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Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual Issued 07/2023 Processing Applications from Families Experiencing Homelessness 3.7.1 Living Situation A family is considered to be experiencing homelessness for the Child Care Assistance Program if the Living Situation on the application is: • Family/friends due to economic hardship and the family is temporarily sharing housing due to loss of housing, lack of affordable housing or similar reasons: o The family is experiencing homelessness if “yes” is their response to the “temporarily sharing housing due to loss of housing, lack of affordable housing or similar reasons” question. o The family is not experiencing homelessness if “no” is their response to the “temporarily sharing housing due to loss of housing, lack of affordable housing or similar reasons” question. Follow the guidance in MEC2 User Manual > Address Window. • Hotel or motel • Emergency shelter • Place not meant for housing (anywhere outside, a vehicle, and abandoned building, or bus/train/airport). Do not question the family’s choice of Living Situation and do not request verification of the family’s Living Situation. If the Living Situation question is “Unknown” or “Declined”, no follow up is required and the family is not eligible for expedited child care. The application does not need to be processed within five business days. However, if information submitted during the application processing period shows that the family’s Living Situation meets one of the items above, the family would be eligible for expedited child care policies. If the Living Situation question on the application is left blank or the “temporarily sharing housing due to loss of housing, lack of affordable housing or similar reasons” is left blank for a family who selected “family/friends due to economic hardship”, follow up with the family to determine if the family qualifies for policies available to families experiencing homelessness. The application does not need to be processed within five business days. If the Living Situation is already coded because it’s active in MAXIS, ensure that the Living Situation matches the Living Situation on the CCAP application. If not, change the Living Situation in MEC2 to match what is on the CCAP application. Note: If the Living Situation initially entered at application needs to be changed to a living situation that is considered homeless, a patch may be required to ensure policies are applied correctly. Contact your agency’s policy specialist. See Chapter 2 (Glossary) for the definition of homeless.