c. Application Processing

Applications shall be processed and eligibility determined within thirty days of the date that the CCAP administrator receives the application form, unless otherwise specified in this subsection. The first day of the processing period shall begin on the day following the date the application form was received. The parent shall be notified of the eligibility decision in accordance with the requirements of section 17b-749-07 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. The provider shall also be notified if a completed child care agreement form was submitted with the application.

Eligibility shall be determined when sufficient information exists to determine if the family is eligible or ineligible. If the application is incomplete, the CCAP administrator shall issue a notice to the parent requesting the information that is missing. The parent shall be given a minimum of fifteen days from the date the notice is issued to return the information to the CCAP administrator. The first day of the fifteen-day period begins on the day the notice was issued.

If the parent has not selected a provider by the time eligibility is determined, the CCAP administrator shall determine if the family is eligible for the program without regard to eligibility for payments. The parent shall be notified of the decision and informed that eligibility will be terminated if a provider is not selected and the information needed to enroll the provider is not submitted within thirty days. The CCAP administrator shall determine if a child is eligible for payment within ten days of the date the provider information is submitted. The family shall become ineligible if the information needed to determine payment eligibility for at least one child is not submitted within thirty days of the date assistance was granted.

Incomplete applications shall be denied only if the parent has been given at least fifteen days to comply with an initial request for missing information.

Parents shall be given additional time to respond to a request for missing information if good cause exists for not providing the information in accordance with the requirements of subsection (e) of section 17b-749-06 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. Applications that remain incomplete after the fifteen day notice period has expired shall be processed without regard to the missing information if good cause does not exist. If eligibility has not been established, the application shall be denied and the parent notified.

The processing period shall be extended beyond thirty days under the following conditions as long as the parent continues to cooperate with the application process: if good cause exists for not providing verification in accordance with the requirements of subsection (e) of section 17b-749-06 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies, and the delay causes the application to remain pending for more than thirty days; if the parent or provider was not given at least fifteen days to respond to an initial request for information; if the parent responds timely to a request for missing information and the information submitted is either incomplete or requires additional verification before the application can be processed; or if the CCAP administrator has assumed responsibility for obtaining missing information and has not been able to obtain the information.

The application shall continue to be processed if a good cause extension is granted or while the CCAP administrator is waiting to obtain additional verification. The extension shall continue for as long as necessary provided that the parent continues to cooperate and responds to written requests for verification in a timely manner. Additional verification or reverification of circumstances that have already been verified may be required if the application remains pending more than thirty days. The delay in processing the application shall be considered the responsibility of the parent as long as the CCAP administrator has taken prompt action to request the missing information in time to process the application within thirty days.