01.02.05 - Income Verification

Effective Date: 01/01/03

Revised 01/01/13, 01/01/2021, 12/1/2022

Reference: 89 Ill. Adm. Code, Chapter IV, §50.110

Policy Statement:

Parents are responsible for providing income verification and all other information required by the Department in order to determine eligibility for child care services.

Procedures:

1. Verification of Family Income
   1. Parents must provide true, correct and complete documentation and when completing Applications, Redeterminations and when reporting changes of information. 
   2. A client must submit two pay stubs that are 60 or fewer days old from the date a child care form (application, redetermination, change of information) is received to verify earnings. 
      1. These pay stubs do not need to be consecutive.
      2. If more than 2 pay stubs are submitted, the 2 most recent should be used.
   3. Applicants who are paid once per month must submit two pay stubs that are 90 or fewer days old from the date a child care form is received (application, redetermination, change of information) to verify earnings.
   4. CCAP staff are to review the Automated Wage Verification System (AWVS) to determine if either parent/guardian shows current earnings in either the current or previous month from any employers that are not listed on the Application or Redetermination.
      1. Use the previous quarter to determine current earnings if AWVS is only displaying quarterly income instead of monthly.
      2. Quarters include the following months:
         1. Q1: January, February, and March
         2. Q2: April, May, and June
         3. Q3; July, August, and September
         4. Q4: October, November, and December
   5. If employer information listed in AWVS is not consistent with information received as part of an Application, Redetermination or Change of Information, the client must be given the opportunity to verify the information they have submitted is accurate.
   6. If a client is able to provide more current or additional documentation to support the information submitted, the information in AWVS may be disregarded. 
   7. Case note and maintain all documentation received. 
   8. Site Administered Providers and CCR&R staff may call the employer to verify the validity of employment documentation submitted if a client submits an Employment Verification Letter, an Employment and Income Verification form, or a computer printout, or if any pay documentation appears to have been altered.
   9. Information or documentation from employers should only be requested pertaining to the client's income and/or schedule. 
   10. Tax information, business licenses, utility or phone bills or other personal information should not be requested from the client's employer or customers for self-employed clients
2. Unemployment Compensation
   1. CCAP staff are to review the AWVS screen for both parents/guardians when determining eligibility at the time of a new application or redetermination.
   2. To determine the monthly unemployment income, multiply the WEEKLY BEN AMOUNT by 4.
   3. Income must be included only when the following conditions are met:
      1. The LATEST CHECK date is no more than 30 days prior to the date of review, and
      2. The BENEFIT PERIOD THRU date is more than 30 days later than the review date; and
      3. The MAX BEN BAL equals more than the calculated monthly amount.