employment goals and educational choices made; the Department is under no obligation to provide Child Care Assistance until educational or employment goals are attained.

ix. The Department shall authorize Child Care Assistance for actual class time, time between classes as determined by the Department, and travel time to and from school only.

x. Correspondence courses, home study courses, and study time are not eligible educational activities for Child Care Assistance.

b. High School, G.E.D., E.S.O.L., and Remedial Educational Activities for Adults age 20 and Older.

i. The client is employed an average of at least 20 hours per week, per month.

ii. A self-employed client meets the 20-hour work requirement if the person's monthly net profit, divided by the current minimum wage standard, equates to the average 20-hour weekly work requirement.

iii. The educational or training activity is related to the client's employment goal.

iv. The client shall maintain satisfactory progress in the educational activity and remain in good standing, as defined by the educational institution.

v. The client has not received more than the lifetime limit of 12 months of Child Care Assistance for education and training activities described in this Section. Child Care Assistance authorized for educational activities before August 1, 1997, does not count toward the 12-month limit.

vi. Countable months toward the 12-month limit are those calendar months in which the Department authorized additional child care services for education and training needs. The Department shall not calculate the 12-month limit based on monthly usage.

vii. The client assumes full responsibility for employment goals and educational choices made; the Department is under no obligation to provide Child Care Assistance until educational and employment goals are attained.

viii. Allowable educational activities are: attendance at high school, G.E.D. or E.S.O.L. classes, or remedial educational activities as determined allowable by the Department.

ix. The Department shall authorize Child Care Assistance for actual class time, time between classes as determined by the Department, and travel time to and from school only.

x. Correspondence courses, home study courses, and study time are not allowable educational activities for DES Child Care Assistance.

c. Cash Assistance participants who are sanctioned due to Jobs noncompliance are ineligible for Child Care Assistance for education and training activities in any month when a Jobs sanction is applied to the Cash Assistance case, unless the education and training activities are Jobs approved.

4. Teen Parents in Education and Training Activities. Teen parents are eligible for Child Care Assistance for education and training activities according to the following criteria:

a. The teen parent is under age 20.

b. The teen parent is attending high school, G.E.D., or E.S.O.L. classes, or remedial educational activities in pursuit of a high school diploma.

c. Child Care Assistance for teen parents for the educational activities described in this Section is not time-limited. The teen parent shall continue to receive assistance for the educational activity if eligibility criteria are met and until the teen parent:

i. Receives a diploma or certificate; or

ii. Attains the age of 20 years, whichever occurs first.

d. If the teen parent attends post-secondary educational activities, the eligibility criteria outlined under "Post- Secondary Education" in subsection (A)(3)(a) shall apply.

e. The Department shall authorize Child Care Assistance for actual class time, time between classes as determined by the Department, and travel time to and from school only.

f. Correspondence courses, home study courses, and study time are not allowable educational activities for Child Care Assistance.

g. Cash Assistance participants who have been sanctioned due to Jobs noncompliance are ineligible for Child Care Assistance for education and training activities in any month that a Jobs noncompliance sanction is applied to the Cash Assistance case, unless the education and training activities are Jobs approved.

5. Participation in Jobs Approved Activities. Individuals participating in the Jobs Program and who receive Cash Assistance shall be eligible for Child Care Assistance if the following criteria are met.

a. The individual is referred by a Jobs Program Specialist to CCA for Child Care Assistance.

b. The individual is required to contact a local DES Child Care Office to notify CCA of the selection of a provider, and to cooperate with CCA to arrange child care services.

c. The Child Care service authorization shall be based on the days and hours of the approved Jobs activity as specified by the Jobs Program Specialist in the Jobs referral.

d. Jobs participants shall receive Child Care Assistance for Jobs approved educational and training activities only. Educational and training activities that are not Jobs approved are not eligible activities for Child Care Assistance for Jobs participants.

6. Unable or Unavailable to Provide Care. Clients who are unable or unavailable to care for their own children for a portion of a 24-hour day are eligible for Child Care Assistance according to the following criteria.

a. Clients who are unable to care for their own children due to a physical, mental, or emotional disability are eligible for Child Care Assistance when the diagnosis, inability to care for the children, and anticipated recovery date (or the date of the next medical evaluation) have been verified by a licensed physician, certified psychologist, or certified behavioral health specialist.

b. The Department shall authorize Child Care Assistance to cover:

i. The amount of time the client is unable to care for the child; and

ii. The amount of time needed for ongoing treatment for the specified condition as verified by the physician, certified psychologist, or certified behavioral health specialist.

c. Child Care Assistance shall not cover intermittent and routine appointments that are not part of an ongoing treatment plan.

d. Clients participating in a drug rehabilitation program are eligible for Child Care Assistance to participate in activities as specified by the drug rehabilitation program.

e. Clients participating in a court-ordered community service program are eligible for Child Care Assistance to support required community service participation as specified by the court.

f. Clients who are residents of a homeless or domestic violence shelter are eligible for Child Care Assistance based on shelter residency, and on verification provided by an authorized representative at the shelter. Child Care Assistance shall cover:

i. The days and hours that the client is unavailable to provide care to their own child due to participation in shelter-directed activities as verified by an authorized representative of the shelter; and

ii. The days and hours that the client is unable to provide care to the client's own child due to a physical, mental, or emotional disability as verified by a licensed physician, certified psychologist, or a certified behavioral health specialist.

B. Gaps In Employment. Clients receiving Child Care Assistance are eligible for continued assistance during gaps in employment.

1. The Department shall continue Child Care Assistance for each parent, legal guardian, or relative caretaker in the eligible family during no more than two gaps in employment of 30 days in each 12-month period.

2. The Department shall authorize Child Care Assistance during a 30-day gap in employment beginning the day after the last day worked, after the client provides verification of his or her job termination date.

3. Gaps in employment may be consecutive (if requested).

a. The Department shall continue Child Care Assistance for an additional 30 days upon request of the client, if the client has not already used Child Care Assistance during two gaps in employment in the most recent 12-month period immediately preceding the job termination date.

b. The second gap in employment shall begin the day after the last day of the first gap in employment.

4. The Department shall continue to authorize the same number of units of Child Care Assistance as previously authorized for the employment activity.

5. The Department shall decrease the client's fee level and copayment under Appendix A, based on the loss of earned income effective the date that terminated employment has been verified, or the day after the last day worked, whichever is the later date.

6. The Department shall end Child Care Assistance during a gap in employment on the 30th day after the client's last day worked, or on the 60th day after the client's last day worked if two consecutive gaps were authorized, unless the client can verify participation in a new eligible activity.

7. When a client fails to report job loss timely as described under R6-5-4911(A)(1), and continues to use Child Care Assistance, the Department shall automatically reduce the overpayment period by subtracting any unused gaps in employment in lieu of the corresponding months of overpayment.

8. Child care utilized during a gap in employment shall count toward the 60 month per child time limit for Child Care Assistance under R6-5-4919.

9. CPS Referred Families and CPS and DDD Foster Families.

a. Child Care Assistance shall be provided to families requiring assistance as documented in a CPS case plan, or to children who are in the care, custody, and control of the Department, and who need Child Care Assistance as documented in a foster care case plan.

b. Eligibility for Child Care Assistance under this provision shall be determined by CPS and DDD on a case by case basis.

C. Verification of Eligible Activity or Need. The client shall verify eligible activities and needs as requested by the Department. Acceptable verification shall include:

1. Pay stubs for the most recent 30-day period;

2. Employer's statement verifying start date, hourly rate of pay, work schedule, and frequency of pay including;

a. The date of receipt of the first full paycheck if the client is newly employed; and

b. The last day worked, if the client's employment has terminated.

3. Quarterly or annual tax statement for the most recent calendar quarter or year to verify self-employment activities;

4. Self-employment log to document self-employment activities and income accompanied by receipts for gross sales and business expenses for the most recent calendar month or quarter;

5. Written verification from an educational institution to verify days and hours of attendance, start and end dates of the activity, educational level, and satisfactory progress;

6. Written verification from a licensed physician, certified psychologist, or certified behavioral health specialist indicating the diagnosis, inability to care for the child, days and hours that child care is needed, and the anticipated recovery date;

7. Written verification from a homeless or domestic violence shelter indicating the days, hours, and duration that child care is needed as prescribed in subsection (A)(6)(f).

Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-5-4912

Adopted effective July 31, 1997, under an exemption from the provisions of A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6 (Supp. 97-3). Amended by exempt rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 92, effective December 31, 2006 (Supp. 06-4).

The following Section was adopted under an exemption from the provisions of A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6, pursuant to Laws 1997, Ch. 300, § 74(A). Exemption from A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6 means the Department did not submit notice of proposed rulemaking to the Secretary of State for publication in the Arizona Administrative Register; the Department did not submit these rules to the Governor's Regulatory Review Council for review and approval; and the Department was not required to hold public hearings on this Section.