7 AAC 41.050 - Insufficient appropriations
(a) If the
department determines that available appropriations are insufficient to provide
full program benefits for participating families or to add new eligible
families, the department may take one or more of the following actions:
(1) terminate, or require a designee to
terminate, program benefits for one or more participating families;
(2) limit the activities eligible for a
program benefit under
7
AAC 41.310(b)(2) - (5);
(3) establish a wait list under (d) of this
section;
(4) reduce, or require a
designee to reduce, program benefits for all participating families, by a
percentage that is based on any shortfall in available
appropriations.
(b) In
complying with (a)(1) of this section, the highest priority for retention in
the child care assistance program will be given to a participating family
lowest on the department's Family Income and Contribution
Schedule,adopted by reference in
7
AAC 41.335, prioritize by lowest income by family size
within each of the two categories described in (d)(1) and (2) of this
section.
(c) If a designee develops
a plan as an alternative to (a) and (b) of this section, the designee may
submit that plan to the department for approval. If the department approves the
plan, the approval constitutes a waiver of the requirements of (a) and (b) of
this section for affected participants for the duration of the approved
plan.
(d) Subject to (f) of this
section, if the department establishes a wait list under (a)(3) of this
section, the wait list must prioritize eligible families for participation in
the program, as follows:
(1) the highest
priority is given to participating or applying families in which a single
parent is, or both parents are
(A) working;
or
(B) attending school, if the
department has paid child care assistance for full-time student status for less
than five years;
(2) the
next priority is given to families in which a parent is
(A) searching for work and is in a
participating family; or
(B)
attending school, if the department has paid child care assistance for
full-time student status for five years or more, and the parent is in a
participating or applying family.
(e) A parent is attending school if the
parent is participating in an educational or training program. An educational
program is a structured learning environment in which an instructor or teacher
leads students through a course of study that includes specific learning
objectives, goals, and standards, and leads to a certificate of mastery or
completion, a state license, a diploma, or a degree. A training program is a
structured learning environment,,, for participants to gain or enhance job
skills, that has specific learning objectives, identified skills to be
mastered, a beginning date, and an ending date.
(f) Within each of the categories set out in
(d) of this section, families will be prioritized by the lowest percentage of
state median income for family size, calculated under
7
AAC 41.325, using the department's Family
Income and Contribution Schedule,adopted by reference in
7
AAC 41.335. If all other priorities are equal,
families will be prioritized by date of program application, with the longest
standing application receiving highest priority.
(g) A family that includes one or more of the
following individuals will not be placed on a wait list, but will immediately
receive benefits upon a determination of eligibility:
(1) a new child of a participating
family;
(2) a child with special
needs who is determined to be eligible under
7
AAC 41.025(e); benefits will be
limited to the specific child with special needs;
(3) a child with parents who are younger than
20 years of age and who are enrolled in a high school completion
program;
(4) a child of a family
that has left a temporary assistance program within the last 12 months because
of employment.
(5) a child in
protective services;
(6) a child in
a family who is homeless.
(h) If the department establishes a wait list
under (a)(3) of this section, a designee shall add eligible families to the
list in accordance with (f) and (g) of this section. On the date the department
notifies designees statewide that the wait list is to be processed, each
designee shall begin to process, and the department will close, the wait list.
Designees shall place families determined to be eligible for participation in
the program on or after that date on a secondary list. The department may add
families placed on the secondary list within the past 12 months to the wait
list in accordance with (f) and (g) of this section.
(i) When a wait list is processed, the
department will or the designee shall determine whether a family continues to
meet all program eligibility requirements, and whether the family's placement
on the wait list is correct with regard to current family income.
Notes
Authority:AS 47.25.001
AS 47.25.031
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