SR 12-17 Dated 05/12

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

INTER-DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION

This SR releases the following changes to the NH Child Care Scholarship program:

·   Eligibility interviews may now be conducted via the telephone as well as at the District Office.

·   The eligibility period for child care only cases is now twelve months.

·   When a wait list is in effect:

-   Eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship for children on the wait list must now be redetermined every twelve (12) months, rather than every six (6) months;

-   Children whose preventive or protective child care has closed in the past ninety (90) days are exempt from the wait list; and

-   Acceptable verification that a parent or child had an in-patient hospital stay in the past 30 days now includes the hospital record, the discharge statement or a statement from the attending physician.

·   NH Child Care Scholarship for a license-exempt provider's own child is allowed only when the license-exempt provider is caring for a child in the child's own home and the child's parent (the employer) does not allow the child care provider to care for his/her own child simultaneously. The employer must not also be a license-exempt child care provider. Required verification is a letter/statement signed by the employer stating that he/she prohibits the child care provider from caring for his/her own child simultaneously with the employer's child in the employer's own home and that the employer is also not a license-exempt child care provider.

·   The NH Child Care Scholarship does not allow a child to be open in more than one case at any given time. For joint custody cases applying for NH Child Care Scholarship, only the parent who applies first and is found eligible will receive the NH Child Care Scholarship for any given child.

·   The job search activity on the Child Care Response Screen in New HEIGHTS for NH Child Care Scholarship eligibility is now verified by one of the following:

-   proof in New HEIGHTS of receipt of unemployment compensation benefits;

-   the personal summary page from NH Job Works Job Match System; or

-   proof in New HEIGHTS of participation in and compliance with NHEP.

·   The maximum time allowed for training/education as an approved activity for NH Child Care Scholarship is now two (2) years in a lifetime, rather than two (2) years of continuous full-time study.

·   A single course, apart from a degree or certificate program, is not allowed as an approved training or education activity, unless it is approved on an NHEP employability plan.

·   Two (2) pre-requisite courses are now allowed for a post-secondary nursing program only and these courses will count towards the two-year lifetime limit for training and education.

·   NH Child Care Scholarship is now allowed and not time limited for any population who is making ongoing satisfactory progress in any of the following secondary education activities:

-   High School Diploma;

-   English as a Second Language (ESL);

-   General Education Development (GED); or

-   Adult Basic Education (ABE).

Acceptable verification of ongoing satisfactory progress is a report card or signed and dated statement from the organization or agency providing the secondary education activity, indicating that the parent is meeting the minimum standards for proficiency and ability to complete the activity in a timely manner.

·   When determining eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship, depreciation is no longer allowed when calculating income for self-employment. Acceptable proof of earned income for self-employment is a profit and loss statement or the entire tax filing from the previous calendar year, if filed.

·   When determining eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship, calculation and verification of earned income is now aligned with the methodology for calculating and verifying earned income for the Food Stamp Program, which includes using the process for fluctuating income.

·   Child care providers may not bill parents for payment not received from DHHS when the provider failed to comply with DHHS billing requirements.

·   The times indicated on DCYF Form 2500, Child Care Payment Request Invoice, must reflect only the time that the parent was in one or more approved employment-related activities of:

-   employment plus commute time;

-   education/training plus commute time: or

-   job search for up to 30 hours per week for a total of 40 days in a 6-month period.

These times may differ from, but must not exceed the actual times on the attendance sheet signed by the parent. DHHS will not pay for any child care received during times when the parents are not engaged in an approved employment-related activity. Parents are responsible for any payments incurred when the child was in care and the parent was not in an approved employment-related activity.

·   DHHS will not pay license-exempt child care providers for any hours that the license-exempt provider hired or used a substitute to care for children to whom the provider is linked.

·   DCYF Form 2628, Verification for a Child with a Disability (April 2012) was updated to include certification signatures from:

-   the Director of an area agency for family centered support(s) and services where the child is receiving services;

-   the child's school district or SAU Special Education Director; or

-   the child's attending physician, physician's assistant, advance practice registered nurse, or licensed mental health professional.

·   The child care provider payment for NH Child Care Scholarship is calculated by subtracting the child's cost share from the NH Child Care Weekly Standard Rate (based on the type of provider, the child's age and the service level), then comparing this amount to the provider’s private pay rate, and paying whichever is less.

BACKGROUND

In accordance with changes made to the Employment-Related Child Care rules at He-C 6910, policy is being updated to align NH Child Care Scholarship eligibility more closely with other DFA programs in order to simplify the administration of the NH Child Care Scholarship program.

POLICY

Application process

When applying for NH Child Care Scholarship, parents may participate in an eligibility interview either at a District Office or via the telephone.

Redetermination period

·   The eligibility period is now 12 months for child care only cases.

·   The eligibility period is now 12 months for child care only wait list cases. Parents must continue to redetermine their eligibility while on the wait list even though they are not receiving NH Child Care Scholarship.

After May 7, 2012, New HEIGHTS automatically allows a 12-month eligibility period for these cases. The redetermination period remains aligned with other DFA programs for families who are receiving benefits from multiple programs.

The wait list and children exiting preventive or protective care

When a wait list exists, parents of children whose preventive or protective care has closed in the past 90 days will be exempt from the wait list. The parent will have 90 days from the date their preventive or protective care was closed to apply for an employment-related NH Child Care Scholarship. The children will be exempt from the wait list during that time. After the 90 days, the children will then be subject to the wait list, if/when the parent applies and is found eligible for a NH Child Care Scholarship. Verification that a child has been in preventive or protective care can be obtained by contacting DCYF Provider Relations at (603) 271-7313. The FSS or ECS must enter a comment in the comments section of New HEIGHTS indicating that confirmation of the closing was received, and the date the preventive or protective care closed.

Acceptable verification of an in-patient hospital stay

When a wait list is in effect and a parent has been unable to arrange for child care and provide a DCYF Form 2530, Child Care Provider Verification, within 30 days of being released from the wait list due to the hospitalization of the parent or child, acceptable verification of a hospitalization now includes the hospital record, the discharge statement or a statement from the attending physician.

Exception for a license-exempt child care provider to receive NH Child Care Scholarship:

NH Child Care Scholarship is allowed for a license-exempt provider's own child if the provider is caring for a child in his/her own home and the child's parent (the employer) will not allow the provider to care for his/her own child simultaneously. The employer must not also be a license-exempt child care provider. Required verification is a letter/statement from the employer stating that he/she will not allow the provider to care for his/her own child while caring for the employer's child as a condition of employment, and that the employer is not employed as a license-exempt provider.

Joint custody

The NH Child Care Scholarship does not allow a child to be open in more than one case at any given time. For joint custody cases applying for NH Child Care Scholarship, only the parent who applies first and is found eligible will receive the NH Child Care Scholarship for any given child. If the second parent applies while the case for the first parent is open or pending for a NH Child Care Scholarship, deny the second parent's application for any child or children open or pending in another case. Child care will only be paid for the time the eligible parent has custody of the child, according to the court-ordered parenting plan, and that parent is in an approved employment-related activity.

This policy is not retroactive to May 7, 2012, but is to be implemented upon release of this SR for new applicants. For joint custody cases where both parents are open for NH Child Care Scholarship at the time of the release of this SR, both cases are to be kept open until one closes for any reason. If one case closes, the other case will remain open as long as the parent maintains eligibility. If the parent whose case closed reapplies, NH Child Care Scholarship must be denied as long as the NH Child Care Scholarship for the other parent remains open. If the NH Child Care Scholarship closes for both parents, the policy applies and only the parent who applies first and is found eligible will receive the NH Child Care Scholarship.

Job Search

Job search is now verified by one of the following:

·   the parent is receiving unemployment compensation benefits;

·   the parent's personal summary page printed from NH Job Works Job Match System; or

·   the parent is participating in and in compliance with NHEP.

Training and Education-

·   Parents are allowed to receive NH Child Care Scholarship for two years in a lifetime to complete a training and education program in a specific area of specialization leading to employment. The training or education does not have to be continuous full time, thereby allowing parents to take a break in their education, for reasons such as, but not limited to, employment or the birth of a child.

·   A single course for training or education, such as a course in a computer application, that is not part of a degree or certificate program in a specific field of employment with immediate practical application, is not allowed, unless it is approved on an NHEP employability plan.

·   NH Child Care Scholarship is allowed only for up to two pre-requisite courses for a post-secondary education or training program, only in the case of a nursing degree. These two courses count towards the two-year limit of training and education in a lifetime.

·   NH Child Care Scholarship is allowed, without a time limit for any population who is actively participating and making satisfactory progress in any of the following secondary education activities:

-   High School Diploma,

-   English as a Second Language (ESL),

-   General Education Development (GED), or

-   Adult Basic Education (ABE).

Satisfactory progress means that the individual is meeting the minimum standards of the organization or agency for proficiency and ability to complete the activity in a timely manner. Acceptable verification of satisfactory progress is a report card or signed and dated statement from the organization or agency indicating that the parent is meeting the minimum standards.

Income:

·   Depreciation is no longer included when calculating the monthly net income for self-employment. Depreciation will no longer be subtracted from the net profit. The budget will change in New HEIGHTS to reflect the new calculation and the step and cost share may change. Acceptable verification of self-employment is a profit and loss statement or the entire tax filing from the previous calendar year, if filed.

·   Earned income is now calculated and verified using the same process as for the Food Stamps program to determine eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship. Use the income from the most recent consecutive 4-week period to obtain a monthly average. If fluctuating income and it is not possible to obtain an accurate average based on the most recent consecutive 4-week period, use up to 8 weeks' income received in the most recent consecutive 8-week period and omit any earnings received in any atypical week to obtain a monthly average. Refer to Food Stamps policy regarding income in the following sections of the Food Stamps Manual:

-   509 Verification

-   611 Income Budgeting

-   609 Fluctuating Income

-   609.01 Average Fluctuating Income

-   609.03 Time Frame for Using Averaged Fluctuating Income

Acceptable proof of earned income is now: Third-party documentation, such as pay stubs that indicate the type of income, gross amount, frequency and source of payment.

Changes to provider qualifications and billing practices that affect parents:

·   If the provider failed to comply with DHHS billing requirements and is not paid within 90 days of services being rendered, he/she is prohibited from billing the parent for the amount of the Child Care Scholarship that they did not receive from DHHS.

·   Parents and providers must provide an original handwritten signature on each Child Care Payment Request Invoice. These signatures or the electronic signature submitted via the Child Care Web Billing Application indicate that the hours being billed are the hours that the parent was in one or more approved employment-related activities of:

-   employment plus commute time;

-   education/training plus commute time; or

-   job search up to 30 hours per week for 40 days in a 6-month period.

The times may differ between those indicated on the required weekly attendance sheet and those indicated on the weekly billing invoice. However, the parent is responsible to pay the provider any charges that were incurred for any time the child was in care when the parent was not in an approved employment-related activity.

·   An enrolled license-exempt family child care provider who is linked to a child must be the person providing the care for all times that the Department is billed. If an enrolled license-exempt family child care provider requires a substitute caregiver for any period of time, the provider may not bill DHHS for any time he/she was not the actual person providing the child care.

·   Providers may still receive a differential payment rate for caring for children with disabilities. DCYF Form 2628 (April 2012), Verification for a Child with a Disability, has been updated to include certification signatures by one of the following:

-   the Director of an area agency for family centered support(s) and services where the child is receiving services;

-   the child's school district or SAU Special Education Director; or

-   the child's attending physician, physician's assistant, advance practice registered nurse, or licensed mental health professional.

·   The policy for child care is changing to align with current NH Child Care Scholarship rules and how the NH Bridges payment system calculates the reimbursement for the NH Child Care Scholarship. The payment is calculated by subtracting the child's cost share from the Weekly NH Child Care Standard Rate (based on the type of provider, the child's age, and the service level), then comparing this amount to the provider’s private pay rate, and paying whichever is less.

NEW HEIGHTS SYSTEMS PROCEDURES AND IMPLEMENTATION

In order to minimize errors in child care and to support new policy changes, the following changes have been made to New HEIGHTS functionality:

Redetermination Date Changes:

In response to the change in the redetermination period for child care only and child care wait list only cases, the following redetermination date changes were made:

Child care only or child care wait list only cases are now 12-month, paper or online redeterminations. New cases or cases that redetermine after May 7, 2012 will automatically be set for a 12-month certification period.

Self-employment:

In response to the policy change to not include depreciation in the calculation for self-employment when determining eligibility for NH Child Care Scholarship, the following modifications have been made in New HEIGHTS as of May 7, 2012:

·   The Child Care Net Profit (minus Depreciation) field has been removed from the Self-employment tab on the Self-employment screen. The Monthly Depreciation field has not been modified.

·   Depreciation will no longer be subtracted from the net profit. The budget will change to reflect the new calculation and the step and cost share may change.

·   Open Child Care cases that contain individuals with depreciation were triggered to run through Mass Change on 05/04/12. A mailing was sent on April 24, 2012, to 50 clients with open child care using depreciation in their income calculation, notifying them that employment will no longer include a depreciation allowance as part of the eligibility calculation.

NHEP Work Program Sanctions:

NH Child Care Scholarship is not allowed when a parent is in sanction with NHEP and there is no employment or self-employment. When a NHEP Work Program sanction has been entered on the Sanction Screen, and there is no employment or self-employment and the case is run and confirmed either online or in batch, New HEIGHTS will:

1. End-date the link between the child and the provider with a future end-date of a 10-day Advance Notice Period (ANP);

2. Close child care eligibility 32 days from the last day of the ANP, which will require the parent to reapply for NH Child Care Scholarship; and if the provider link is ended and a new provider is not added, the system will close child care 32 days from the actual day that the link was ended.

3.  Recalculate the cost share. This will trigger the New HEIGHTS-generated letter AE0024, Change in Child Care Provider, to be sent to the client and the child care provider. The following new supplemental text has been added to the client copy of this letter when the link closes as a result of the NHEP Work Program sanction:

"Your child care provider link has closed because you have not met the NHEP Work Program requirements, and have been sanctioned. You must contact your Employment Counselor Specialist to meet the program requirements and continue child care services."

Child Care Response set to ‘No’ when a parent is no longer employed:

Parents who are no longer employed will now be evaluated by a new process:

1. A nightly New HEIGHTS batch job will assess the open NH Child Care Scholarship cases and NH Child Care Scholarship wait list cases and set the question ‘Do you need child care to continue to be employed?’ to ‘No’ if there is no high-dated employment or self-employment for a parent. The effective begin date on the screen will be the updated date and the corresponding verification field will be blank.

2. These cases will be triggered for Mass Change and close NH Child Care Scholarship if employment was the only reason selected for child care.

3. If the case is a two-parent case, with the only reason for child care being employment, and one parent is no longer either employed or self-employed, the same process will be followed.

This process will exclude payee relatives because the process is based on not having wages and this population is exempt from providing wages in order to receive a NH Child Care Scholarship (FAM 933). Therefore, the process only applies to the relationships ‘Mother,’ ‘Father,’ ‘Step Mother,’ and ‘Step Father.’ However, the policy that payee (caretaker) relatives and their spouse must be engaged in an approved employment-related activity remains in effect (FAM 915). The FSS or ECS should continue to verify employment, training, job search or NHEP participation, and not approve NH Child Care Scholarship when payee relatives and their spouse are not engaged in one of the verified employment-related activities.

Joint Custody

Until New HEIGHTS has been programmed to only allow a child to be open in one case at a time a manual workaround is required. When an individual applies for child care where joint custody is involved, the District Office must check "Inquiry" for the individual child(ren) to see if the child(ren) is already open or pending child care in another case. If the child is open or pending child care in another case, the FSS must go to the Program of Assistance (POA) screen and mark the "Request" to "No" and select the "Reason" of "Joint Custody" for the second parent that is applying. The following automated text will be added to the NOD:

"The NH Child Care Scholarship Program does not allow a child to receive benefits in two different cases. This child(ren) is pending or already open and receiving the NH Child Care Scholarship in another case. If child care closes for that case, you may reapply."

RELATED POLICY CLARIFICATIONS OR TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS

When New HEIGHTS end-dates the link between the child and the provider because the parent is in sanction with NHEP, the following apply:

·   A link may be re-established for individuals who:

-   are currently participating in the NHEP work program;

-   intend to come into full compliance with NHEP from any level of sanction; and

-   request NH CC Scholarship to meet NHEP program requirements.

·   A new DCYF Form 2530, Child Care Provider Verification, will not be required in the following circumstance only:

-   if only the link closes, and the case does not close;

-   the parent establishes compliance actions with NHEP within 30 days; and

-   the child will be linked to the same provider.

·   The system will not end-date child care links that may be added in error while a case is in sanction as this process is based on New HEIGHTS’ confirmation of a sanction.

·   FSS and ECS should always check in New HEIGHTS for the presence of a sanction when clients inquire regarding a closed link or when they submit a new DCYF Form 2530, Child Care Provider Verification.

DESCRIPTION OF REVISIONS MADE TO FORMS

DCYF Form 2628 "Verification of a Child with a Disability"

To match the language in the rule for who can attest to a child's disability on this form, the following was changed from "I certify that I am a licensed Physician/Psychologist/Social Worker" to "I certify that I am the child's attending physician, physician's assistant, advance practice registered nurse or licensed mental health professional."

The instructions associated with this form (DCFY From 2628(i) Instructions to the "Verification for a Child with a Disability" have also been revised to reflect this language.

A supply of the new version of this form has been provided to all District Offices to begin using immediately. Staff must recycle any previous version of DCYF Form 2628 that is not dated April 2012. The new version of this form is also available from the DHHS warehouse in the usual manner, via the Quarterly Forms Order (QFO). The form is also available electronically on the DHHS website at:

www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/cdb/documents/disability.pdf

A Certificate of Destruction has been included with this SR.

POLICY MANUAL REVISIONS

Revised Family Assistance Manual Topics

PART 161 REDETERMINATION/RECERTIFICATION

Section 903.01 NH Child Care Scholarship Wait List

PART 905 LENGTH OF ELIGIBILITY

Section 923.01 Required Verification

Section 933.01 Treatment of Specific Income Types

Section 933.03 Required Verification

PART 939 DETERMINING THE NH CHILD CARE SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER REIMBURSEMENT AMOUNT

Most of the policy released in this SR and all of the policy pages listed above are effective retroactive to May 7, 2012. However, due to the comprehensive changes that need to be made to FAM 900, NH Child Care Scholarship, additional revised policy pages will be updated and released at a later date.

IMPLEMENTATION

Most changes released in this SR were effective on May 7, 2012. This SR is retroactive due to the comprehensive nature of the changes being made to policy as a result of the adoption of the rule on that date. No action by District Office Staff is required to implement for the retroactive date because the changes are considered to be of minor consequence and can wait until the next redetermination.

DCYF Form 2628 (April 2012) "Verification of a Child with a Disability" was released via PD 12-23 and emailed to the DFA State Office Staff, DFA District Office Administrators and Line Supervisors, District Office Manager of Operations and Community Relations Coordinators on July 27, 2012 from the DFA Policy Unit on behalf of DCYF Child Development Bureau. A supply of the new version of DCYF Form 2628 (April 2012) has been provided to all District Offices to begin using immediately. Staff must recycle any previous version of DCYF Form 2628 that is not dated April 2012. The new version of this form is also available from the DHHS warehouse in the usual manner, via the Quarterly Forms Order (QFO). The form is also available electronically on the DHHS website at:

www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/cdb/documents/disability.pdf

A Certificate of Destruction has been included with this SR.

CLIENT NOTIFICATION

Notification of these child care policy changes was published in the NH Rulemaking Register, Office of Legislative Services, on February 23, 2012. A public hearing on the amended Administrative Rules was held on March 21, 2012.

On April 24, 2012 a client letter was sent to 50 child care recipients who had depreciation counted in their income calculation for self-employment. This client letter, titled Child Care Depreciation, informed recipients that depreciation will no longer be counted in the income calculation for self-employment. A copy of this letter is attached to this SR for reference.

Parents who have joint custody and are both open for child care, of which there are 4 cases, were sent a letter on September 12, 2012, informing them of the new policy that in joint custody cases, only one parent may be open for NH Child Care Scholarship. However, both cases will remain open until one closes for any reason. Once a case closes where there is joint custody, the policy applies and only one parent remains eligible for NH Child Care Scholarship. If both cases close, the parent who applies first for any given child and is found eligible will receive the NH Child Care Scholarship. A copy of this letter is attached to this SR for reference.

No other client notification is planned.

TRAINING

No training is planned.

FORMS MANUAL POSTING INSTRUCTIONS

DISPOSITION

This SR may be destroyed or deleted after its contents have been noted and the revised manual topics released by this SR have been posted to the On-line manuals.

DISTRIBUTION

This SR will be distributed according to the electronic distribution list for Division of Family Assistance policy releases. This SR, and revised On-Line Manuals will be available for agency staff in the On-Line Manual Library, and for public access on the Internet at www.dhhs.nh.gov/DFA/publications.htm, effective Oct 29, 2012. Additionally, this SR, and printed pages with posting instructions, will be distributed under separate cover to all internal hard copy holders of the Family Assistance and Forms Manual.

CDB/KB:kd