(a) Each factor of eligibility shall be verified.
(b) Approved cases shall include documentation in the case file as to how each eligibility factor was met and the amount of payment.
(c) The application shall be denied or assistance terminated when eligibility cannot be determined because the applicant/recipient refuses to provide the requested documentation or the written consent to obtain the documentation.
(d) Denied cases shall include documentation in the case file of the reason(s) for the denial.
(e) The following eligibility factors shall be met: - (i) Eligible persons.
- (A) Child care assistance shall be available for a child who is under age 12 years, a child over 12 who has special needs, is developmentally delayed, is physically or mentally incapable of caring for himself or herself as verified by a physician or licensed or certified psychologist, or under court supervision.
- (B) Child care assistance is available only to children who live with their parent(s)/caretaker(s) when the parent(s)/caretaker(s) is participating in an approved activity outside the home.
- (C) Child care assistance shall be available only when the child(ren)'s parent(s)/caretaker(s) participates in at least one (1) of the following approved activities outside the home:
- (II) Employment Training program;
- (III) Educational program, including high school or high school equivalency;
- (IV) POWER work requirement;
- (V) SNAP E & T activity; or
- (VI) Temporary Job Search.
- (D) Child care assistance shall be available for a child(ren) in a two (2) parent/caretaker assistance unit when both parents/caretakers are participating in an approved activity during the same hours.
- (E) Child care assistance shall be available for a child(ren) in a two (2) parent/caretaker assistance unit when one (1) parent/caretaker is disabled and unable to care for the child(ren) if:
- (I) Child care is necessary to allow the other parent/caretaker to maintain employment;
- (II) The disability and the parent/caretaker's inability to care for the child(ren) is verified by a medical professional;
- (III) Verification has been submitted to document the parent with the disability is following prescribed medical treatment; and
- (IV) The assistance unit is pursuing and accepting any other available resources to move the assistance unit toward self-sufficiency.
- (F) Child care assistance shall not be available to an assistance unit if fraud against DFS has been established in a court of law or by a DFS hearing officer. The assistance unit is ineligible until all penalties have been served and full restitution has been made.
- (G) Child care assistance is not available when the parent(s)/caretaker(s) fails to remain eligible for POWER, SNAP or Medicaid by noncooperation with program requirements. The client is ineligible for child care assistance until he/she:
- (I) Cooperates with the POWER, SNAP or Medicaid program requirements; or
- (II) Has not received a POWER payment within 30 days and becomes employed 20 or more hours per week.
- (H) Child care assistance is available for a child(ren) whose parent(s)/caretaker(s) is attending an approved educational program, including college undergraduate study when:
- (I) The parent(s)/caretaker(s) is making satisfactory progress;
- (II) The educational program does not exceed the first associate or baccalaureate degree unless the associate degree was received while the parent(s)/caretaker(s) was pursuing a baccalaureate as the original employment goal; and
- (III) The parent(s)/caretaker(s) has been receiving child care while working on an associate degree program for no more than three (3) years, or no more than six (6) years while working on a baccalaureate degree. When the parent(s)/caretaker(s) has been employed and has been working an average of more than 30 hours per week while attending school, the length of time to complete an associate's degree may be extended to five (5) years and a baccalaureate degree to eight (8) years.
- (I) Child care assistance is available for a child(ren) whose parent(s)/ caretaker(s) is self-employed and working outside of his/her home.
- (J) Child care assistance is available for a foster child(ren) whose foster parent(s) is participating in an approved activity.
- (K) A minor parent(s) who lives with his/her parent(s) may receive child care assistance if the minor parent(s) and her/his parent(s) are all working or attending an educational program during the same hours.
- (L) Child care assistance is not available to fugitive felons.
- (M) Child care assistance is available when an overpayment has been established and the parent(s)/caretaker(s) is in compliance with the repayment agreement or made full restitution unless the parent(s)/caretaker(s) has been found guilty of fraud in a court of law or by the DFS hearing officer.
- (N) Child care assistance is available for a child(ren) living in an assistance unit whose income is within the Sliding fee Scale in Appendix A:
- (I) The assistance unit shall qualify for assistance in step one (1) through step four (4) at the initial eligibility determination; and
- (II) The assistance unit shall may continue to receive assistance in steps five (5) and six (6) when the gross income has increased due to employment.
- (ii) Residency and identification:
- (A) Except for migrant working families, families shall be Wyoming residents.
- (B) The assistance unit shall not be receiving assistance from another state.
- (C) Proof of identity for each applicant/recipient and eligible child is required.
- (D) The eligible child must be:
- (I) A citizen of the United States; or
- (II) A legally residing alien as defined by law.
- (E) A Social Security Number is not required for an applicant or recipient of child care assistance.
- (iii) The composition of the assistance unit shall be determined based on the following:
- (A) Parents/caretakers and their spouses shall be included along with their child(ren), foster child(ren) or child(ren) whom they are caring for pursuant to a legal court order;
- (B) When three (3) generations are included in a POWER payment, all of the recipients of the POWER payment shall be included in the assistance unit;
- (C) A minor parent and his/her child shall be considered as a separate assistance unit from the minor's parents unless (B) above applies; and
- (D) All minor siblings living in the same household shall be included in the same assistance unit regardless of the marital status of their parents unless one of the siblings meets the criteria in (C) above.
- (iv) Income. The income criteria in Appendices B and C shall apply in addition to the following special considerations.
- (A) The parent's income shall be considered in determining eligibility for child care services.
- (B) The caretaker's income shall be considered according to the court order. The caretaker's voluntary contribution statement is used when there is no court order.
- (C) A foster parent's income shall not be considered in determining eligibility for a foster child.
- (D) Income eligibility shall be determined prospectively using the best estimate of income which shall be available during the payment month(s).
- (I) The current month's ongoing gross income shall be used as the best indicator for the assistance unit's eligibility. Any other income which shall be received during the benefit period shall be calculated as anticipated. The sources of income shall be converted to a monthly average for the benefit period.
- (II) Past months shall be considered as an indicator of the types of income that may be received during the benefit period for prospective budgeting when income is received periodically.
- (III) To determine prospective monthly income add the total of the following:
- (1.) Anticipated monthly income.
- (2.) Multiply the amount by number of the times it is expected to be received within the benefit period unless the income can be excluded as infrequent or irregular. Divide that amount by the number of months in the benefit period.
- (3.) Divide the total amount of income specified in an annual employment contract, regardless of the amount paid monthly, by 12 to arrive at a monthly average.
- (4.) Gross income from weekly amounts shall be multiplied by 4.3; bi-weekly amounts by 2.15; semi-monthly amounts by 2 and monthly amounts by 1.
- (5.) Deduct $200.00 from the earned income of each working adult in the assistance unit.
- (6.) The monthly amount is rounded up to the nearest dollar.
- (E) The following income to the assistance unit shall be considered and verified in determining eligibility:
- (I) The income of all assistance unit members living together.
- (II) The income of the minor child who needs child care and the minor parent.
- (III) Income of a child(ren) who is ineligible for child care assistance is not counted.
- (IV) The income of an adult who has a court order giving legal responsibilities and/or legal guardianship and who is exercising the care and control of the child(ren) is exempt unless there is a court order specifying the individual is financially responsible for the child(ren).
- (F) The criteria in Appendix B shall be used to determine if the income is exempt or nonexempt using the following special considerations.
- (I) Accumulated vacation and sick pay shall be countable when the money is paid to the individual.
- (II) Burial fund is countable when the money withdrawn from a burial fund is used for a purpose other than burial expense.
- (III) Contributions to the assistance unit shall be countable.
- (1.) The amount of the contribution of a non-financially responsible person living with the assistance unit shall be used according to that person's written statement.
- (2.) The amount of the contribution of anyone living elsewhere shall be used according to his/her written statement.
- (IV) Death benefits shall be nonexempt when the amount received exceeds the deceased person's last illness and burial expenses.
- (V) Infrequent or irregular income including gifts and interest, which cannot reasonably be anticipated, shall be in the form of cash or check and is received only once during a calendar quarter, shall be exempt when the total does not exceed $50 per individual in the assistance unit.
- (VI) Insurance Settlement - Money received by a person(s) from a company for damage of property or person for trauma is income. Any cash received from medical or liability insurers for medical services already received by the individual is not income. However, any amount received which exceeds the actual cost of the medical expenses shall be counted as unearned income.
- (VII) Lump sum.
- (1.) The total amount less legal fees required to make the money available and less the amount designated by the payer or source for medical expenses shall be considered.
- (2.) A lump sum (one-time payment) may cause a recipient to become ineligible or eligible for reduced benefits if the amount cannot be excluded using the infrequent and irregular policy.
- (3.) The period of ineligibility or reduction, when appropriate, begins the month following the month the lump sum is received.
- (4.) The period of ineligibility shall be determined by dividing the lump sum amount by the maximum income limit on Appendix A plus one dollar ($1.00) for the assistance unit size.
- (5.) The result is the number of months the assistance unit shall be ineligible for child care assistance. Any fractions shall be rounded up.
- (6.) A shortened period of ineligibility shall be allowed in the specified situations and under the specified conditions:
- a. First, one (1) of these situations shall exist:
- (i) The assistance unit incurs and pays medical expenses not covered by health insurance or a third party.
- (ii) A disaster beyond the control of the assistance unit which causes the lump sum to become unavailable to the assistance unit.
- (iii) The lump sum was received from an insurance policy payable because of a loss or reimbursement for the actual cost of replacement. It does not include payment received for "pain and suffering."
- (iv) The lump sum payment was issued in error and written verification from the payer is received indicating the client is required to return the lump sum money.
- b. Second, one (1) or more of these conditions shall be met:
- (i) The lump sum was spent for food, clothing, and/or shelter prior to when the disaster occurred; and
- (ii) The lump sum has been or shall be spent for expenses related to the situation; and
- (iii) The assistance unit has no other income to meet the expenses of the disaster.
- (VIII) Self-employment - The net income shall be determined by subtracting the business expenses from the gross income.
- (1.) To determine farm self-employment net income, operating expenses from the operation of a farm by a person on his account, as an owner, renter, or sharecropper shall be subtracted from the gross receipts. Gross receipts include the value of all products sold, government crop loans, money received from the rental of farm equipment to others, and incidental receipts from the sale of wood, sand, gravel, and similar items. Operating expenses include cost of feed, fertilizer, seed and other farming supplies, rent, interest on farm mortgages, farm building repairs, farm taxes (not state and federal income taxes) and similar expenses. The value of fuel, food or other farm products used for assistance unit living shall not be included as part of net income.
- (IX) Veterans' Administration (VA);
- (1.) Service connected disability payments are exempt when the compensation on an annual basis is not more 100% of the federal poverty level (FPL) as determined by Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Use the full amount when it exceeds 100% of the FPL.
- (2.) The portion of the payment made under the Veterans' Educational Assistance Program (GI Bill) actually used for items such as tuition, books, fees and other costs necessary for school attendance is exempt if the same expense is not covered by another loan, grant, scholarship or program.
- (3.) All other payments made through the VA shall be nonexempt.
- (G) Income eligibility shall be determined as follows:
- (I) Income levels shall be re-determined at least once every 12 months, or more often when a change of circumstance occurs.
- (II) All countable income including gross earnings and cash benefit programs paid to the client shall be included.
- (III) All income shall be budgeted prospectively.
- (H) Any amount of money given to eligible clients by their employer or any other person, for the purchase of child care shall not be counted as income when determining eligibility.
- (v) Resources shall not be considered in determining eligibility.