If a new eligible child is added to a family, the family’s redetermination may be deferred to 12 months from the child’s arrival date.

Definitions

A child is considered a new eligible child at any point that (1) they are added to the CCAP family in MEC2 and (2) there is confirmation of care for that child. This can include newborn children, other minor children moving into the home, or a child who leaves the home with no intent to return and later re-enters the home. See “Child Leaves and Re-enters the Home” below for more information.

A new child’s arrival date is the date that the child enters the home. For a newborn child, this is often the child’s birth date. Use the date the child moves into the CCAP home, even if the family does not report the change until a later date.

Confirmation of care is defined as a child who will have a Service Authorization approved on the same day the redetermination is deferred. This means that the child has all necessary information verified including a chosen provider, and the start date of care is within an available biweekly period in MEC2.

Deferred in this policy means that a family’s redetermination date is pushed back due to one of two reasons: (1) a new eligible child is added to the family or (2) the caregiver is under 21 years old, does not have a high school diploma or GED, and is participating in a parenting support education program as described in Chapter 10.3 (When to Redetermine Eligibility). A deferred redetermination differs from an extended redetermination in that an extended redetermination is done at the agency’s discretion for reasons allowed in its Child Care Fund Plan.

Adding a New Child

Families are required to report a change in family status or household composition within 10 calendar days after it occurs. See Chapter 8.3 (Reporting Requirements).

If a new child is reported, add the child to the case in MEC2 even if information for the child is not verified. MEC2 will not count the child in the household until the child’s identity and birth date are verified. Do not authorize care for the child until identity, birthdate, citizenship/immigration status and relationship to their PRI(s) are verified.

How and When to Defer Redetermination

To defer a family’s redetermination, the following conditions must be met:

· The new eligible child must have everything needed to authorize care, including verification of identity, birth date, citizenship/immigration status, and relationship to their PRI(s).

· The worker must be able to approve the child’s Service Authorization at the time that they defer the redetermination. This means that the child must have a provider and the child’s start date must be within an available biweekly period in MEC2.

If a child is added to the family but care is not needed until a later date or the start date of care is not yet available in MEC2, the redetermination should not be deferred until there is confirmation of care. The child should be added to the family and new eligibility results should be approved. However, the redetermination date should not be deferred until the date that the child’s Service Authorization will be approved.

For instructions on how to defer eligibility in the system, see the MEC2 User Manual Chapter “Defer Redetermination Due Date due to a New Eligible Child”.

Once a redetermination is deferred, follow all 12-Month Eligibility policies. See Chapter 8 (12-Month Eligibility Period) for information on policies during the 12-month eligibility period.

Deferred Redetermination Around the Time of Redetermination

If a new eligible child enters the home during the 45-day redetermination period, a deferral may or may not happen based on the timing of the family’s submission of the redetermination packet.

Situation One (deferral information received before redetermination submission)

If a family submits all necessary information to defer redetermination and there is confirmation of care, before the family submits a complete or incomplete redetermination packet, the worker can defer the family’s redetermination to 12 months from the child’s arrival date.

Note: this situation does not apply to a family that turns in all needed information to add a child to the family but care cannot be authorized because the start date of care is not available in MEC2 by the auto-close date.

Situation Two (redetermination is submitted before or concurrently with deferral information)

If a family submits a complete or incomplete redetermination packet before or at the same time as all the necessary information to defer redetermination, the worker should process the family’s redetermination first and not defer the redetermination. A submitted redetermination packet takes precedence over the deferred redetermination policy.

Situation Three (redetermination is deferred but family submits redetermination anyway)

If a redetermination due date is first deferred and then a family provides their redetermination paperwork, any new information reported on the redetermination form would be assessed as a change during the 12-month eligibility period. For changes during a family’s 12-month eligibility period, see Chapter 8.1 (Changes in Circumstances).

Situation Four (redetermination is not turned in by due date and family submits deferral information)

If a redetermination packet is not received by the due date, the case will auto close. Before the redetermination auto closure date, if a family submits all needed information to add a new child to the family size and care is approved before the redetermination is submitted, the redetermination can be deferred.

Once the case auto-closes, the family has 30 days to submit their completed redetermination form and all required eligibility requirements. If family meets all eligibility requirements, they can have their case reinstated. See Chapter 10.6.10 (Redetermination Processing - Reinstatement). During the 30-day reinstatement period, the redetermination cannot be deferred.

Limitations and Conditions

A family’s redetermination cannot be deferred more than once in between redetermination periods due to the reason of a new child entering the home. If a redetermination is deferred due to a new child, a redetermination will need to be completed before the redetermination date can be deferred again for the same reason.

Although between redetermination periods the redetermination due date can be deferred only once due to a new eligible child, the redetermination due date can be changed for other reasons, such as a caregiver under the age of 21 attending certain education programs and/or other reasons identified in an agency’s County and Tribal Fund Plan. See Chapter 10.3 (When to Redetermine Eligibility).

Once the determination is deferred and the Service Authorization has been approved, the deferred date cannot be moved back if care falls through before the start date of care.

If a family’s redetermination date is deferred, the family cannot choose to keep their original redetermination date.

Child Leaves and Later Re-Enters the Home

If a child temporarily leaves the home and then returns, the child is not considered a new eligible child. Children are considered temporarily absent from the household if they intend to return to the CCAP household. See 5.6 (CCAP Family - Temporary Absence) for more information

If a child leaves the home with no intent to return and then re-enters the home, the child is only considered a new eligible child for the purpose of this policy if there is a break in their eligibility and Service Authorization. If the child returns to the home and is still included in the CCAP family size, or they still have an active Service Authorization from when they left, they are not considered new.

If a child leaves the home and then re-enters on the day after the end of the child’s eligibility or Service Authorization, the child is not considered new as there was no break in their eligibility or Service Authorization.

Case Examples

Example One: Care needed right away

Minor child is adopted and enters the family on 7/1/2026. Family needs care for child starting 7/15/2026 and has a provider selected. Worker adds child and requests all necessary verifications. After receiving verifications to include child in the family size and authorize care, update appropriate Case Data pages and defer the redetermination date to 7/1/2027, which is 12 months from the new eligible child’s arrival date. Review and approve eligibility results and Service Authorization results.

Example Two: Care needed later

Child is born 7/1/2026 and family reports the birth on 7/10/2026. Parent is on parental leave, so the newborn does not require care until 10/1/2026. Worker adds child and requests all necessary verifications. After receiving verifications to include child in the family size, update appropriate Case Data pages. Approve eligibility results to increase the family size and approve any changes to existing Service Authorizations.

Set an alert to defer the redetermination date once care is confirmed (provider is known and the biweekly period containing 10/1/2026 is available in MEC2). When care is confirmed, defer the redetermination date to 7/1/2027, which is 12 months from the new eligible child’s arrival date. Approve eligibility results followed by approving Service Authorization for the new child.

Legal authority

MN Statutes 142E.03 Subd. 3