7224 Dependent Care - Expenses incurred for the care of a child or other dependent in the home and in the food stamp household which is necessary for a household member to accept or continue employment, seek employment, or attend training or pursue education which is preparatory to employment, shall be considered a deduction. The family share determined for the child care subsidy program is consider a dependent care expense. Non-refundable enrollment fees are considered a cost related to dependent care and are allowable as a one-time expense. If the one-time expense is reported as incurred in a month in which food stamp benefits have already been issued, the one-time expense shall be allowed for the month following the month it was reported. Expenses are also allowed even if the income used to pay the expense is excluded. (Example: 17 year old full time high school student with earned income is paying child care for her child.)
Current limitations are:
Up to $200 for each child under age 2.
Up to $175 for each child age 2 and over.
NOTE: If a household incurs attendant care costs that could qualify under both the medical deduction and dependent care deduction, the local worker shall treat the cost as a medical expense.
NOTE: With EBT Child Care, providers can now require parents to pay additional out-of-pocket costs to use that provider. These additional, recurring costs are an allowable food stamp dependent care deduction if verified that the costs are paid out-of-pocket, not from the consumers EBT Child Care account. Allowable costs that fluctuate shall be averaged per 7110.
In order to be deducted, the obligation to pay dependent care must be verified and documented in the case file. Also refer to 1322.2 (4) and 7227.6.