40 Tex. Admin. Code § 809.19 - Assessing the Parent Share of Cost
(a)
For child care funds allocated by the Commission pursuant to its allocation
rules (generally, Chapter 800, Subchapter B of this title, and specifically
§
800.58 of this title), including
local public transferred funds and local private donated funds, as provided in
§
809.17 of this subchapter, the
following shall apply:
(1) The parent share of
cost shall:
(A) be assessed to all parents,
except in instances when an exemption under paragraph (3) of this subsection
applies; and
(B) be established by
the Commission and determined by a sliding fee scale based on the family's size
and gross monthly income determined in §
809.44 of this chapter and as
represented by a percentage of the state median income (SMI) up to 85 percent
SMI; and
(C) not exceed 7 percent
of the family income, regardless of the number of children receiving child care
services.
(2) A Board
shall assess the parent share of cost in accordance with subsection (a)(1)(B)
of this section and in a manner that results in the parent share of cost:
(A) being assessed only at the following
times:
(i) initial eligibility
determination;
(ii) 12-month
eligibility redetermination;
(iii)
upon the addition of a child in care;
(iv) upon a parent's report of a change in
income, family size, or number of children in care that would result in a
reduced parent share of cost assessment; and
(v) upon resumption of work, job training, or
education activities following temporary changes described in §
809.51(a) of
this chapter, and upon resumption of work, job training, or education
activities during the three-month continuation of care period described in
§
809.51(c) of
this chapter; and
(B)
not increasing above the amount assessed at initial eligibility determination
or at the 12-month eligibility redetermination, except upon the addition of a
child in care as described in clause (A)(iii) of this paragraph.
(3) Parents who are one or more of
the following are exempt from paying the parent share of cost:
(A) Parents who are participating in Choices
or who are in Choices child care described in §
809.45 of this chapter;
(B) Parents who are participating in SNAP
E&T services or who are in SNAP E&T child care described in §
809.47 of this chapter;
(C) Parents of a child receiving Child Care
for Children Experiencing Homelessness as described in §
809.52 of this chapter;
or
(4) Teen parents who are not
covered under exemptions listed in paragraph (3) of this section shall be
assessed a parent share of cost. The teen parent's share of cost is based
solely on the teen parent's income and size of the teen's family as defined in
§
809.2 of this chapter.
(b) A Board shall establish a
policy stating whether or not the Board will pay providers when parents fail to
pay the parent share of cost. If the Board does not pay providers under the
adopted policy, the Board may establish a policy requiring the parent pay the
provider before the family can be redetermined eligible for future child care
services.
(c) A Board shall
establish a policy regarding termination of child care services within a
12-month eligibility period when a parent fails to pay the parent share of
cost. The Board's policy must include:
(1) a
requirement to evaluate and document each family's financial situation for
extenuating circumstances that may affect affordability of the assessed parent
share of cost pursuant to paragraph (2) of this subsection, and a possible
temporary reduction pursuant to subsection (d) of this section of this
subsection before the Board or its child care contractor may terminate care
under this section;
(2) a process
to identify and assess the circumstances that may jeopardize a family's
self-sufficiency under subsection (d) of this section; and
(3) maintenance of a list of all terminations
due to failure to pay the parent share of cost.
(d) The Board or its child care contractor
may review the assessed parent share of cost for a possible temporary reduction
if there are extenuating circumstances that jeopardize a family's
self-sufficiency. The Board or its child care contractor may temporarily reduce
the assessed parent share of cost if warranted by these circumstances.
Following the temporary reduction, the parent share of cost amount immediately
prior to the reduction shall be reinstated.
(e) If the parent is not covered by an
exemption as specified in subsection (a)(3) of this section, then the Board or
its child care contractor shall not waive the assessed parent share of cost
under any circumstances.
(f) If the
parent share of cost, based on family income and family size, is calculated to
be zero, then the Board or its child care contractor shall not charge the
parent a minimum share of cost amount.
(g) A Board may establish a policy to reduce
the parent share of cost amount assessed pursuant to subsection (a)(1) upon the
child's referral for part-time or blended care. Such Board policy shall ensure
that the parent no longer receives the reduction if the referral is changed to
full-time care.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.