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11 38. Eligibility Period: A period of at least twelve (12) months during which a family or child is eligible to receive child care subsidy. Periods of eligibility shall be shortened for violations of eligibility or fraud. 39. Emergency Preparedness Plan: Each child care center is required to have an emergency preparedness plan - all activities and processes designed to prepare for an unsafe event and deal with the immediate emergency conditions created by or associated with the event, per the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5195a(a)(1)). 40. Excessive Absences: An event where a child is absent from the child care provider for sixty (60) consecutive calendar days or more without contact with the child care provider. 41. Families with Very Low Income: A family with the total family income at or below 50% of the State Median Income (SMI). 42. Family Child Care Provider: A person which provides shelter and personal care for five (5) or fewer children who are not related within the third degree computed according to the civil law to the operator and who are under 13 years of age and under 19 years of age for children with special needs, for any part of the 24-hour day, whether such place be organized or operated for profit or not within a Family Child Care Home. This facility must be licensed and monitored by the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). 43. Family Unit: Any person living in the household who is financially or legally responsible for the care of the child(ren) included in an application for a child care certificate. 44. Full-Time Child Care: Child care provided for six (6) or more hours of a 24-hour day. Full-time child care should meet the needs and reflect the work, education, or job training schedule of the parent. 45. Gross Income: A household’s income before any deductions are made of any member of the family as defined above (see Family Unit). 46. Homeless Children: The McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001 defines homeless children and youth as “individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.” Examples of homeless children and youth include those who: (1) share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason (sometimes referred to as doubled up); (2) live in motels, in hotels, or on camping grounds due to lack of adequate alternative accommodation; (3) live in emergency or transitional shelters; (4) were abandoned in hospitals; (5) are awaiting foster care placement; (6) have a primary nighttime residence that is not ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings; (7) live in caves, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, and bus or train stations; (8) are migratory children and youth living in any circumstances described above. 47. Improper Payment: An unauthorized payment made to a provider on behalf of a parent or guardian for CCDF subsidy at the time the payment was made. The error may have been due to Agency Error (AE), Unintentional Program Violation (UPV), or Intentional Program Violation (IPV).