Page 323

296

2. Units of Care Units of care are the length of allowable time used when authorizing the child care benefit. These units include part day, full day, part month and full month. For the purposes of units of care, a day begins at 12:00 am and ends at 11:59 pm., and a week begins on Sunday and ends on Saturday. Each calendar day has the potential for two (2) units to be needed for that calendar day, if the care needed exceeds ten (10) hours for that calendar day. When care is needed for more than ten (10) hours in a calendar day the units needed will either be a full day unit plus a part day unit or two (2) full day units. The number of full day units and the number of part day units are counted separately and then added together to get the total units needed for the calendar month to determine the correct units to authorize. Units of care are:

a. Part Day A part day consists of care needed for up to and including five (5) hours of care in a day. Part day units are to be used only when part days are needed beyond twenty-three (23) days in a month, up to and including sixteen (16) days. These days are in addition to a full or part month. If the additional days warrant two (2) part months, a full month is authorized. b. Full Day A full day consists of five (5) hours and one (1) minute up to and including ten (10) hours of care in a day. Full day units are to be used only when full days are needed beyond twenty-three (23) days in a month, up to the part month equivalent. These attendance days are in addition to a full month.

c. Combination of Part and Full Days Needed When a combination of part day units and full day units of care is needed beyond twenty-three (23) days in a month, the full day units are to be included in the full month unit and the additional days are authorized as part day units, unless the level of care needed is full day units only, then the additional day units are authorized as full day units.

Example: A family consisting of one (1) foster parent with school aged children. The foster parent’s typical work schedule is 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Saturday. The children attend school from 8:50 am to 3:30 pm and the child care provider transports the children to and from school. Care is needed for in-service, school closures, and Saturdays. Care for the children is needed from 7:30 am to 8:45am and from 3:30pm to 5:30 pm Monday through Friday. Care for Holidays, in-service, school closures, and Saturdays is needed from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.