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Title 13: Social Service Resources Page 30 Iowa Department of Health and Human Services Employees’ Manual Chapter G: Child Care Assistance Determining Eligiblity Revised June 14, 2024 Alien Status Using SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) Legal reference: Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), Section 121, as amended by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (PRWORA), and by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA) and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) Policy: Alien children must be qualified aliens to be eligible for child care. Procedure: Obtain verification of the alien’s status through SAVE when: ▪ An alien’s documentation does not have the necessary coding to show the alien’s status, or ▪ The entry or admission date is missing, or ▪ The documentation is questionable. The SAVE web site is: https://idp.uscis.gov Do not use SAVE when the parent claims a child is undocumented or provides acceptable documentation of an eligible or ineligible status. Reporting Illegal Aliens At the time of interview, explain alien eligibility criteria and verification procedures to households that include non-citizen members. Check the status only of household members who are applying for assistance and claim to have an eligible status for the program. Based on federal guidance, the Department is to report to the USCIS that an alien is not lawfully present in the U.S. only if we “know” that the alien is not lawfully present. The Department “knows” this only if: ▪ The alien applies to receive benefits, and ▪ The alien claims to have an eligible status for the program, and ▪ In making a formal determination of eligibility, we receive from USCIS verification of illegal status, such as a Final Order of Deportation. NOTE: A SAVE response that shows no service record on a person or shows an immigration status making the person ineligible for a benefit is not a finding of fact or conclusion of law that the person is not lawfully present.