915 PROGRAM CRITERIA SR 05-33, 07/05 (FAM-A)

Eligibility for child care services requires the following:

. each child for whom child care assistance is requested must:

- be a resident of New Hampshire;

- reside in the same household as the parent who is requesting child care services; and

- be a U.S. citizen, or a noncitizen who meets TANF criteria for noncitizen eligibility. See PART 305, CITIZENSHIP.

. Gross income must not exceed income limits for child care assistance.

- TANF financial assistance recipients, recipients of categorically-needy NHEP-related medical assistance (MA), and 12 month EMA recipients whose eligibility for EMA is based on loss of TANF cash or loss of NHEP-related categorically-needy medical assistance due to new or increased earnings or hours of employment of the principal wage earner, are eligible for child care assistance without regard to the amount of their income.

- The gross monthly income of all other child care assistance groups must not exceed 190% of the federal poverty guidelines. See Part 935, GROSS MONTHLY INCOME LIMITS.

Each parent or caretaker relative requesting child care must be engaged in one or more of the following activities:

. employment;

 Exception: An individual who is employed solely as a license-exempt child care provider is not eligible for child care assistance.

. actively seeking employment;

. actively seeking employment and housing;

. participating in training or education which is preparatory to employment;

. participating in barrier resolution activities approved on the Employment Plan (EP), including services provided by community agencies except when the individual is institutionalized; or

. participating in NHEP activities approved on the EP or meeting NHEP program compliance requirements, such as attending classes, appointments, interviews or workshops.

Exception: Child care assistance is not available for the first meeting with the NHEP team.

TANF financial assistance recipients who do not have an EP, or do not have the activity authorized on the EP, may be eligible to receive child care reimbursement only when participating in the following activities:

. employment; or

. an associate's or bachelor's degree program, or course of study, for up to 2 years, if the course of study is necessary to meet the individual's goals that are directly related to obtaining employment in a recognized occupation.

Exception: A two-parent family is eligible when one parent meets the criteria above and the other parent is disabled to the extent they are not able to care for and supervise their children.

If a parent is disabled and unable to care for and supervise their children, require a signed and dated statement from a physician or licensed mental health professional which describes the parent's condition. The statement must specify that the parent is unable to care for a child because of the disability.