Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-5-4919 - Time Limit for Child Care Assistance

Under A.R.S. § 46-803(K), each child shall receive time-limited Child Care Assistance, unless the child's parents or caretakers qualify for an extension under this Section.

A. Clients Who Are Subject To the Time Limit.

1. Clients who are not Cash Assistance participants but who need Child Care Assistance to maintain employment;

2. Teen parents who need Child Care Assistance for educational activities under R6-5-4912(D); and

3. Clients who need Child Care Assistance because they are unable or unavailable to care for their own children due to physical, mental, or emotional disability, participation in a drug treatment or court-ordered community service program, or residency in a homeless or domestic violence shelter under R6-5-4912(F).

B. Clients Who Are Not Subject To the Time Limit.

1. Jobs participants who need Child Care Assistance to participate in the Jobs Program, and who are referred to CCA under R6-5-4904(B);

2. Cash Assistance participants who need Child Care Assistance to maintain employment;

3. CPS referred families, and CPS or DDD foster families who need Child Care Assistance as documented in a CPS or foster care case plan, and who are referred to CCA under R6-5-4904(B); and

4. Former Cash Assistance participants who need Child Care Assistance to maintain employment under R6-5-4916(A).

C. Effective Date of the Time Limit. The 60-month time limit shall begin:

1. For applicants of Child Care Assistance eligible under any of the categories listed in subsection (A) who file an application on or after January 1, 2007, on the date the application is received by the Department.

2. For clients receiving Child Care Assistance on January 1, 2007 under subsection (A), January 1, 2007.

3. For clients receiving Child Care Assistance on January 1, 2007 under subsection (B), the first date that the Department determines that the existing client is eligible for Child Care Assistance under one of the categories described in subsection (A).

D. Calculation of the Time Limit.

1. Each child receiving Child Care Assistance under subsection (A) shall receive time-limited assistance for:

a. Any combination of 1380 paid full or part day child care units; or

b. Child Care Assistance that spans 60 calendar months, whichever is later. A calendar month is one in which the Department pays for at least one full- or part-day unit.

2. Any unit of assistance used by the child, and later identified as a provider or agency caused overpayment shall not count toward the child's time limit.

3. Any unit of assistance used by the child, and later identified as a client-caused overpayment shall not count toward the child's time limit, if the family repays the overpayment.

4. The Department shall apply the time limit individually to each child in the family, and not to the parent or caretaker of the child.

a. If a different caretaker applies for the child at a later point in time, each child will be entitled to the remaining portion of time-limited Child Care Assistance that has not yet been utilized.

b. Any Child Care Assistance utilized by the child as part of an eligible family that was exempt from the time limit under subsection (B) shall not count toward the child's time limit.

E. Expiration of the Time Limit.

1. When a child exhausts time-limited of Child Care Assistance under this subsection, the Department shall stop assistance for the child unless the parents or caretakers of the child qualify for an extension under Section (F).

2. When all of the children in a family have exhausted the time limits of Child Care Assistance, the Department shall terminate assistance for the family unless the parents or caretakers:

a. Qualify for an extension under subsection (F); or,

b. Are no longer subject to the time limit as described in subsection (B).

F. Extension of the Time Limit for Child Care Assistance.

1. The Department shall grant a 6-month extension to the time limit if the parents or caretakers show efforts toward self-sufficiency during the most recent 6-month period. The Department may elect to grant extensions on a 12-month basis. In order to qualify for an extension, the parents or caretakers in the family shall:

a. Currently be engaged in an activity that promotes self-sufficiency, which means the parents or caretakers continue to:

i. Be employed a monthly average of 20 or more hours per week;

ii Be employed less than 20 hours per week and earning at least minimum wage;

iii Be employed a monthly average of at least 20 hours per week while attending school or training;

iv. Remain self-employed with a net profit equating to a monthly average of 20 hours per week times minimum wage;

v. Attend high school, G.E.D. classes, or remedial education for the attainment of a high school diploma for a teen parent under 20 years of age;

vi. Follow the treatment plan prescribed by a physician, psychiatrist, psychologist for the treatment of a specified mental, physical, or emotional condition, which precludes the parent or caretaker for caring for his or her own child for a portion of a 24-hour day;

vii. Participate in a drug/alcohol rehabilitation plan or court-ordered community service plan; or

viii. Participate in a homeless or domestic violence case plan while residing in a shelter; and,

b. Sign and date the "Self-Sufficiency Statement" and declare that the parents or caretakers have taken at least one of the following actions during the most recent six or 12-month period to promote self-sufficiency:

i. Received a job promotion, or an increase in wages, hours, or benefits;

ii. Remained consistently employed;

iii. Remained self-employed and consistently demonstrated a net profit;

iv. Applied for a better job;

v. Left one job for a better job (higher pay, more hours, better schedule, or better benefits);

vi. Registered with DES Employment Services (e.g., One Stop Career Center or DES Job Service) or another public or private employment agency, or job searched independently;

vii. Not requested Cash Assistance;

viii. Engaged in activities to pursue or maintain child support payments from an absent parent through DES Child Support Enforcement, the county attorney's office, or a private attorney;

ix. Attended work-related school or training, or pursued a degree or certificate that will lead to enhanced career opportunities;

x. Attended high school, remedial education for the attainment of a high school diploma or G.E.D. classes;

xi. Attended English for Speakers of Other Languages (E.S.O.L.) classes;

xii. Attended a trade or vocational school, college or university and made satisfactory progress in the activity;

xiii. Continued with a course of treatment under the direction of a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist;

xiv. Followed a shelter case plan while residing in a domestic violence/homeless shelter;

xv. Participated in or completed a drug/alcohol rehabilitation or court-ordered community service program;

xvi. Participated in other employment-related activities or career-related training activities; or

xvii. Any other similar action acceptable to the Department that demonstrates that the parents or caretakers are moving toward self sufficiency.

2. If the parents or caretakers do not meet the conditions specified at subsections (1)(a) and (b), the family does not qualify for an extension of the time limit.

3. If the parents or caretakers meet the conditions specified at subsections (1)(a) and (b), and all other eligibility criteria are met, the family shall qualify for additional six or 12-calendar month extension periods if the parents or caretakers continue to meet the criteria at the end of each extension period.

G. Extension of the Time Limit after Case Closure. When a parent or caretaker applies for Child Care Assistance after the time limit for the child in care has been exhausted, the parent or caretaker of the child may qualify for an extension as follows:

1. The parent or caretaker shall be an eligible applicant under R6-5-4911(B), and shall meet the criteria for Child Care Assistance eligibility;

2. All parents or caretakers shall meet the self-sufficiency criteria prescribed at R6-5-4919(F); and

3. The parent or caretaker may qualify for successive extensions of the time limit under subsection (F).

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-5-4919

Adopted effective July 31, 1997, under an exemption from the provisions of A.R.S. Title 41, Chapter 6 (Supp. 97-3). Former R6-5-4919 renumbered to R6-5-4921; new R6-5-4919 made 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.