2.1 Reducing Barriers to Family Enrollment and Redetermination

Lead Agency enrollment and redetermination policies may not unduly disrupt parents’ employment, education, or job training activities to comply with the Lead Agency’s or designated local entity’s requirements. Lead Agencies have broad flexibility to design and implement the eligibility practices that reduce barriers to enrollment and redetermination. Examples include developing strategies to inform families and their providers of an upcoming redetermination and the information that will be required of the family, pre-populating subsidy renewal forms, having parents confirm that the information is accurate, and/or asking only for the information necessary to make an eligibility redetermination. In addition, Lead Agencies can offer a variety of family-friendly methods for submitting documentation for eligibility redetermination that considers the range of needs for families in accessing support (e.g., use of languages other than English, access to transportation, accommodation of parents working non-traditional hours). 2.1.1 Eligibility practices to reduce barriers to enrollment a. Does the Lead Agency implement any of the following eligibility practices to reduce barriers at the time of initial eligibility determination? Check all that apply and describe those elements checked. i. [ ] Establishing presumptive eligibility while eligibility is being determined. Describe the policy, including the populations benefiting from the policy, and identify how long the period of presumptive eligibility is: ii. [x] Leveraging eligibility from other public assistance programs. Describe: Families in foster care, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) Strategies to Empower People (STEP) Vocational Educational Program, and the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership program are eligible for immediate services without being placed on a waitlist. Families referred under foster care and STEP are serviced without providing additional verification. Families claiming homelessness are provided with 90 days of services before having to provide verification to the Local Education Agency. iii. [x] Coordinating determinations for children in the same household (while still ensuring each child receives 12 months of eligibility). Describe: The Lead Agency determines eligibility by household and not by individual children. If a certified family requests to add a new child to the case during their eligibility period, the household case will be extended, up to 24 months, to ensure that each child in the household receives a minimum 12-month certification period. iv. [x] Self-assessment screening tools for families. Describe: The Lead Agency provides on its website a checklist with the following questions: ￿Are you responsible for paying child care costs for a child under 13 or a child under 18 with a disability who lives with you? Does every adult in your household work or attend school or a training program for at least 20 hours a week? Is your household's total monthly earned and unearned income less than the amount listed below for your household size? If you answered YES to all of the above questions, you may be eligible for child care assistance.￿ v. [ ] Extended office hours (evenings and/or weekends). vi. [ ] Consultation available via phone. vii. [x] Other. Describe the Lead Agency policies to process applications efficiently and make timely eligibility determinations: The Department will initiate application processing within 30 calendar days of the application date. The Lead Agency’s online application process utilizes enhanced field validations to help ensure all households are submitting required applications, help eliminate the need for multiple requests, and help expedite the case processing timeframe. The Department also provides resources to assist clients with submitting correct and accurate information, to eliminate the need for multiple requests for verification and to expedite application processing times. Resources include Why Isn’t My Case Certified, Things to Remember, Application How-to-Guide, and an Income Guidebook. These resources also have corresponding videos to provide further explanation. viii. [ ] None. b. Does the Lead Agency use an online subsidy application? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe why an online application is impracticable. c. Does the Lead Agency use different policies for families receiving TANF assistance? [x] Yes. If yes, describe the policies: Families receiving TANF through the Department of Children and Family Services Strategies to Empower People (STEP) Vocational Educational Program are categorically eligible for Child Care Assistance. A referral is sent by the case worker, and families are certified eligible. [ ] No. 2.1.2 Preventing disruption of eligibility activities a. Identify, where applicable, the Lead Agency’s procedures and policies to ensure that parents do not have their employment, education, or job training unduly disrupted to comply with the State’s/Territory’s or designated local entity’s requirements for the redetermination of eligibility. Check all that apply. i. [x] Advance notice to parents of pending redetermination. ii. [x] Advance notice to providers of pending redetermination. iii. [ ] Pre-populated subsidy renewal form. iv. [x] Online documentation submission. v. [x] Cross-program redeterminations. vi. [ ] Extended office hours (evenings and/or weekends). vii. [ ] Consultation available via phone. viii. [ ] Leveraging eligibility from other public assistance programs. ix. [x] Other. Describe: The Lead Agency will allow presumptive eligibility for up to 30 days, following the re-certification anniversary date (which is the deadline for application for redetermination), so that as redetermination applications are fully processed parents do not temporarily fall out of the Lead Agency systems and have their employment, education, or job training disrupted. b. Does the Lead Agency use different policies for families receiving TANF assistance? [x] Yes. If yes, describe the policies: Families receiving FITAP (the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program, a program of TANF) through the Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS’) Strategies to Empower People (STEP) Vocational Educational Program are redetermined through the DCFS agency referral process. Post-FITAP transitional assistance offers these families continued care for an additional 12 months. The redetermination request is completed by the DCFS case worker, and a referral is sent to the Lead Agency. [ ] No.