Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 340 - Department of Human Services › Chapter 40 - Child Care Subsidy Program › Subchapter 7 - Eligibility › Section 340:40-7-8 - Defining the need factor for child care benefits

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Employment.
Employment means
				the parent or caretaker earns wages for work performed or meets criteria, per
				(5) or (6) of this subsection.
(1) The client
				must provide proof of his or her work hours. When the client has the
				flexibility to set his or her own work hours, the client and worker jointly
				determine if the client can reduce the number of hours the child needs care by
				rearranging the client's work schedule. This is especially important in
				two-parent or two-caretaker families.
(2) The worker limits child care approval to
				the number of days and hours the client is working plus reasonable travel time.
				In two-parent or two-caretaker working families, the worker limits child care
				approval to the days and hours they work the same hours plus reasonable travel
				time.
(3) To meet the employment
				need factor, the client must make at least minimum wage for the hours he or she
				works unless the client qualifies for an exception, per (D) or (E) of this
				paragraph.
(A) through (C) of this paragraph
				specifies the criteria for determining minimum wage.
(A) The federal government determines minimum
				wage.
(B) The worker reviews the
				pay information provided by the client to determine whether the client makes at
				least minimum wage.
(i) When the paycheck or
				employer statement shows the hourly pay rate, the worker compares it to the
				federal minimum wage.
(ii) When the
				pay information provided does not show the client's hourly pay rate, the worker
				divides the number of hours the client works by the gross pay per pay period to
				determine the client's hourly pay rate.
(iii) When the client is considered
				self-employed, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC)
				340:40-7-11(b)(2)(A),
				the worker divides the number of hours the client works by the net pay, after
				applicable business expenses, to determine the client's hourly pay rate. When
				the client and spouse are self-employed in the same business, the worker
				combines their work hours and divides the work hours by the net pay to
				determine their hourly pay rate.
(C) When the client works for an employer who
				pays a set wage that is less than minimum wage, and the employer refuses to
				begin paying at least minimum wage, the worker denies child care benefits or,
				when at renewal, does not approve further care.
(D) When the client is self-employed or works
				for an employer who pays wages based on commission or other performance
				measures instead of a set wage, does not make at least minimum wage, and the
				client has performed this work:
(i) less than
				one year, the worker counsels with the client to develop a plan to increase his
				or her income to at least minimum wage before the renewal is due. When the
				client is not making at least minimum wage at renewal, further care is not
				approved.
(ii) at least one year
				without any substantial change, the worker denies the child care subsidy
				benefit.
(E) When the
				client is an adoptive parent who meets criteria, per OAC
				340:40-7-12(6),
				or is a caretaker who is not legally and financially responsible for the child,
				per OAC
				340:40-7-6(a)(5),
				he or she is not required to make at least minimum wage for the number of hours
				worked.
(4) A client
				employed and working from his or her own home may be approved for subsidized
				child care benefits in an out-of-home child care home or center when he or she
				is unable to work while the child is in the home. When the client has flexible
				work hours and can work while the child is in school, care is not approved.
				When the client operates a licensed child care home, care is only approved in
				another licensed child care home or center when the client's own child places
				him or her over maximum licensed capacity;
(5) Subsidized child care benefits may be
				approved for sleep time during the day when a parent or caretaker works night
				hours and a feasible alternative is used during the night working hours at no
				cost to Oklahoma Human Services. Night working hours are defined as the hours
				between 11:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m.
(A) The
				maximum amount of time the worker may approve child care allows the client
				eight hours of sleep plus travel time to and from the provider.
(B) In two-parent or two-caretaker families,
				care may only be approved for this reason when both parents or caretakers have
				night time jobs or when one parent or caretaker has a night-time job and the
				other parent or caretaker works during the day while the other parent or
				caretaker is sleeping.
(6) Subsidized child care benefits may be
				approved for the parent(s) or caretaker(s) to job search for one three-month
				period every 12 months. when needed.