INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-5-1
Revised 10-1-11
1. A major focus of all client contacts is to establish a good relationship with the family. Establishing a relationship of mutual trust helps to identify the family's needs, strengths, and goals. Actually seeing and talking to the children in the family also helps in developing a true picture of the family and its dynamics. The worker helps the client become more independent by suggesting ways to increase household income and identifying strengths in the client's life. The Family Support Services (FSS) worker and the Child Welfare (CW) staff freely share information to develop a plan that best meets the needs of the family when both are working with the family.
2. (a) When the child is four years of age or older, the worker asks what days and hours the child attends school to help determine how many hours the client needs subsidized child care.
(b) Child care providers caring for children with disabilities are sometimes eligible for a higher reimbursement rate. Refer to OAC 340:40-7-3 and 340:40‑7-3.1 for information regarding children with disabilities.
3. It is preferable for the client to provide a signed and dated written statement from the employer, school, or training facility verifying the days and hours the parent or caretaker meets a need factor. When a written statement is unavailable, the worker verifies this information by phone contact with the employer, school, or training facility. The worker must clearly document who he or she spoke with and what was verified in the Family Assistance/Client Services (FACS) Case Notes.
4. (a) The amount of travel time approved varies depending on what is reasonable for the client. The worker asks the client how much time it takes to get to the work or training activity after dropping the child off at child care and then how long it takes to get from the work or training activity to the child care facility. When extra care is approved because the client must ride with another person whose schedule varies from the client or the client lives a long distance from his or her job, the worker documents this in Case Notes.
(b) To help determine the appropriate unit type, the worker uses the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) Appendix C-4-C, Unit Type Chart for Child Care Authorizations.
(1) The worker approves a full-time daily unit type when care is needed more than four hours every day authorized for fewer than 15 days per month or more than 23 days per month.
(2) The worker approves a part-time daily unit type when care is needed for four hours or fewer every day authorized.
(3) The worker approves a combination of full-time and part-time unit types when care is needed more than four hours for some of the days and four hours or fewer other days. If the child is four years of age or older, the worker first determines whether the child qualifies for a blended unit type before approving a combination of full-time and part-time unit types.
(4) Child care authorized with a weekly unit type is paid at a full-time daily or part‑time daily rate for the days the child attends care. An absent day payment is made to the child care provider for days the child does not attend care only if the child attends the minimum number of days required in the month to qualify. Refer to OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, to determine the minimum number of days a child must attend to qualify for an absent day payment and the maximum number of days OKDHS pays the provider.
(A) The worker approves child care with a weekly unit type when the client needs child care more than four hours each day and at least 15 days and no more than 23 days per month. The client can require care for any of the need factors per OAC 340:40-7-7.
(B) Child care is not approved with a weekly unit type when:
(i) the same child uses two different child care providers;
(ii) any of the care needed is part-time;
(iii) the need for child care is fewer than 15 days per month or more than 23 days per month; or
(iv) the child is using an in-home child care provider.
(C) Refer to OAC 340:40-10-4 for information about how authorizations approved with a weekly unit type are paid.
(5) The worker approves a blended unit type for children four years of age and older when care is needed Monday through Friday part‑time for the days school is in session and full-time for school holidays. The rate established by OKDHS for a blended unit type is higher than for a part-time unit type and lower than a full-time unit type. It is based on information from the Department of Education regarding the number of full-time and part-time days the child should need care. OKDHS has established two blended unit types, traditional and extended school year. The worker must determine which blended unit type is appropriate.
(A) The worker approves the traditional school year blended unit type when the child attends a school with a traditional nine-month school calendar. The child care facility must be open on school holidays except summer break for the traditional blended unit type approval.
(i) This unit type pays the blended rate from August 16th through May 15th of each year.
(ii) During the summer months, if the child continues to attend the same child care facility, the provider is paid the full-time daily rate with an absent day payment if applicable.
(iii) The IMS system continues to show 23 B during the summer, but for payment purposes the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system pays a weekly unit type.
(iv) If a weekly unit type is not appropriate for the summer because the child does not require full-time care at least 15 days and no more than 23 days per month, the worker changes the unit type to match the needs of the child or closes the authorization if care is not needed.
(B) The worker approves the extended school year blended unit type when the child attends a school with a year round or a continuous learning calendar. Authorizations coded with the extended school year blended unit type receive the extended school year rate for the entire calendar year. The child care facility must be open during school holidays including fall, Christmas, spring, and summer breaks.
(C) A blended unit type is not appropriate when:
(i) the child requires more full-time care days in addition to school holidays during the school year;
(ii) the child does not need care for school holidays;
(iii) requires more full-time care days in addition to school holidays;
(iv) the child uses a different child care facility for school holidays;
(v) the child care facility is not open on school holidays;
(vi) only part-time care is needed;
(vii) more than one child care facility is needed for the child; or
(viii) the child qualifies for a special needs or an in-home child care rate.
(6) Care may only be authorized at one facility per day per child. When the client advises the worker that he or she plans to use two different providers for the same child, the worker determines what days of the week care is needed at each provider. When care is needed on different days, the worker can authorize care at both providers. The total number of units or days authorized for both providers may not exceed the maximum that would be authorized if care were only needed at one provider. For example, the client wishes to use one provider three days per week and another provider two days per week. In this instance, the maximum number of days the worker approves care totals 23 days per month.
(7) A child care plan is normally not approved to cover an entire 24-hour calendar day. If, due to the nature of the parent or caretaker's work, he or she must leave the child in child care over 24 hours on an occasional basis, the worker may authorize care after receiving approval from the Family Support Services Division (FSSD) Child Care Subsidy Section staff.
5. The purpose of discussing alternative care with the client is to help the client consider other possibilities to purchased care that might be more suitable for the child. When another adult is living in the home who is not a spouse or a natural or adoptive parent of the child, he or she can refuse to care for the child. When the client does not want a spouse to care for the child, refer to OAC 340:40-7-8(e) for information required to approve preventive or protective child care.
6. (a) Programs receiving federal grant funds, such as Head Start or Early Head Start, and public schools receiving state funds for education may receive subsidy funds only if all parents are charged for the hours subsidy payment is requested. The worker approves the appropriate unit type based on the parent's schedule and the number of subsidy hours needed.
(b) If there is a tribal child care program in the county for which the client might qualify, the worker asks the client if he or she is receiving subsidized child care benefits from the tribe.
(1) The client cannot receive benefits from the tribe and OKDHS for the same service.
(2) When the client needs child care for different services, it is acceptable for the tribe to cover the cost of one service while OKDHS pays for the other service. An example of this would be when the client works and goes to school. If the tribe pays the cost of child care while the client works, the worker may approve child care through OKDHS for the hours he or she attends school.
(3) If the client chooses to receive OKDHS subsidized child care, the same rules governing other clients apply to this client as well.
(4) The child care provider must not file a claim with both OKDHS and the tribe for the same service.
7. The worker may talk to the client about how to get a raise in pay at work, how to look for another job with better earning potential, how to increase the client's job skills, or discuss whether the client might be eligible for other money or benefits such as child support, Social Security benefits, Supplemental Security Income, unemployment benefits, or veterans benefits. The worker refers the client to other agencies for help when appropriate. Possible referral sources include:
(1) the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission;
(2) a Workforce Investment Act (WIA) contracted entity;
(3) Workforce Oklahoma Centers;
(4) the local technology center;
(5) a community college;
(6) the Social Security Administration; or
(7) the Department of Veterans Affairs.
8. Helping the client plan in advance for emergencies when a child cannot go to child care may help the client keep a job. Persons who may be willing to provide child care in an emergency include relatives, friends, or neighbors. The client may explore other alternatives with his or her employer such as working from home or working additional hours after the emergency is resolved.
9. When the client chooses to use a provider that he or she is related to, the worker must check the "relative indicator" field on the Auth. Daycare tab in FACS.
10. Refer to OAC 340:40-13-1 for information regarding out-of-home and in-home child care arrangements. Information the worker gives the client to help make this choice includes:
(1) the name and address of the area Child Care Resource and Referral agency for the county. This information is listed in the pamphlet, OKDHS Pub. No. 98‑09, "Your Child Care Resource for Services and Information";
(2) a list of contracted providers. The worker obtains a list by searching the Child Care Locator database available on the InfoNet under OKDHS Tools. The worker prints a list of all one plus and higher star child care centers and all child care homes that meet the client's search criteria. If there are no one plus and higher star centers in the community, the list includes the one star centers;
(3) how to request case summaries of potential providers from the Oklahoma Child Care Services (OCCS) licensing staff or how to make an appointment to look at the licensing files;
(4) explaining to the client that the "Star" status of a facility is an indicator that the facility meets additional quality criteria. The worker advises the client that care is not approved at a one star child care center unless there are no one plus and higher star centers in the community or the exception criteria described at OAC 340:40-5-1(7)(C)(viii) is met and the worker's supervisor or county director approves an exception. The client may choose a family child care home regardless of the star level. OAC 340:110‑1-8.3 describes provider certification for different star levels.
(A) To be certified as a one star plus program, the provider must meet additional quality criteria that include:
(i) additional training;
(ii) reading to children daily; and
(iii) parent involvement.
(B) To be certified as a two star program, the provider must be:
(i) nationally accredited or meet the one star plus criteria;
(ii) employ master teachers who meet additional educational requirements; and
(iii) include program evaluation.
(C) To be certified as a three star program, the provider must meet all two star quality criteria and be nationally accredited; and
(5) giving the client all or some of the pamphlets OCCS Licensing produces to help clients choose quality care. They are:
(A) OKDHS Pub. No. 01-18, "Reaching for the Stars";
(B) OKDHS Pub. No. 98-09, "Your Child Care Resource for Services and Information";
(C) OKDHS Pub. No. 87-91, "The Parent's Guide to Selecting Quality Child Care"; and
(D) OKDHS Pub. No. 02‑06, "Paying for Child Care Just Got Easier."
11. In rare instances, such as the special health needs of a child, an exception may be granted by FSSD Child Care Subsidy Section staff. To request approval, the worker sends an email to daycare@okdhs.org. The worker must include why the client is unable to use a different child care provider. If approved, the FSSD Child Care Subsidy Section documents the approval in FACS case notes and sends an approval letter to the provider.
12. (a) A child receiving home schooling must receive this instruction from his or her own parent or caretaker except for the time a tutor might be hired.
(b) A child care provider must not be approved to provide child care in order to home school someone else's child.
(c) The worker must not approve a school age child for child care in order for the parent or caretaker to work or attend school during the hours public or private school is in session because he or she wants to home school his or her child during the evening.
(d) School age is defined as a child enrolled in the first through 12th grade.
(e) Exception: a provider may be approved to provide child care for a school age child with disabilities during the hours public or private school is in session if the child receives shortened day services from the local school system. Care may also be approved if a child is suspended or expelled from school and the school system verifies there is no other educational alternative available to the child.
13. The school break may be due to the parent's or child's school schedule.
14. (a) Exceptions may be granted on a case-by-case basis by the supervisor or county director. Prior to granting an exception, the worker gives the parent or caretaker a list of contracted one plus and higher star centers and, if the client wants to use a child care home, all contracted child care homes that meet the client's search criteria. The client is not required to choose a one plus and higher star child care home before considering a one star center if the client states he or she does not want to use a child care home.
(1) If there are no one plus and higher star centers in the community, the list includes one star centers and an exception is not required.
(2) The worker uses the Child Care Locator, available on the InfoNet under OKDHS Tools, to generate this list.
(3) The worker instructs the parent or caretaker to contact all providers on the Child Care Locator list to see if care is available during the hours needed. The client notes on the list why care is not available at these locations or why they did not meet the client's needs.
(4) If the client does not find care from the providers on the list, the supervisor or county director reviews the client's notes on this list to determine whether to grant an exception. The supervisor or county director documents in FACS Case Notes if and why an exception was granted.
(5) Exceptions may be granted when none of the providers on the client's list:
(A) have an opening during the times care is needed. For example, the client works during the evening or overnight and no one else provides care during those hours;
(B) are willing to meet the special needs of the child. For example, the other providers are unable to meet the needs of a child with disabilities or provide transportation to and from the child's school; or
(C) are within a reasonable distance from the parent or caretaker's home because of transportation issues.
(b) When the supervisor or county director agrees that an exception is warranted under (a) of this Instruction, the worker gives the parent or guardian a list of one star center providers. If the client then finds a one star center that meets the family's needs, care may be approved at that facility.
15. (a) In the Household tab in FACS, the worker chooses "social services" in the "benefit" field F24 and "added to benefit section" in the "status" field F25 to add only the child being approved for child care. All other household members are shown as "not included in benefit. Income and resources are considered in benefit computation" in the "status" field F25. The system calculates the family share co-payment based on information entered in the Household and Income tabs of FACS and the "number of children receiving child care" field E52 and is shown in the "Family Co-pay" field E53 in the Child Care tab. The system maps this family share co‑payment to the "co-pay" field K70 of the authorization section when a change action is entered in the Child Care tab. The family share co‑payment is never prorated.
(b) Children who are exempted from co-pay must be authorized for child care in a separate case record from children not exempt from co-pay in order for the system to calculate the co-payment correctly. The worker must document in FACS Case Notes why two case records must be established and what income is being considered or excluded in each case. The family may choose to include all children on one case if this results in a reduced family share co-payment. Examples of situations when separate cases may be required are described in paragraphs (1) through (4).
(1) When a family requests child care for a child who is exempt from co-pay because he or she receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) per OAC 340:40-7-1 and for another child who is not exempt, two separate cases are created to avoid counting household income for the co-pay exempt child.
(2) When an adoptive parent requests child care for a child who meets all five conditions described in OAC 340:40-7-12(6) and is eligible for a zero co-payment and also requests child care for the child's sibling who does not meet these conditions, two case records must be established.
(3) When a client applies for child care benefits for a child for whom the client is not legally and financially responsible, the income of the client is not considered. When there are also children in the household that the client is legally and financially responsible for that require child care, their benefits must be authorized on a separate case so the client's income is considered only for the children for whom he or she is legally and financially responsible.
(c) The family share co-payment is assigned to one provider per case. When more than one provider is used by the family, the worker must determine which provider gives the most costly care to the family. The worker must use OKDHS Appendix C-4-B, Child Care Provider Rate Schedule, to determine the daily rate for each child based on that child's service plan. The worker adds the monthly cost of care per child and then per provider. The worker assigns the family share co-payment to the provider giving the care that results in highest total cost.
(1) The worker chooses N for non-exempt in the "co-pay exempt" field K78 of the Auth. Daycare tab for each authorization approved for the provider giving the most costly care to the family.
(2) For all other providers, the worker chooses S for second provider in field K78 "co-pay exempt."
(3) The system maps the entire family share co-payment to each child's authorization where the "co-pay exempt" field is marked N and maps a zero co-payment to each authorization marked S in the "co-pay exempt" field.
(4) The authorization(s) for the non-exempt provider must be open on the system without edits before the worker enters the authorization(s) for the provider exempted from co-pay. If the worker tries to enter both authorizations at the same time, the authorization coded S in K78 edits as it cannot find an open authorization for another provider.
(d) When a child's authorization is closed or opened, the system recalculates the family share co-payment after the worker enters a change action in the Child Care tab and enters the correct number of children in the "children in daycare" field E52. The system maps the family share co-payment to each open authorization and generates a notice to the client. Refer to OAC 340:40‑9‑2(b) and Instructions to Staff (ITS) # 4 for information about adding children and OAC 340:40‑9‑2(c) and ITS # 5(a)(2) for information about removing children.
(e) The entire monthly family share co-payment appears on the tape from the point-of-service (POS) machine each time the client swipes attendance at the child care facility. The only time the amount of co-pay showing on the tape changes is when the worker reduces the family share co-payment for that month.
(f) When a child is removed from licensed child care, the worker assesses whether that child's current care arrangement places the child at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. A referral is made to Child Welfare (CW) if appropriate.
(g) Refer to OAC 340:40-7-11(c)(5) for information on court-ordered child care payments and third party payments made directly to the child care provider.
(h) Refer to OAC 340:40‑9‑2(e) for information regarding calculation of the family share co-payment when the client changes child care providers.
16. Each human services center (HSC) has a list of community resources that may be given to a client to meet social services needs. The worker ensures the identified agency can help before sending the client to that agency. When information is requested to prevent domestic violence or child abuse, the worker determines whether to complete a referral to CW on Form 08MP013E, Information/Referral – Social Services. If the worker is uncertain how to handle questions or other social service needs mentioned by a client, the worker seeks help from his or her supervisor, or HSC staff.
17. The applicant may request a fair hearing because of actions taken on a child care request as well as a child care application.
18. There are providers who require that all children be in attendance by a certain time every morning, for instance 9:00 a.m., regardless of the client's work or school schedule. Reasons given by the provider may include limiting disruptions to program content, so all children participate fully in the quality content of the child care program, or to reduce transportation costs for the provider. When based on the client's work or school schedule, care is not needed until 11:00 a.m., the client swipes attendance by entering a previous in for 11:00 a.m. on the POS machine when the child is picked up at the end of the day. The provider must not charge the client for the additional two hours of care. If the client chooses to drop the child off at the child care provider earlier than the approved plan of service hours or leaves the child later for personal reasons, the provider may charge the client for those additional hours.
19. The worker emphasizes to the client the importance of checking for an approval message on the POS machine and to report any pending or denied messages to his or her worker immediately. The video the client must watch emphasizes this responsibility. Refer to OKDHS Appendix C-4-B for information about weekly unit types and absent day payments and OAC 340:40-10 for EBT information.
20. Refer to OAC 340:40-13-5(g) for a list of provider contract violations.