01.04.02 - School Age Children

Effective Date: 03/08/02, 09/24/2019, 12/15/2021

Reference: §50.105 - Definitions; CCAP Policy 04.02.01 - Copayments

Policy Statement

Child care assistance cannot be approved for children enrolled in grades Kindergarten through 12 for:

  1. Any service provided to such students during the regular school day when school is in session;
  2. Any service for which such students receive academic credit toward graduation other than remote learning options offered by the school while closed; or
  3. Any instructional services that supplant or duplicate the academic program of any public or private school.

Applicability

School-age child, for the purposes of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), means a child ages 5 through 13 (or through the age of 19 if approved for CCAP due to a special need or court order) who is enrolled in school. A five-year-old child is considered school age only when enrolled in a school-based education/kindergarten program. This enrollment does not include a before/after school program.

Procedure

  1. School age children are eligible for child care services provided during non-school hours and must be reasonably related to the parent's work/school/training schedule.
  2. School age children attending a private or parochial school are not eligible for child care assistance to cover the cost of tuition.
  3. Home-schooled children are not eligible for child care during the home-schooled portion of the day.
  4. If kindergarten is provided at a child care center, the child is only eligible to receive child care assistance for the portion of the day that is not spent in kindergarten. Any tuition for the kindergarten program must be paid by the parent.
  5. CCAP staff must review the application/redetermination schedules to ensure the hours in care are reasonably related to the parent's work schedule.
  6. CCAP staff must ensure that school-age children who normally attend less than five hours per day, Monday through Friday, are only approved for part-time days during the school year.
  7. Eligible days for school age children will be based on the time the parent/guardian is involved in their approved activity and the hours of the regular school day. Typically, school age children will be approved for part time days during the week September through May (school months) and full-time days June, July and August (out of school months).
  8. If the parent/guardian's activity schedule calls for more than 5 hours before and/or after school, full-time days should be approved for those days. Copay Table A would be used due to full time days being approved.
  9. If school is not in session for any reason (Holiday, epidemic, or other closure…) on a day the parent/guardian is scheduled to be in their approved activity, and the child goes to the provider for more than 5 hours, CCAP will pay the provider a full-time day.  The copayment will remain unchanged.
  10. Refer to CCAP Policy 04.02.01 - Copayments to determine when Copay Table A and B should be applied.

EXAMPLE 1: Parent works 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mon. - Fri. The parent travels 30 minutes from the provider to the employer. The child attends school from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Since there are only 2 1/2 hours that the parent isn't available (3:00 - 5:30), approve child care for after school care at the part-time rate. If all children in the family are school age with a part-time schedule, Copayment Table A will be used for June, July and August and Table B for all other months.

EXAMPLE 2: Parent works Sunday through Thursday, 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The child attends school from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Child takes the bus to the provider's house and arrives at 3:00 p.m. Approve five full-time days of care Sunday through Thursday. Care is not needed on Friday. Since full time days are being approved, Copayment Table A should be used for all 12 months of the eligibility period.

EXAMPLE 3: Parent works Tuesday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. The child attends school from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and arrives at the providers at 3:00 p.m. CCAP should be approved for 1 full-time day and 4 part-time days per week. Since full time days are being approved, Copayment Table A should be used for all 12 months of the eligibility period.

Site Administered Program Procedures

  1. If a school age child is not approved for any full-time days during the school year, but attends a full-time day(s) due to school being closed, Site Administered providers must enter the actual number of days care was provided (full-time and part-time) and the proper Adjustment Code and Notes on the Monthly Enrollment Report (MER).
  2. Reduce the number of eligible part-time or school age days by the number of full-time days attended. Increase the number of eligible full-time days to equal the number of full-time days attended.
  3. The copayment will continue to be assessed based on Table B since only part time days were approved at the time of eligibility determination.

Certificate Program Procedures

  1. If a certificate is returned to the CCR&R for payment processing and the provider has indicated full-time attendance for a school age child, the provider must indicate the date(s) and reason for full-time attendance (i.e. "1/16/23, School Holiday - Martin Luther King's birthday"; "3/1/23 - 3/15/23 School Closed Due to COVID"…).
  2. If full-time care is billed for due to school closure, reduce the number of eligible part-time days by the number of full-time days attended during the HSCCMS Pre-payment process. Increase the number of eligible full-time days to equal the number of full-time days attended.
  3. The copayment will continue to be assessed based on Table B since only part time days were approved at the time of eligibility determination.