Section 17-798.2-9 - Eligibility requirements(a) Depending upon availability of funds, all children eligible for child care assistance shall reside with the eligible caretaker and meet the following requirements: (1) Be under age thirteen years;(2) Be thirteen through seventeen years of age with a physical or mental incapacity that prevents the child from doing self-care; or(3) Receive child protective services, and the need for child care is specified in the family unit's case plan as ordered by the court.(b) A caretaker shall be eligible for child care provided the caretaker: (1) Has a monthly gross income verified through documentation that does not exceed eighty-five per cent of the State Median Income for a family of the same size, except for: (A) Individuals who are licensed by the department, or organizations under the authority of the department, as foster parents; or(B) Family units receiving child protective services; and(2) Meets one of the following conditions: (A) Is engaged in employment in exchange for wages or salary;(B) Has a written offer of employment that is scheduled to start within two weeks;(C) Needs child care for up to thirty calendar days during a break in employment, if employment is scheduled to resume within thirty calendar days;(D) Needs up to thirty consecutive days in a twelve-month period for the caretaker with or without a work history to job search, when there is no one to care for the child, not to exceed the maximum child care rates as provided under section 17-798.2-12;(E) Is enrolled in and attends an educational program or job training, vocational or employment training. This includes the break time between classes for the day;(F) Is participating in the FTW program or a treatment program as required by section 17-656.1-10, except for a participant in the Food Stamp Employment and Training program, and the FTW participant is involved in the required activities written in the FTW employment or individualized service plan;(G) Is receiving child protective services, and the need for child care is specified in the family unit's case plan as ordered by the court;(H) Is in a two-parent family unit where one of the caretakers is in an approved activity and the other caretaker is determined to have a disability which prevents the caretakers from providing care for their own child. Proof of disability and inability to provide care of the caretaker's own eligible child shall be verified by the written report of a State-licensed physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist. In the case of a temporary disability, the written report shall be submitted every two months, and in the case of a permanent disability, the written report shall be submitted every six months;(I) Is a caretaker participating in an approved activity and has a temporary disability that prevents him or her from engaging in that activity and providing care for his or her own child until the activity can be resumed. Proof of the temporary disability condition and duration, and inability to care for the caretaker's own child, shall be verified by the written report of a State-licensed physician, psychologist, or psychiatrist. The written report shall be reviewed every thirty days;(J) Is a caretaker whose child is approved for participation in the Preschool Open Doors program; or(K) Is a caretaker under age eighteen years who meets any eligibility condition cited in section 17-798.2-9(b)(2)(A) through (J), retains custody of his or her own child, and does not reside in the same household with his or her adult caretaker.(3) Shall establish a reasonable relationship between the time during which the caretaker participates in an activity and the time during which child care is needed.(c) Child care providers and caregivers: (1) Shall meet the following conditions in order that child care payments may be authorized: (A) Be eighteen years old or older;(B) Afford caretakers unlimited access to their children, including written records concerning their children, during normal hours of provider operation and whenever the children are in the care of the provider;(C) Be a department regulated or license-exempt child care provider, including in-home care providers. License-exempt providers shall be listed with the department and shall submit a written statement to the department that shall attest to their: (i) Willingness to provide care; (ii) Rate that will be charged; (iii) Assurance that the provider premises are safe from hazards in accord with subparagraphs (G) and (H); and (iv) Address and telephone number;(D) Have no known history of child abuse or neglect, physical, psychological or psychiatric problems, or criminal convictions that may adversely affect or interfere with the care of children;(E) Provide consent, on forms supplied by the department, to conduct a background check. The background check shall be conducted in accord with sections 17-891.1-3, 17-892.1-3, 17-895-3, or 17-896-3;(F) Provide consent, on forms supplied by the department, to conduct an additional fingerprint check through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), except for the child's grandparents, great-grandparents, siblings living in a separate residence and who are at least eighteen years old, and aunts or uncles;(G) Be free of tuberculosis as indicated by a skin test or chest x-ray completed within the last twenty-four months of child care; and(H) Have a child care facility or home with an installed smoke detector, unobstructed emergency exits, and an emergency exit plan.(2) Shall not be one of the following: (A) Parents, biological or legal;(B) Step-parents living in the household;(C) Guardians, or members of the family unit that receives government financial assistance payments, including essential persons;(D) Providers who are not in compliance with State or county regulatory requirements;(E) Individuals under the age of eighteen years;(F) Other individuals determined by the department to pose a risk to the health and safety of the child;(G) A sibling of the child needing care who resides in the same home as the child; or(d) The department shall: (1) Verify that the child and caretaker meet the eligibility requirements as described in this chapter;(2) Establish the eligibility of the child care provider and caregiver selected by the caretaker, following the provisions of section 17-798.2-9(c).(3) Allow, at the department's option, for the presumptive eligibility of a license-exempt provider selected by the caretaker upon receipt by the department of the completed and signed child care certificate and provider confirmation forms and consent forms for conducting a background check, provided that the presumptive eligibility shall end upon completion of the background check;(4) Authorize the initial and subsequent monthly child care payments based on sections 17-798.2-9, 17-798.2-10, 17-798.2-12, 17-798.2-13, 17-798.2-14, 17-798.2-15, 17-798.2-16, 17-798.2-17, 17-798.2-18, 17-798.2-20, 17-798.2-21, 17-798.2-29, and 17-798.2-35;(5) Review eligibility no less than every six months and whenever changes that affect eligibility are reported; and(6) Track and monitor appropriateness and utilization of child care and payments. Haw. Code R. § 17-798.2-9
[Eff 03/08/08] (Auth: HRS § 346-14) (Imp: HRS § 346-4, 45 C.F.R. §§98.20, 98.30, 98.31 and 98.41 )