M E M O R A N D U M

TO: EES Program Administrators

FROM: Sandra Kimmons

DATE: 9/4/20

SUBJECT: Implementation Instructions - KEESM Revision #100

This memo provides implementation instructions and information for the following October 1, 2020, policy changes in the Kansas Economic and Employment Services Manual (KEESM).

1. Child Care
   
   
   1. Determining scheduled hours from SOC, if directly related to SOC item – See Summary of Changes section I,A, 1.  Effective October 1, 2020, Child care benefits will be authorized in blocks of time -  full-time and/or part time -  to more closely mirror the way child care providers charge families for their services.  When authorizing child care benefits, staff will first determine the weekly number of hours needed for each child’s plan.  Once that monthly number has been calculated in KEES, benefits will be authorized for 129 hours per month if the hours needed on that plan are 108 or less, or 215 hours per month if the hours needed on the plan are more than 108.  To authorize the blocks of time, it will be necessary for EES staff to override the number of hours on the individual child care plans for each child. Overriding hours to blocks of time should only be done on the individual child care plans and not on the family plans. For hours of care more than 215 hours per month, the hours determined by KEES will be used. There is no need to override these plans.  Supervisory approval is required to authorize plans for more than 240 hours per month. When overriding a child care plan, it will be necessary to document the hours calculated in KEES to show why the plan was authorized for either a full or part-time block. Hours provided for the month of application are prorated based on the date of application. Instructions for proration are in the KEES user manual.
      
      This applies to all child care plans and will include both KEHS-CCP cases and Foster Care Child Care cases.  This policy will be implemented for all new child care plans/cases at the time the application is processed.  For ongoing cases, the change will be made effective with the next change to the case, but no later than the next scheduled review.   A form is being developed for parents to use to report a change in the hours of care needed if they need additional hours prior to the next review.  The form will be distributed to child care providers to share with parents.The form is not required for parents to report a change in the hours of care needed, but the form should be made available for the parents to use it if they choose to use it.
      
      The use of blocks of time to authorize child care benefits does not in any way change the way family share deductions are determined for each family. The amount of the family share deduction, if applicable, will continue to be determined based on the family size and countable income, using the F-1 Monthly Family Income and Family Share Deduction Schedule for Child Care Services chart. The family share deduction remains an allowable expense for Food Assistance. In addition, the maximum monthly hours that may be authorized with a relative provider remains capped at 215.
      
      There will likely be a number of cases where a family uses more than one provider and in these situations, it is likely that the blocks of time will cause the total hours authorized to exceed 240 for these children.  Unless an individual plan written with a child care provider is over 240 hours, no supervisory approval is needed in KEES.
       

               Examples:
               Determining Scheduled Hours - See Summary of Changes section I, A, 1

   1. A parent applies for child care for her 3-year old child.  She works four days per week from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm each of those four days and needs 7 hours of care per day.  The monthly hours of care are calculated to be 121. When authorizing the child care benefits, the worker will override the child care plan to allow for a full-time block of 215 hours per month.
      
      
   2. A family applying for child care is determined to need 172 hours per month of child care for their 3-year-old child and 65 hours per month for their 8-year-old who is in school.  When authorizing the child care benefits, the worker will override the child care plans to allow for a full-time block of 215 hours per month for the 3-year-old and a part-time block of 129 hours per month for the 8-year-old during the school year and a full time block of 215 hours for the summer months.
      
      
   3. A parent applying for child care for her 3-year-old child needs child care for 5 days per week at 8 hours a day. Due to her work schedule, she has to use two different child care providers, one for 4 days and the other for 1 day per week.  In this situation, there are two child care plans for this child.  The plan with the provider where the child goes for 4 days per week or 138 hours per month on the child care plan would be overridden for a full-time block of 215 hours per month, and the plan with the provider where the child goes for 1 day per week or 34 hours per month would be authorized for a part-time block of 129 hours per month.
      
      
   4. A parent applying for child care for her 2-year-old needs care for 4 days a week at 10 hours per day. This parent also uses two different providers due to her work schedule, using each provider 2 days per week.  The hours for each provider are calculated to be 86 hours per month.  In this case, a part-time block of care of 129 hours per month would be authorized for each of the two child care plans.
      
      
   5. A parent applies for child care for their two children, ages 2 and 3. The parent works third shift from 10:30 pm to 7:30 am 5 days per week and takes the children to a child care center that is open 24/7. The parent is also requesting 6 hours of sleep time per day, from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.  The child care plan for each child will be well over 215 hours per month.  In this situation, the child care plan for each child will be authorized at the actual number of hours determined to be needed. If the individual plan with this same provider is over 240 hours, supervisory approval is needed in KEES.
      
      
   6. Same scenario as example 4 above, but the parent will use two different providers for each child – one from 10:00 pm to 8:00 am, and the other from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm.  In this case, the plans with each provider are calculated at 215 hours and 129 hours per month.  The plans for each child will be written using full-time blocks of 215 hours per month with each of the two providers.
      
      
   7. A parent who is employed full time applies and is approved for full time child care (215 hours per month) for her 3-year- old child on November 15th. For the month of November, the hours are prorated to the 15th of the month. Calculating the proration of the November hours according to the instructions in the KEES User Manual, the hours approved for November will be 160 (16 days X 10 hours).
      
      
   8. Same scenario as example 7, except the parent applies on November 2. The result of the calculation of the pro-rated hours for November is 290 hours (29 days X 10 hours). Since that number exceeds a full month of full time benefits, hours are capped at 215.

   Attachments:

   Child 2020 School Schedule Form

   Instructions for Submitting Child 2020 School Schedule Form

   Block Scheduling Proration Instructions

   FCCC Child 2020 School Schedule Form