ALL REGIONAL AND COUNTY FSD/CD OFFICES

FREDRIC M. SIMMENS, DIRECTOR
CHILDREN'S DIVISION
JANEL R. LUCK, INTERIM DIRECTOR
FAMILY SUPPORT DIVISION

The purpose of this memorandum is to ensure that school age children are authorized for child care appropriately. It is unusual for children attending school to need full time day authorizations except to cover days when school is not in session. In an effort to contain costs and to prevent improper payments, authorizations for children ages six years and older have restrictions.

Authorizations for Day Units of Care
Effective immediately, the maximum number of full time day units that children ages six years and older can be authorized for is two (2). This restriction applies only during the months of September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April. When creating authorizations for these school age children, enter only two (2) full time day units to cover possible school absences, school holidays, snow days, teacher's meetings, or other days school may not be in session. If there are more than two (2) days that school is not in session, a corrective payment will need to be made by county staff to cover the additional time the child is eligible for. An exception is made for children six years of age that are not yet in school or only attend half a day. Six year olds that do not yet attend school or only attend half a day may be authorized for the number of units the verified need requires.

Example: Claire is in the second grade. Her mother works 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Monday through Friday. Since Claire is in school, she does not need child care every day. She does, however, need care when school is not in session. Therefore, she is authorized for 2 full time day units per month. In November, school is out three days. In this situation, county staff will need to make a correction payment for the 1 extra full time day unit.

Example: Chris is six years old and attends half day kindergarten. Since his father works 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, Chris needs child care when he gets out of school at 11:00 am. In this situation, it would be appropriate for county staff to authorize Chris for 22 full time day units.

NOTE: There is no change in procedure for the months of May, June, July or August. During these months, children may be authorized for the number of full time day units required by the parent/guardian's schedule.

A calendar chart is attached for staff to use when determining the maximum number of full time day units that can be authorized for the appropriate months during the school year.

Half time day units and part time day units are not restricted as some children need these units to cover care before and/or after school. Staff should authorize the number of half or part time day units based on the parent/guardian's schedule. Only authorize school age children for half and part time day units when the child attends child care regularly. Do not authorize half or part time day units to cover time when school may not be in session.

Example: Jimmy is in full day kindergarten. His mother works 7:30 am to 5:00 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. His mother must drop him off at child care at 7:00 am in order for her to be at work on time. Jimmy is in child care until the bus picks him up at 7:30 am. After school, Jimmy returns to child care at 3:30 pm. Jimmy's mother picks him up at 5:30 pm. In this example, Jimmy is in childcare 30 minutes in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. Two and a half hours of child care equates to part time care. Since his mother only works three days a week, Jimmy should be authorized for 13 part time day units per month.

Authorizations for Evening/Weekend Units of Care
Procedure has not changed for children who are authorized for evening/weekend care. Staff may continue to authorize the number of full, half and/or part evening/weekend units based on the parent/guardian's schedule.

County Staff Responsibility
A listing of children six years and older authorized for more than two (2) full time day units will be forwarded to county offices. County staff is responsible for updating these children's authorizations based on the parent/guardian's schedule and need for care.

When future authorizations are created at approval or because of eligibility unit changes, staff must check the age of the child. For six year olds, county staff must check to see if the child attends full day school, half day school, or does not attend. The authorization must reflect their school attendance and parent/guardian's need as previously explained. If the child is seven years or older, staff must not enter full time day units in excess of two (2) during the designated months. Since authorizations may need to be increased during the summer months, staff will need to manually set reminders to make the adjustments. If an authorization is made during the summer months for more than two (2) full time day units, staff should end the child's authorization on August 31st.

Children whose authorizations go beyond August 31st will need their authorization updated to the appropriate number of full time units defined in this memo, not to exceed two (2) full time units per month. Staff will also need to manually set reminders to update these authorizations in September.

When the occasion arises that a provider needs to be paid additional days, beyond the two (2) full time day units (Thanksgiving break, etc…), a correction payment may be made. County staff must check the eligibility unit's need to determine eligibility for the additional payment prior to making the correction. When entering a correction, be sure to enter a comment explaining why the correction is necessary.

FAMIS Changes
FAMIS screen FM3O/CCAUTH is being modified to block any entries for full time day units that exceed two (2) per month for the specified months and age group. Until the FAMIS changes are in place, staff must not enter more than two (2) units in the full time day units for six year olds attending full day school or for children seven years and older during the specified months.

No modifications will be made to the CSIPS system, however, this same policy should be applied to the extent possible within a child's case plan in order to contain costs.

Questions about this change may be fielded through normal supervisory channels.

• Review memorandum with appropriate staff.
• Update child care authorizations that are for more than 2 full time day units for specified school aged children during designated time period.
• Make sure new authorizations meet requirements of this procedure change.
• Make correction payments to providers if needed based on the eligibility unit's eligibility.

FMS/JRL/LD