New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 18 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES › Chapter II - Regulations of the Department of Social Services › Subchapter C - Social Services › Article 2 - Family and Children's Services › Part 415 - Child Care Services › Section 415.2 - Eligibility, guarantees, and priorities for child care services

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
Eligibility.
The following families are
						eligible for child care assistance under the specified child care programs when
						the legally responsible persons or caretakers of the child in need of child
						care services are not available to provide care, such child care services are
						in the best interest of the child and caretaker, and child care services are a
						necessary part of a plan for self support. For two-caretaker families, each
						caretaker must meet one of the eligibility criteria set forth in this
						subdivision.
(a)
New York State
					 Child Care Block Grant Program.
A family may be eligible for child care assistance under
						the New York State Child Care Block Grant Program if the resources of the
						family do not exceed one million dollars and the family meets one or more of
						the following criteria:
(1) Families
					 who are guaranteed child care services. A social services district must
					 guarantee child care services to a family who meets the criteria set forth in
					 any subparagraph of this paragraph regardless of whether the social services
					 district has any State or Federal funds available under this program to pay for
					 all or a portion of such costs. In accordance with subdivision (d) of this
					 section, a district may set aside funds and/or establish priorities for
					 families eligible for a child care guarantee.
(i) A social services district must guarantee
					 child care services to a family who has applied for or is receiving public
					 assistance when such services are needed for a child under 13 years of age in
					 order to enable the child's parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) to participate
					 in activities required by a social services official including orientation,
					 assessment, or work activities as defined in 18 NYCRR Part 385. The guarantee
					 applies to all eligible children of the parent(s) or caretaker relative(s)
					 regardless of the child's status as part of the public assistance filing unit.
					 When child care assistance is provided to a family who has a pending
					 application for public assistance pursuant to this subparagraph, and such
					 application is denied, the associated child care assistance case must be
					 closed, regardless of the eligibility period, unless the family is determined
					 otherwise eligible for child care assistance.
(ii) A social services district must
					 guarantee to applicants who would otherwise be eligible for, or are recipients
					 of, public assistance benefits and who are employed, the option to choose to
					 receive continuing child care assistance in lieu of public assistance benefits,
					 for such period of time as the recipient continues to be eligible for public
					 assistance. For the purposes of this section, an eligible applicant for, or
					 recipient of, public assistance benefits and who is employed, includes a person
					 whose gross earnings equal, or are greater than, the required number of work
					 hours times the State minimum wage. Recipients of child care assistance under
					 this section who are no longer eligible for public assistance benefits shall be
					 eligible for transitional child care described in subparagraph (iv) of this
					 paragraph as if they had been recipients of public assistance.
(iii)A social services district must
					 guarantee child care services to a family who is receiving public assistance
					 when such services are needed for a child under 13 years of age in order to
					 enable the child's parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) to engage in work as
					 defined by the social services district.
(iv) A social services district must
					 guarantee child care services for a period of up to 12 consecutive months after
					 the month in which a family's public assistance case closed or, for those who
					 chose child care in lieu of public assistance, the month after the family is no
					 longer financially eligible for public assistance, provided:
(a) the case closed or the family became
					 financially ineligible for public assistance due to:
(1) increased income from either employment
					 or child support; or
(2) the family
					 voluntarily ending assistance and their income is no longer within public
					 assistance standards; and
(b) the family received public assistance in
					 at least three of the six months immediately preceding the case closing; or,
					 for a family who chose child care in lieu of public assistance, the family
					 received child care in lieu of public assistance and was eligible for public
					 assistance in at least three of the six months immediately preceding their
					 ineligibility for public assistance; and
(c) the family includes an eligible child who
					 is under the age of 13 who needs child care services in order to enable the
					 child's parent(s) or caretaker relative(s) to be engaged in work as defined in
					 section 415.1(o)(1)   of this Part; and
(d) the family has income at or below 300
					 percent of the applicable state income standard, provided the family income
					 does not exceed 85 percent of the state median income. This child care
					 guarantee is available to eligible families for 12 months from the month after
					 the family's eligibility for public assistance has terminated or ended.
					 Families may ask for and begin to receive child care in any month during the
					 12-month period of the child care guarantee. The start date for eligibility may
					 precede the date services were requested and cover any period during the 12
					 months of the guarantee.