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Title 13: Social Service Resources Page 7 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter G: Child Care Assistance Determining Eligiblity Revised June 14, 2024 Application If you are mailing an application packet to a client, include a voter registration form in the packet. No follow-up is necessary after the form has been mailed to the client. If the form is returned, follow your local procedures for handling the form. Priority for Service Legal reference: 441 IAC 170.2(3) The Department has the authority to implement waiting lists for Child Care Assistance (CCA) when funds are insufficient to serve additional families beyond those already receiving services and those requiring protective child care. Exceptions to placement on the waiting list are as follows: ▪ Families who are eligible for protective child care services. ▪ Recipients of FIP or people whose earned income was taken into account in determining the needs of FIP recipients. ▪ Participants in approved PROMISE JOBS activities. ▪ Families who receive an Iowa adoption subsidy for a child. ▪ Families experiencing homelessness (as reported by the family on the Child Care Assistance Application or Child Care Assistance Review forms). ▪ Families receiving CCA that have a change in circumstances that result in the need for care for another child. This includes a newborn child. The new child is approved for assistance when the family reports the change. People covered by these exceptions are always eligible for CCA, notwithstanding the lack of funding. When there is a waiting list, the priority groups as established in state law define which families receive services first. The amount of funds available determines the number of priority groups from whom applications will be taken. As funds become available, families are approved for services in the following order of prioritization: 1. The first priority group includes: ▪ (a) Families who are at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level whose members, for at least 32 hours per week in the aggregate, are employed or are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or educational program, and ▪ (b) Parents with a family income at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level who are under the age of 21 and are participating in an educational program leading to a high school diploma or equivalent. 2. Parents with a family income at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level who are under the age of 21 and are participating at a satisfactory level in an approved training program or in an education program.