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340:40-7-3.1. Child with disabilities

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Issued 6-1-09

(a) Child with disabilities. A child with disabilities is defined as a child who receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI), SoonerStart early intervention services provided in accordance with an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), or special education services provided in accordance with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) by the local school district. • 1 This definition also includes a child whose SSI payment stops because of financial reasons but who still meets the medical definition of disability as determined by the Social Security Administration (SSA). • 2 When a child with disabilities is 13 or older, the client must provide a statement from a licensed health care professional verifying that the child is physically or mentally incapable of self care as age appropriate before care is approved and annually at review. If the licensed health care professional states that the child is capable of self care as age appropriate, subsidized child care benefits are not approved.

(b) Special needs rate approval process. The special needs rate, if approved, is paid in addition to the daily rate paid for a typical child. If a child does not meet the definition of a child with disabilities, the child is not eligible for a special needs rate. A child with disabilities may be approved for a moderate or severe special needs rate unit type after the special needs rate approval process is completed. If the worker determines that the parent or caretaker is eligible for subsidized child care benefits before the special needs rate approval process is completed, the worker approves the child for a typical child unit type. The process includes:

(1) the parent or caretaker must provide proof that the child meets the definition of a child with disabilities and information about the child's care needs.
- (A) For a child under age three, the parent or caretaker submits the child's current IFSP that verifies the child receives SoonerStart services and documents the care needs of the child.
- (B) For a child over age three, the parent or caretaker submits the child's current IEP that documents the child receives special education services and documents the care needs of the child.
- (C) If the child receives SSI, the parent or caretaker submits the child's award letter or other proof from SSA that verifies receipt of this income. If the child is not receiving SoonerStart or special education services, the parent or caretaker submits a statement from a health professional describing the care needs of the child.
(2) The parent or guardian, the child care provider, Oklahoma Child Care Services (OCCS) licensing staff, and the child's Family Support Services (FSS) or Child Welfare (CW) worker completes appropriate sections of Form 08AD006E, Special Needs Child Care Rate Certification. • 3 Determination of whether certification requirements are met by the:
- (A) child are made by the FSS or CW worker; and
- (B) provider are made by the OCCS licensing specialist.
(3) The worker uses Form 08AD007E, Special Needs Rate Determination Scoring Sheet, to score the 08AD006E. The child's care needs must be within the scoring range shown on Form 08AD007E for moderate or high need to qualify for a special needs rate. • 4
(4) OCCS licensing staff completes Section IV of Form 08AD006E indicating whether the provider meets certification requirements described at OAC 340:110-1-9.1. • 5
(5) When the child and the provider meet certification requirements for the special needs rate, the rate is effective the first of the month following the month OCCS licensing staff signs Section IV of Form 08AD006E. If the child does not start child care until after the special needs rate is approved, the rate is effective the first date care is approved. • 6
(6) Once Form 08AD006E has been completed and the worker determines the child is eligible for one of the special need rates, a new Form 08AD006E is only completed when:
- (A) the needs of the child change; • 7
- (B) the child moves to a different child care facility; or • 8
- (C) the child stops attending, for more than six months, the facility that was approved for the special needs rate unit type. • 9

(c) Supplemental Security Income-Disabled Children's Program (SSI-DCP). A child between the ages of birth to 18 who receives SSI may be eligible for additional services described at OAC 340:70-8-1. The child may also be eligible for enrichment child care described at OAC 340:40-7-8(f).

INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-7-3.1

Revised 6-1-09

1.   The client must provide proof the child is receiving services based on special needs criteria from at least one of these sources before the child is considered a child with disabilities. A child must receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) to be predetermined eligible for subsidized child care benefits with a zero family share co-payment if he or she meets all conditions of eligibility, other than financial, for child care.

2.   The client must provide proof from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that the child meets the medical definition of disability and the SSI is closed because of financial reasons.

3.   The special needs approval process can be initiated by either the child's Family Support Services (FSS) worker, Child Welfare (CW) worker, or the child care provider by giving Form 08AD006E, Certification for Special Needs Child Care Rate, to the client.

(1) The client completes Sections I and II. Section I contains identifying information about the child. In Section II, the parent or caretaker checks one statement in each category which best describes the child's needs in a child care setting when compared with a typical child of the same age. For example, question number three in Section II of Form 08AD006E asks whether the child requires extra assistance in eating and toileting. If the child is an infant, the answer is marked (d) unless this child requires more assistance than a typical infant. The Birth to Six Prescreen Wheel for Vision, Hearing and Development is a resource available in the human services center that describes a typical child's development from birth to six years of age. The parent or caretaker describes the child's individual needs in each area that indicates extra assistance is needed.

(2) The parent or caretaker takes Form 08AD006E to the child care facility of his or her choice for the provider to complete Section III of the form. The provider completes a child care plan that addresses how he or she plans to meet the special needs of the child included in Section II. Both the child care provider and the parent or caretaker sign Section III indicating approval of this plan.

(3) The worker, the client, or the child care provider then sends Form 08AD006E to Oklahoma Child Care Services (OCCS) licensing staff. OCCS licensing staff:

(A) contacts the child care facility in accordance with OAC 340:110-1-9.1 to determine whether the facility is able to meet the special needs of that specific child;

(B) completes Section IV of Form 08AD006E stating whether the facility meets or does not meet certification requirements. Certification requirements include confirming the facility:

(i) has a previous record of compliance with minimum licensing requirements;

(ii) has received required First Aid and Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training;

(iii) completed an on-site consultation; and

(iv) has a child care plan that adequately describes the child's care needs; and

(C) sends the form back to the FSS or CW worker for case action.

(4) The worker compares the parent or caretaker's answers on Form 08AD006E to the Individualized Education Program (IEP), Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP), or health professional's statement describing the care needs of the child for consistency. If the information is inconsistent, the worker further consults with the parent or caretaker and the professional who signed the document for further clarification. When agreement is reached, the worker completes Section V of Form 08AD006E using Form 08AD007E, Scoring Sheet for Special Needs Rate Determination.

4.   Form 08AD007E assigns a point value to each response a parent or caretaker makes to the questions in Section II of Form 08AD006E. The point value is higher if additional care needs are indicated. The worker adds up the point values assigned to each question. The worker looks at the scoring range at the bottom of the form to determine whether to approve the child for the moderate or severe special needs rate unit type.

(1) When certification requirements are not met and the parent or caretaker still wishes to use the facility, the child remains eligible at the applicable daily, blended, or weekly unit type for that child's age. The worker notifies the client and provider of this decision on Form 08MP037E, Notice Regarding Social Services.

(2) When certification requirements are met, the higher special needs rate unit type is authorized for that child. Copies of the completed Form 08AD006E are sent to the parent or caretaker, the provider, and OCCS licensing staff for their records.

5.   In accordance with OAC 340:110-1-9.1, OCCS licensing staff monitors the facility's ability to meet the child's needs each time a visit is made to that facility.

6.   (a) If a child care provider refuses to care for the child until the higher special needs rate is approved, the worker informs the provider that this is an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violation. If the provider continues to refuse, the worker completes Form 14CR001E, Discrimination Complaint Form - Client or Vendor, and sends it to the OKDHS Office for Civil Rights.

(b) The higher special needs rate unit type must be authorized by staff in the Family Support Services Division (FSSD) Child Care Subsidy Section. The worker authorizes care using a typical unit type for that child and then sends an e-mail to daycare@okdhs.org to request the authorization unit type be changed to moderate or severe special needs. The worker includes in the e-mail:

(1) the case number and person code for the child;

(2) whether the client provided the child's IEP, IFSP, or health care professional statement;

(3) what score the child received on Form 08AD007E;

(4) the name of the OCCS licensing specialist who signed Section IV of Form 08AD006E and the date signed; and

(5) what care plan to approve.

7.   If the parent or provider reports that the child's care needs previously reported in Section II of Form 08AD006E have changed, a new Form 08AD006E is completed to reflect the child's current care needs. Form 08AD007E is also completed to determine whether a change is needed in the rate paid by OKDHS.

8.   A new Form 08AD006E must be completed with the new provider because both the child and the provider must meet certain criteria before the child is authorized at a higher special needs rate unit type. The new provider must agree to follow the child care plan developed in Section III of the form and OCCS licensing staff must certify in Section IV that the new provider meets certification requirements for the higher rate.

9.   If the child stops attending the facility that was approved for the special needs rate unit type for fewer than six months and then returns to the same facility, a new Form 08AD006E is not needed unless the care needs of the child have changed. The worker ensures that both the provider and OCCS licensing staff still have a copy of Form 08AD006E and that the provider agrees to follow the child care plan described in Section III of the form. A new Form 08AD006E must be completed if the child stops attending the facility for more than six months.

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