7610 Duration of Child Care Plans -
Unless eligibility is being prorated
due to the initial eligibility determination, plans should begin on
the first day of the month and shall be written considering all twelve
months of the eligibility period . See 10021.1
(7) for plan duration when Kansas Early Head Start is involved.
Plans should end on the last day
of the month.
If a parent-guardian-caretaker wishes to change providers, that change is made the beginning of the next month.
7620 Determining Scheduled Hours - "See Policy Memo #04-03-02 re: "Child Care Plan Authorization - Sleep Time for Children".
EES staff shall establish a reasonable estimate of the hours needed
for child care by determining with the parent(s) their average weekly
work schedule. The weekly work schedule (including travel time) and the
child’s school schedule (if applicable) will be entered into the system
to obtain a reasonable estimate of the monthly hours to be authorized
for benefits. The system will calculate the hours of child care to be
authorized for school months (September through May), and for summer months
(June through August), adding extra hours each month to help cover days
out of school (scheduled and unscheduled) for holidays, breaks, teacher
in service, etc. The system averages those extra hours for days out of
school over the nine school months. For non-school age children, hours
will be the same for all months. The system will be used to document how
the average was determined, the school schedule of the child(ren), and
any other factors used in determining the hours of child care needed.
See 7600 regarding hours limit of 215
for Relative provider care. See KEES user manual for instructions on how
to override child care plan hours if they exceed 215-hour maximum for
a Relative provider. If the agency has made a reasonable and
fair estimate or has established an average this average continues
for the duration of the child care plan even if hours fluctuate on a weekly
or monthly basis. If it is necessary to increase the scheduled
hours, the change is made for the month following the month the need is
identified. The following may be considered when determining scheduled
hours:
The caretaker's schedule (employment
including lunch time, work program activities, class, sleep time).
If variable, documentation of the schedule may be requested on a weekly
or monthly basis to determine a reasonable estimate. Sleep time may
be approved for clients who work the majority of hours between 9 PM
and 7 AM. It is recommended that 6 hours of sleep time be approved
in these situations.
Reasonable travel time between the
child care facility and the parent's place of employment.
The child's schedule (Head Start,
pre-school or school). The system is designed to add additional hours
of care for days out of school for breaks, holidays, teacher in service
days, snow days, etc.
The individual needs of the child.
If the child's nap time or preschool activities would be interrupted,
consideration should be given to providing child care for more hours
than is required by the employment or school schedule. If the parent
works a split shift or has a break of three hours or less between
classes or work program activities, child care may be provided for
the break if the child would be adversely affected by going home and
coming back to the child care facility. Child care may be provided
when a parent's work schedule is such that the child's normal sleep
pattern is interrupted. See Policy Memo 04-03-02
for further guidance on sleep time for children.
Study time for teen parents receiving
child care with the ET reason code, or for adults receiving child care for post-secondary education. Study time may be approved on
a case-by-case basis when there is inadequate time to study between
classes and the need is documented. One hour of study time per class
hour per week may be used as a guideline, but should not be automatically
added to the total authorized hours without discussing the need with
the teen parents or post-secondary students.
The three-hour minimum. When a client requests child care services for less than three hours a day, a plan may be authorized for a minimum block of three hours if the facility is open at least three hours and the provider charges the private sector for a minimum of three hours.
Once the number of hours of care needed is determined, the following blocks of time will be authorized for each child:
More than 215 hours per month may be authorized on a case by case basis if justification is provided.