Social Services Child Care is available for families who need temporary emergency child care. A family may be eligible for Social Service Child Care, whether or not they are receiving services through Prevention and Protection Services (PPS). Refer to the Kansas Economic and Employment Services (EES) Manual for policies on Social Services Child Care for both Income Eligible (Non-TANF) and for TANF recipient families.
Children receiving Social Services Child Care shall receive child care services that meet state regulations. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) provides the guidelines regulating licensed child care in Kansas. Individuals providing care for children receiving Social Services Child Care shall meet the guidelines established by KDHE for licensed child care and have a DCF Agreement to accept subsidy payments. Licensed providers need to have a written authorization for an exception from KDHE Child Care Licensing to provide more than 18 hours of care per day by the same person. Relative child care providers, who meet the guidelines below, do not have to be licensed, but must have a DCF Agreement to accept subsidy payments.
Social Services Child Care is primarily based upon the parent/caregiver’s need and may be authorized for up to twelve (12) months except as noted below. No family share deduction is assessed. Twenty-four (24) hours of care per day may be available for a period not to exceed 30 days, dependent upon the situation. Families receiving Social Services Child Care must have a qualifying social service need which may include:
A. Parents with a Crisis including but not limited to:
Additional examples of a need include homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.
B. Children whose parent /caregiver has placed them with an individual or family who provides temporary care of children per a program created pursuant to the Host Families Act, K.S.A. 38-2401 et.seq. Child care for these children must be needed due to the employment or education/training of the adult caregivers in the host family.
If a family has a qualifying need, a request for Social Services Child Care, form ES-1627, must be completed by the PPS worker or the Child Welfare Case Management Provider and must be signed by the EES/Social Service Program Administrator or designee in the regional DCF Service Center. If the child has been placed with a host family pursuant to a program created under the Host Families Act, such as the “Safe Families for Children” program, by a parent/caregiver, and the host family qualifies as defined in B. above, form ES-1627b is required. The family must also complete an Application for Benefits form, ES-3100, providing identifying information. The forms are available in the EES policy manual and may be printed and filled out or completed online.
The application must include the number of hours of child care that are being requested as part of the plan. The family must find or choose a child care provider that is a licensed and DCF approved provider or who will become a DCF approved provider. A relative may become an approved provider if they complete the DCF process to become approved. The relative must live in a separate home and meet the degree requirements for a relative, which include grandparents, great grandparents, adult siblings, aunts or uncles. Each person age ten and older in the approved home must pass a background check. The relative provider may become licensed if they apply through KDHE and meet the qualifications. If the family does not know who they want to provide the child care or have a relative who may be approved by DCF, they can access the list of licensed and DCF approved providers in their community through Child Care Aware at KSQualityNetwork.org.
At the end of the twelve (12) month time frame, a family receiving Social Service Child Care due to a “Parent with Crisis” reason as described above must meet another qualifying reason per EES Income Eligible (Non-TANF) Child Care or EES TANF Child Care, for child care assistance to continue.