Section 148-6-1 - DEFINITIONS2.Agency Administrative Errors means errors caused solely by the Department.3.Allowable Net Income means the net monthly business income for a self- employed Parent.4.ASPIRE means the job preparation program to prepare for, accept, and retain employment.5.Assets means equity in real and personal property.6.At-Risk Children means Children identified by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Child and Family Services as a Child in Care and Custody.7.Award Letter means the document notifying a Parent and selected Provider of the Child Care Affordability Program Award Period, time awarded, and the Parent Fee.8.Award Period means no less than twelve (12) months as required by federal law (45 C.F.R. § 98.21), the Department-Approved timeframe, for Child Care Affordability Program eligibility.9.Care and Custody means Children in the Care and Custody of the Department or a Federally Recognized Tribe.10.Caseworker means an employee of the Department or Federally Recognized Tribe, authorized to provide specialized case management services to At-Risk Children, Children in Open Child Protective Cases, and Children in the Care and Custody of the Department.11.Child means an individual (a) between six (6) weeks and under thirteen (13) years of age, (b) who turns thirteen (13) years old during a twelve (12) month eligibility period, or (c) a Child with Special Needs who is under the age of nineteen (19). 12.Child Care Affordability Program (CCAP) means financial support for eligible families with low income(s) and other designated client categories; available dependent upon funding; and which may pay for Child Care Services provided by a qualified Child Care Provider.13.Child Care Affordability Program Payments means the amount set by the Department, based on the Market Rate, minus the Parent Fee, that the Department reimburses the Child Care Provider on behalf of the Parent for Child Care Services provided to an eligible Child by an enrolled Child Care Provider.14.Child Care Facility means a Provider licensed as a Child Care Facility by the Department.15.Child Care Provider (Provider) means an entity providing child care services who is qualified to participate in CCAP. A Provider is: (a) a Child Care Facility or Family Child Care Provider licensed by the Department,(b) a Child Care Provider licensed by New Hampshire, or(c) a License-Exempt Child Care Provider as defined in this rule.16.Child Care Services means care provided to an eligible Child by an eligible Child Care Provider.17.Child Protective Services (CPS) means a specialized casework service provided by the Department to neglected or abused Child(ren) and their families. For the purposes of these rules the following families and Children qualify as involved with Child Protective Services (CPS): At-Risk Children, Children involved in Open Child Protective Cases, and Children in Care and Custody.18.Child with Special Needs means a Child up to thirteen (13) years of age who: has been determined and documented by a qualified professional to: (a) be a "Child with a disability" as defined in section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. § 1401);(b) is eligible for early intervention services under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. §§ 1431, et seq.);(c) be eligible for services under section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 701); (d) meet the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) (42 U.S.C. § 12102); (e) be considered at-risk for health and/or developmental problems as a result of established biological risk factors, and/or as a result of identified environmental Risk Factors including, but not limited to, experiencing homelessness, abuse or neglect, lead poisoning, and prenatal drug or alcohol exposure; or(f) be a Child who is between thirteen (13) years of age and eighteen (18) years of age, inclusive, who is physically or mentally incapable of caring for themself, or is under court supervision.19.Department means the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.20.Department-Approved means consent by the CCDF State Child Care Administrator or his/her designee.21.Educational Program means a program which is required for completion of a secondary diploma, High School Equivalency Test (HISET), or other Department-Approved high school equivalency test; Department- Approved vocational program; or post-secondary undergraduate program in which the Parent is earning credits toward a degree; or other Department-Approved Educational Program. Parents may be enrolled either in person or online. Parents attending Graduate or Doctoral level Educational Programs are not eligible to receive Child Care Affordability payments.22.Eligibility Income means Gross Income or Allowable Net Income (for Self- Employed Parents).23.Employed means participation in gainful work that produces earned income from: wages, salaries, commissions, fees, tips, and/or piece-rate payments.24.Family means a Child and the related and/or non-related adult(s) who are living together and who are in a legally binding relationship to the Child either by blood, marriage, adoption, registered domestic partnership or Guardianship.25.Family Child Care Provider means a Provider licensed as a Family Child Care Provider by the Department.27.Federally Recognized Tribe means the Penobscot Tribe, Passamaquoddy Tribe, Aroostook Band of Micmacs, Houlton Band of Maliseets, and any other Native American Tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community that is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Native Americans because of their status as Native Americans.28.Fictive Kinship Care means services provided to a Child in Care and Custody or services intended to prevent a Child from entering Care and Custody, under a plan with the Department and any person that is unrelated by birth, adoption, or marriage, and who has an emotionally significant relationship with the Child that would take on the characteristics of a familial relationship. 29.Foster Care means a temporary living arrangement in which resource families provide for the care of Children who are in Care and Custody. A resource family is a person(s) who provides care to Children in Care and Custody. Resource Families include foster parents, permanency guardians, adoptive Parents, and members of the Child's extended birth Family. Refer to: http://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22sec4002.html.30.Good Cause means when any of the following conditions is met: the Parent states the Child was conceived as the result of incest or rape; the Parent states cooperation in establishing paternity or securing support is reasonably anticipated to result in physical or emotional harm to the Parent, Child, or caretaker relative; or documentation indicating legal proceedings for adoption of the Child are pending in court.31.Good Standing means when a Parent has provided the Child Care Provider with twelve (12) calendar days notice and it has been determined the Parent Fees for those same twelve (12) calendar days have been paid in full.32.Gross Income means the sum of all money, earned and unearned, already received, or reasonably anticipated to be received, by all Family members during the service eligibility period. Gross Income is calculated before deductions (such as income taxes, social security taxes, deferred compensation plans, insurance premiums, union dues, etc.). Gross Income does not include fringe benefits. Gross Income includes any Allowable Net Income realized by any member of the Family.33.Group means the specific Children assigned to a specific Child Care Staff Member(s) within one room or identifiable activity space.34.Guardian means a person who has qualified as a guardian of a minor or incapacitated person pursuant to appointment by a parent or spouse or by a court. "Guardian" includes a limited, an emergency, and a temporary substitute guardian, but not a guardian ad litem or a person holding only a power of attorney.35.Experiencing Homelessness means Parents or Children who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence; who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, or campgrounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; are awaiting Foster Care placement; who have a primary night-time residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; or who are migratory Children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. ch.70) as required by federal law (45 C.F.R. § 98.41).36.Infant means a Child six (6) weeks of age through twelve (12) months of age.37.Job Training Program means vocational, field, on-the-job, apprenticeship, and other Department-Approved job readiness training programs that focus upon the acquisition of knowledge and skills that prepare the participant for employment.38.Maine Resident means a Parent who has established Maine as a permanent home or as the place where they intend to return after any period of absence. Maine residency, once established, continues until a new, fixed and permanent home is acquired. Documentation of Maine residency includes a Maine home address where the Parent lives and one (1) or more of the following: a Maine individual income tax return for the immediate past tax year that was timely filed with the Maine Revenue Service and that indicates Maine Resident status, valid Maine driver's license, Maine State ID, current Maine motor vehicle registration, Maine hunting/fishing license, proof of undergraduate Student in-State tuition payment, or other Department- Approved verification.39.Maine Roads to Quality means Maine's Early Care and Education Professional Development Registry. Refer to: https://www.mrtq.org/.40.Market Rate means the Child Care Affordability Program Payment rate paid to Child Care Providers for providing Child Care Services.41.Misrepresentation means an action of an individual with the intention of receiving financial assistance the individual is not eligible to receive.42.Night-Time Employment means employment in which the majority of the hours worked are between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m.43.Non-Temporary Change means a Parent (a) is no longer Employed, (b) is no longer attending a Job Training Program or Educational Program, (c) has experienced a change in income or assets (including due to a change in Employment), (d) has had another parent move into their home, or (e) has a change in child care provider.44.Notification of Termination means the document sent to the Parent and Child Care Provider by the Department notifying them of termination of Child Care Affordability eligibility.45.Office of Child and Family Services (OCFS) means the State agency within the Department that determines program eligibility for the Child Care Affordability Program.46.Overpayment means when the amount paid exceeds the amount that would have been paid if the Child Care Affordability Program had been calculated correctly based on actual circumstances reported, verified, and acted on in a timely manner. Overpayments may occur as the result of Misrepresentation, Agency Administrative Error, or Parent or Child Care Provider error(s).47.Parent means (a) a Child's Parent by blood, marriage, or adoption whose parental rights have not been terminated, or48.Parent Fee means the Department-determined fee that a Parent must pay directly to the Child Care Provider as the Parent's share of responsibility for the Child Care Provider's fee that is the subject of the Child Care Affordability Program.49.Preschool means a Child age three (3) to age five (5), who has not yet entered kindergarten.50.Primary Applicant means the first Parent's name on the application.51.Provider Agreement means the agreement between a Child Care Provider by type of provider, licensed or licensed-exempt, and the Department that outlines the conditions under which the Child Care Provider may receive a Child Care Affordability Program Payment from the Department.52.Reasonable Cause means Department-Approved reasons for a Child's absence from a Child Care Provider's program which may include, without limitation: Federal/State holidays; Parental vacation days; inclement weather defined by a snow day when local schools are closed; illness of the Child or other immediate Family member; appointments; transportation issues that affect the Parent's ability to transport the Child to care; Family visitations: Family emergencies, including, but not limited to, surgery, medical treatments, or accidents; or catastrophic events affecting the Family, including but not limited to fires, storms, or accidents.53.Reimbursement Basis means the bi-weekly compensation paid to the Child Care Provider for Child Care Services rendered.54. Repeated Failure means when the majority of billings for Child Care Services from the Child Care Provider, within a six (6) month period, were not received on time, and/or were incomplete and/or inaccurate, in spite of the Department's efforts to provide technical assistance to the Child Care Provider.55.Safe Sleep Practices means an initiative which encourages Parents and other caregivers to have Infants sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and other sleep-related causes of Infant death.56.School Age means a Child five (5) years or older in full day schooling.57.Self-Employment means operating one's own business, trade, or profession for profit equal to or greater than Maine's average hourly minimum wage based on the four (4) weeks prior to eligibility determination.58.Sibling means each of two or more children (a) having one or both parents in common or (b) whose parents have married each other (stepsiblings)59.State Child Care Administrator means the Department staff responsible for administering the CCDF grant.60.State Median Income (SMI) means arranging all income values in a dataset in numerical order and then identifying the middle value. Specifically, it is the income that falls exactly halfway between what people earn on both sides of the wealth spectrum.61.Student means a Parent enrolled in and attending an Educational Program or Job Training Program, and who is a Maine Resident.62.Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) means the unexplained death, usually during sleep, of an Infant.63.Teacher means an individual who is Employed by a Child Care Provider for compensation on a regular basis and whose responsibilities are to organize, guide, and implement activities in a group or individual basis, or to assist a Teacher or lead Teacher in activities to further the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of Children.64.Temporary Change means any time-limited (no longer than twelve (12) weeks) absence from work, a Job Training Program, or an Educational Program for an Employed Parent due to reasons found acceptable by the Department, including but not limited to: Parent's medical leave or maternity/paternity leave; need to care for a Family member with an illness; any interruption in work for a seasonal worker who is not working between regular industry work seasons; any Student holiday or break for a Parent participating in a Job Training Program or Educational Program; any reduction in work, training, or education hours, as long as the Parent is still working or attending a Job Training Program or Educational Program.65.Toddler means a Child aged 13 months to 36 months.66.Transportation Time means the time it takes a Parent (a) to leave a Child Care Provider and arrive at work, an Educational Program, or Job Training Program and (b) to leave work, an Educational Program, or Job Training Program and arrive back at the Provider. Transportation can take place by car, bus, bike, walking, boat, or others means as indicated on the application.67.Unacceptable Absence means a lack of attendance by a Child at the Child Care Service for more than two (2) calendar days per month without Reasonable Cause or previous approval from the Department.68.Underpayments means when the Parent or the Child Care Provider does not receive all the benefits to which the Parent or the Child Care Provider is entitled due to an Agency Administrative Error or an error by the Parent or Child Care Provider.69.Very Low Income means when the Eligibility Income, adjusted for Family size, does not exceed one hundred percent (100%) of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.70.Wait List means a list which prioritizes eligible participants by specific criteria.