WSR 98-22-008
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Children's Administration)
[Filed October 22, 1998, 3:38 p.m.]
Date of Adoption: October 22, 1998.
Purpose: To make the Department of Social and Health Services child care subsidy rules in WAC 388-15-170, 388-15-171, 388-15-174, 388-15-175, and 388-15-176 consistent with rules in chapter 388-290 WAC.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-15-170.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.12.340, 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.08.090, and 74.13.0903.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 98-14-034 on June 23, 1998.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 4, amended 1, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 4, amended 1, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 4, amended 1, repealed 0.
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
October 22, 1998
Marie Myerchin-Redifer, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 93-10-021, filed 4/28/93, effective 5/29/93)
WAC 388-15-170 ((General and seasonal child day care
services)) Definitions. (((1) The department may approve child
day care funding to facilitate care, protection, and related
services for a)) The following definitions apply to WAC 388-15-171, 388-15-174, 388-15-175 and 388-15-176.
"Child" means a person twelve years of age or younger((.
The department may approve special needs child care for a child))
or a person under nineteen years of age ((or younger)) who is
physically ((or)), mentally, or emotionally incapable of ((caring
for himself or herself,)) self care as verified by ((the state,
supported by)) a licensed medical ((documentation)) practitioner
or masters level or above mental health professional.
(((2) The department shall only fund child day care during
the portion of the twenty-four-hour day when neither of the
child's parents or guardians are able to provide necessary care
and supervision. The department may authorize child day care
services for the following reasons:
(a) Parents, or parent in a single-parent household, are
employed and are not aid to families with dependent children
(AFDC) grant recipients;
(b) Parents, or parent in a single-parent household, are
employed and receiving AFDC;
(c) Parents, or parent in a single-parent household, are
receiving AFDC and are enrolled in job opportunity and basic
skills (JOBS);
(d) School-aged parent is enrolled in an approved secondary
education or GED program;
(e) Parent and/or child are in need of treatment or support
as part of a child protective or child welfare services case
plan. Such services may include, but are not limited to, those
provided by a professional child welfare or educational agency;
or
(f) The child is receiving an AFDC grant and lives with a
nonresponsible relative who is not receiving an AFDC grant and is
employed.
(3) The department shall limit goals for general child day
care services as specified under WAC 388-15-010 (1)(a), (d), (e),
and (2).
(4) The department may purchase child day care, except for
seasonal farmworker child care, within available funds for
families:
(a) With gross income equal to or below thirty-eight percent
of the state median income adjusted for family size (SMIAFS).
These families pay the provider a minimum monthly co-payment
toward the cost of child day care;
(b) With gross income above thirty-eight and at or below
fifty-two percent of the SMIAFS. The family shall pay to the
child day care provider part of the family's gross monthly income
above the thirty-eight percent SMIAFS toward the cost of child
day care; and
(c) In need of child day care as an integral part of a child
protective or child welfare service plan. The department shall
provide such service without regard to family income up to
seventy-five percent SMIAFS.
(5) The department may purchase seasonal child day care
within available funds for children who are members of family
units residing in Washington state where:
(a) Both parents, or the single parent (in the case of the
one-parent family), are currently employed or seeking work in
agriculturally related work;
(b) Fifty percent or more of the family's annual income is
derived from agriculturally related work;
(c) In a two-parent household, the primary wage earner has
more than one agricultural employer per year; in a one-parent
household, the single parent has more than one agricultural
employer per year;
(d) Family gross income for the past twelve months does not
exceed thirty-eight percent of the state median income adjusted
for family size (SMIAFS). The family shall pay the provider a
minimum monthly co-payment toward the cost of child day care.
The family with gross income above thirty-eight percent and at or
below fifty-two percent of the SMIAFS shall pay the child day
care provider fifty percent of the family's average gross monthly
income above the thirty-eight percent SMIAFS toward the cost of
child day care; and
(e) Failure of parents to meet the requirements of
subsection (5)(b) and (d) of this section due to status within
the past year as an AFDC recipient shall not result in
ineligibility for seasonal child care.
(6) The department shall establish waiting lists, if
necessary, to ensure child day care services, under WAC 388-15-170, are provided within legislatively appropriated funds.
(7) The department shall consider in-home care or relative,
relative's home care as the care and supervision of a child:
(a) By a relative in the child's own home or a relative's
home; or
(b) In the child's own home with an unrelated person.
(8) When the parent or guardian chooses in-home care or
relative, relative's home care, the parent or guardian shall make
the following assurances:
(a) The in-home caretaker shall meet the following minimum
qualifications:
(i) Be eighteen years of age or older;
(ii) Be free of communicable disease;
(iii) Be of sufficient physical, emotional, and mental
health to meet the needs of the child in care. Subject to the
discretion of the social worker, the parent or guardian shall
provide written evidence to the department that the caretaker of
the parent's or guardian's choice is in sufficient physical,
emotional, and mental health to be a safe caretaker;
(iv) Be able to work with the child without using corporal
punishment or psychological abuse;
(v) Be able to accept and follow instructions;
(vi) Be able to maintain personal cleanliness;
(vii) Be prompt and regular in job attendance; and
(viii) Meet the department's in-home caretaker registration
requirement. Parents or guardians are required to provide the
caretaker's name and address to the department. This
registration is done at the time child care is authorized.
(b) The in-home caretaker's primary function while on duty
is that of child caretaker. The in-home caretaker shall have the
following responsibilities:
(i) Provide constant care and supervision of the child for
whom the caretaker is responsible throughout the time the
caretaker is on duty in accordance with the needs of the child;
and
(ii) Provide developmentally appropriate activities for the
child under the caretaker's care.
(c) The child is current on the immunization schedule as
described in the National Immunization Guidelines, developed by
the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices;
(d) The parent's or guardian's home or the relative's home
is safe for the care of the child; and
(e) The in-home or relative caretaker is informed about
basic health practices, prevention, and control of infectious
disease, immunizations, and building and physical premises safety
relevant to the care of the child.
The parent or guardian shall make assurances described under
subsection (8) of this section at the time child care is
authorized. The child care authorizing worker shall provide the
parent or guardian with information about basic health practices,
prevention, and control of infectious disease, immunizations, and
building and physical premises safety relevant to the care of the
child.
(9) Payment standards for child day care. The department
shall establish maximum child care rates taking into
consideration prevailing community rates.
(a) When the parent or guardian chooses in-home care or
relative, relative's home care, the parent or guardian shall
receive payment for the cost of child day care and shall pay the
caretaker according to the amount specified in the approved child
care plan.
(b) The in-home, or relative, relative's home caretaker
shall sign a receipt at the time payment is received. The parent
must retain the payment receipt for review by the authorizing
worker at the time of the next eligibility determination.
(c) If total payments to an in-home provider are fifty
dollars or more in any one quarter, the department shall add the
employer's share of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act
(FICA) tax to the amount authorized for in-home care.
(d) Payment for child day care by relative. The department
shall not allow payment for child care services by the following
relatives: Father, mother, brother, sister, stepfather,
stepmother, stepbrother, or stepsister, except for adult siblings
residing outside the child's home))
"Co-payment" means the amount of money the family is responsible to pay the child care provider toward the cost of child care each month.
"Income" means the gross earned income minus the average payroll and income tax paid at that income level, plus any unearned income.
"In-home/relative child care provider" see definition for "in-home/relative provider" under WAC 388-290-020.
"Parent" see definition for "parent" under WAC 388-290-020.
"Teen parent" means a parent twenty-one years of age or younger.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.12.340 and 45 CFR Part 98.41 Child Care and Development Block Grant. 93-10-021 (Order 3535), § 388-15-170, filed 4/28/93, effective 5/29/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.12.340 and 45 CFR 98.20, 98.30, 98.43 and 98.45; and 45 CFR 257.21, 257.30, 257.31 and 257.41. 92-11-062 (Order 3393), § 388-15-170, filed 5/19/92, effective 6/19/92. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090. 88-24-023 (Order 2732), § 388-15-170, filed 12/2/88; 86-12-051 (Order 2387), § 388-15-170, filed 6/3/86; 86-03-078 (Order 2333), § 388-15-170, filed 1/22/86; 83-02-028 (Order 1931), § 388-15-170, filed 12/29/82. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20A.550. 82-14-048 (Order 1839), § 388-15-170, filed 6/30/82. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090. 82-01-051 (Order 1735), § 388-15-170, filed 12/16/81; 81-10-034 (Order 1650), § 388-15-170, filed 4/29/81; 80-15-010 (Order 1552), § 388-15-170, filed 10/6/80. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.20A.550. 78-04-004 (Order 1276), § 388-15-170, filed 3/2/78; Order 1238, § 388-15-170, filed 8/31/77; Order 1204, § 388-15-170, filed 4/1/77; Order 1147, § 388-15-170, filed 8/26/76; Order 1124, § 388-15-170, filed 6/9/76; Order 1120, § 388-15-170, filed 5/13/76; Order 1088, § 388-15-170, filed 1/19/76.]
NEW SECTION
WAC 388-15-171 Subsidized child care for teen parents. (1) The department may authorize teen parent child care within available funds for parents who:
(a) Are twenty-one years of age or younger;
(b) Are enrolled in an approved secondary education or general equivalency diploma (GED) program;
(c) Are not receiving a temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) grant; and
(d) Have an income at or below one hundred seventy-five percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
(2) All teen parents contribute to the cost of child care by making a monthly co-payment to the child care provider which is:
(a) Determined by the teen parent's income; and
(b) Calculated by using the rules under WAC 388-290-090 (2)(a), (b), and (c)(i) and (ii).
(3) The department funds child care only during the portion of the day when the child's parent(s) is unable to provide necessary care and supervision due to the parents participation in DSHS approved activities.
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NEW SECTION
WAC 388-15-174 Subsidized child care for seasonal workers. (1) The department may purchase seasonal child care within available funds for children residing in Washington state where:
(a) Both parents, or the single parent (in the case of the one-parent family), are currently employed or seeking work in agriculturally related work;
(b) Fifty percent or more of the family's annual income is derived from agriculturally related work;
(c) In a two-parent household, the primary wage earner is employed in agricultural work for eleven months or less with any given employer, in the twelve months previous to the time of application;
(d) In a one-parent household, the single parent is employed in agricultural work for eleven months or less with any given employer, in the twelve months previous to the time of application; and
(e) The family's monthly income, averaged for the twelve months prior to the time of application, is at or below one hundred and seventy-five percent of the FPL.
(2) Failure of the parent(s) to meet the requirements of (b) of this subsection due to receipt of TANF within the past twelve months shall not result in ineligibility for seasonal child care.
(3) The parent(s) participates in the cost of child care by making a monthly co-payment to the child care provider which is:
(a) Determined by the parent's income averaged for the twelve months prior to the time of application; and
(b) Calculated by using the rules under WAC 388-290-090 (2)(a), (b), and (c)(i) and (ii).
(4) The department will fund child care during the portion of the day described under WAC 388-15-171(3).
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NEW SECTION
WAC 388-15-175 Child care for child protective services (CPS) and child welfare services (CWS). The department may purchase CPS/CWS child care within available funds for children of families in need of support as part of a CPS/CWS case plan. This service is short-term and time-limited. Social workers must determine if other resources are available to meet this need before authorizing payment by the department.
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NEW SECTION
WAC 388-15-176 In-home/relative child care. (1) When the parent(s) chooses in-home/relative child care, the parent(s) will give the in-home/relative child care provider's name and address to the department and make the following assurances at the time child care is authorized:
(a) The in-home/relative provider is:
(i) Eighteen years of age or older;
(ii) Of sufficient physical, emotional, and mental health to meet the needs of the child in care. If requested by the department, the parent(s) must provide written evidence that the in-home child care provider of the parent's choice is of sufficient physical, emotional, and mental health to be a safe child care provider;
(iii) Able to work with the child without using corporal punishment or psychological abuse;
(iv) Able to accept and follow instructions;
(v) Able to maintain personal cleanliness; and
(vi) Prompt and regular in job attendance.
(b) The child is current on the immunization schedule as described in the National Immunization Guidelines, developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices;
(c) The home where care is provided is safe for the care of the child; and
(d) The in-home/relative child care provider is informed about basic health practices, prevention and control of infectious disease, immunizations, and home and physical premises safety relevant to the care of the child.
(2) The in-home/relative child care provider's primary function while on duty is to provide child care. The in-home/relative child care provider will have the following responsibilities:
(a) Provide constant care and supervision of the child for whom the provider is responsible throughout the arranged time of care in accordance with the needs of the child; and
(b) Provide developmentally appropriate activities for the child who is under the in-home/relative child care provider's care.
(3) The department provides the parent(s) with information about basic health practices, prevention and control of infectious diseases, immunizations, and building and physical premises safety relevant to the care of the child.
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