To receive child care assistance, participants must:

· Turn in an application and provide required verifications. For more information, See Child Care Assistance Manual 7.3 (Verification - Initial Application).

· Meet applicant requirements. For more information, see Child Care Assistance Manual 4.1 (Applicant Requirements)

· Have a child needing care who is of appropriate age

· Have a child needing care who meets citizenship and immigration requirements (or attend care in a setting subject to public educational standards)

· Have assets equal to or less than $1 million

· Be in an authorized activity.

· Meet income limits and pay a copay, if a copay is assigned

· Use a legal child care provider who is registered with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. See list of types of legal providers, 16.24 (Types of Child Care Settings).

· Cooperate with Child Support Services for all children in the family with a non-custodial parent at application, by the end of the three-month eligibility period for families experiencing homelessness, and at redetermination.

The age of children who are covered by child care assistance:

· Infants to 13 years old, or 15 years old if the child has a documented disability. Authorized care for children aged 13, or 15 with a disability will continue until the family’s redetermination.

The factors that determine how much child care is authorized for each child:

· The activity schedule of the parent or guardian.

· The child’s school schedule of the children.

· The child care provider’s availability.

· Parenting time/custody schedule for a child that resides in multiple households.

· Travel time and breaks.

For more information see 16.15 (Determining Hours of Authorized Child Care).

Each child can use up to 2 providers who can be paid by child care assistance: 1 primary provider and 1 secondary provider.

· Payments and the amount of care is limited for the secondary provider.

· The participant designates which provider is the primary provider.

· Legal non-licensed providers do not count toward the 2 provider limit. Their authorization and payment is not limited.

For more information, see: Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual 9.1.9 (Authorizing Care-Multiple Providers).

Children of child care providers and people working in child care:

1. The following people cannot receive child care assistance for their own children or children in their family during the hours they are providing child care, or being paid to provide child care:

· Licensed family child care providers and their employees.

· Legal non-licensed providers and their employees.

· Anyone providing care in a setting other than a child care center.

However, child care assistance can be received when they are in other activities as long as the hours do not overlap with the hours they provide care or with the hours they are being paid to provide care.

2. No more than 25 children or dependents of child care center employees can be authorized for child care assistance at a child care center. For more information, see the Child Care Assistance Program Manual 9.15.21 (Children of Child Care Providers).