7610 Duration of Child Care Plans -
Unless eligibility is being prorated due to the initial eligibility determination, plans should begin on the first day of the month and should not be written for longer than twelve months. See 10021.1 (8) for plan duration when Kansas Early Head Start is involved.
Plans should end on the last day of the month.
If a parent-guardian-caretaker wishes to change providers, that change is made the beginning of the next month.
7620 Determining Scheduled Hours - "See Policy Memo #04-03-02 re: "Child Care Plan Authorization - Sleep Time for Children".
EES staff shall establish a reasonable estimate of the hours needed for child care by determining with the parent the average number of hours needed for child care during a one-week period. The weekly number of hours should be multiplied by 4.3 (average weeks in a month) to obtain a reasonable estimate of the monthly hours to be authorized for benefits.See 7600 regarding hours limit of 215 for Out-of-Home Relative care. If the agency has made a reasonable and fair estimate or has established an average this average continues for the duration of the child care plan even if hours fluctuate on a weekly or monthly basis. If it is necessary to increase or decrease the scheduled hours, the change is made for the month following the month the need is identified. The following may be considered when determining scheduled hours:
The caretaker's schedule (employment including lunch time, work program activities, class, sleep time). If variable, documentation of the schedule may be requested on a weekly or monthly basis to determine a reasonable estimate. Sleep time may be approved for clients who work the majority of hours between 9 PM and 7 AM. It is recommended that 6 hours of sleep time be approved in these situations.
Reasonable travel time between the child care facility and the parent's place of employment.
The child's schedule (Head Start, pre-school or school).
The individual needs of the child. If the child's nap time or preschool activities would be interrupted, consideration should be given to providing child care for more hours than is required by the employment or school schedule. If the parent works a split shift or has a break of three hours or less between classes or work program activities, child care may be provided for the break if the child would be adversely affected by going home and coming back to the child care facility. Child care may be provided when a parent's work schedule is such that the child's normal sleep pattern is interrupted. See Policy Memo 04-03-02 for further guidance on sleep time for children.
Study time for teen parents receiving child care with the ET reason code. Study time may be approved on a case-by-case basis when there is inadequate time to study between classes and the need is documented. One hour of study time per class hour per week may be used as a guideline, but should not be automatically added to the total authorized hours without discussing the need with the teen parents.
The three-hour minimum. When a client requests child care services for less than three hours a day, a plan may be authorized for a minimum block of three hours if the facility is open at least three hours and the provider charges the private sector for a minimum of three hours.