N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 18 § 415.8 - Special provisions relating to public assistance recipients
(a) A social
services district must guarantee child care services to a family who has
applied for or is in receipt of public assistance when such services are needed
for a child under 13 years of age in order to enable the child's custodial
parent or caretaker relative to participate in activities required by a social
services official pursuant to title 9-B of article 5 of the Social Services
Law.
(b) A social services district
may not reduce or terminate public assistance to an individual or an individual
and the family of such individual based on a refusal of the individual to
comply with applicable work requirements if the individual is a custodial
parent or caretaker relative of a child under 13 years of age and the
individual has a demonstrated inability, as determined by the social services
district, to obtain child care needed to comply with such work requirements due
to the following reasons:
(1) unavailability
of appropriate and accessible child care within a reasonable distance from the
individual's home or work site;
(2)
unavailability or unsuitability of informal child care by a relative or under
other arrangements; and
(3)
unavailability of appropriate and affordable formal child care
arrangements.
(c) The
social services district must inform the family:
(1) about the exception to the penalties
associated with the work requirement if the family is unable to locate child
care needed to comply with applicable work requirements including the
procedures used to demonstrate an inability to obtain child care and the
definitions of the terms "appropriate," "accessible," "reasonable distance,"
"unsuitability of informal child care" and "affordable"; and
(2) that any family assistance received
during the time the parent or caretaker relative receives an exception from the
work requirements under this section will count toward the family's 60-month
limit on receiving such benefits.
(d) It is the responsibility of the parent or
caretaker relative to locate child care for the applicable child(ren) needed to
comply with such work requirements.
(e) If such parent or caretaker relative
cannot locate the needed child care on his or her own, the parent or caretaker
relative must inform the social services district of his or her efforts to
locate such care and request additional assistance in locating care.
(f) When a parent or caretaker relative
requests assistance from the social services district in locating child care
due to an inability to locate the needed child care on his or her own, the
social services district must:
(1) assist the
family by referring the parent or caretaker relative to the child care resource
and referral agency funded under title five-B of article six of the Social
Services Law that is responsible for the areas in which the parent or caretaker
relative lives and/or would be expected to work or to another appropriate child
care referral agency; and/or
(2)
provide the parent or caretaker relative with a list of names, addresses and
telephone numbers of eligible providers.
(g) The parent or caretaker relative must
follow-up on all referrals from the social services district, child care
resource and referral agency and/or other child care referral agency, as
applicable, and must report his or her success or failure to the social
services district. In order to be excused from complying with the applicable
work requirements, the parent or caretaker relative must have a demonstrated
inability, as determined by the social services district, to locate the needed
child care for the applicable child(ren) despite the referrals from the social
services district, the child care resource and referral agency and/or any other
child care referral agency, as applicable.
(h) If the parent or caretaker relative has a
demonstrated inability, as determined by the social services district, to
locate child care needed for the applicable child(ren) despite referrals, the
social services district must offer the parent or caretaker relative two
choices of eligible child care providers, at least one of which must be a
licensed or registered provider. If the parent or caretaker relative is
unwilling to accept child care services from either of these providers; is
unable to demonstrate, as determined by the social services district, that such
child care is not appropriate, accessible, suitable, affordable or a reasonable
distance from the person's home or work site; and the person fails to comply
with the applicable work requirements, then the social services district may
reduce or terminate public assistance to such parent or caretaker relative
and/or that person's family in accordance with applicable statutory or
regulatory provisions.
(i) A social
services district must determine that a parent or caretaker relative has a
demonstrated inability to locate needed child care if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) the parent or
caretaker relative has provided an attestation that he or she has contacted
those accessible and suitable friends, neighbors and relatives who are within a
reasonable distance of the individual's home or work site and who have the
potential to act as informal child care providers for the applicable child(ren)
but those individuals are not appropriate or affordable. The attestation must
include a list of the friends, neighbors and relatives the parent or caretaker
relative contacted; and
(2) the
parent or caretaker relative has provided an attestation that he or she has
contacted all of the child care providers to which the parent or caretaker
relative was referred by the social services district, a child care resource
and referral agency and/or any other child care agency, as applicable. The
attestation must specify each potential provider contacted and the reasons why
that provider is not appropriate, accessible, suitable, affordable or a
reasonable distance from the individual's home or work site.
(j) The social services district
must review and verify the attestations provided by the parent or caretaker
relative. If the attestations validly document the unavailability of
appropriate, accessible, suitable, affordable child care within a reasonable
distance from the individual's home or work site, the district must excuse the
parent or caretaker relative from the applicable work requirements.
(k) A parent or caretaker relative who has
been excused from the applicable work requirements due to a demonstrated
inability to locate needed child care for his or her applicable child(ren) will
be excused from the work requirements only for so long as that demonstrated
inability continues to exist. The parent or caretaker relative must document to
the social services district, through the submission of new attestations in
accordance with subdivision (i) of this section on a periodic basis as set
forth by the social services district, that the parent or caretaker relative is
continuing to attempt to locate the needed child care, including following up
on all new referrals from the social services district, child care resource and
referral agency, and/or any other child care agency, as applicable, and by
responding to all offers of child care from the social services district. New
attestations must be submitted in accordance with a schedule developed by the
district based on the parent's or the caretaker relative's employment
plan.
(l) For the purposes of this
section, the following definitions apply:
(1)
Applicable child(ren) means the child(ren) under 13 years of
age who are residing with a custodial parent or caretaker relative and who need
child care in order for the parent or caretaker relative to comply with the
applicable work requirements.
(2)
Appropriate means the child care provider(s) is open for the
hours and days the parent or caretaker relative would need child care in order
to comply with the applicable work requirements and the provider(s) is able and
willing to provide child care services to the applicable child(ren) including
addressing any special needs of the applicable child(ren).
(3)
Accessible means the
parent or caretaker relative is able, by available public or private
transportation, to get the applicable child(ren) to and from the child care
provider(s) taking into consideration the age and any special needs of the
child(ren).
(4)
Reasonable
distance means the child care provider(s) is located within a
reasonable distance from the parent or caretaker relative's home and work
activity, based on locally accepted community standards, as defined by the
social services district in the district's consolidated services
plan.
(5)
Unsuitability of
informal child care means the physical condition of the home in which
care would be provided, or the physical or mental condition of the informal
provider, would be detrimental to the health, welfare and/or safety of the
applicable child(ren).
(6)
Affordable means the parent or caretaker relative would have
sufficient income to pay the family share for the child care services
determined in accordance with section
415.3(e)
of this Part, if required, and/or to pay the cost of care above market rate, if
applicable. If the potential provider is a provider of informal child care who
would be providing care in the child(ren)'s home, affordable
also means that the parent or caretaker relative would have sufficient income
to pay the provider at least minimum wage, if required by State and/or Federal
law, and to provide such provider with all employment benefits required by
State and Federal law.
Notes
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No prior version found.