2.3 Prioritizing Services for Vulnerable Children and Families

Lead Agencies must give priority for child care assistance to children with special needs, families with very low incomes (considering family size), and children experiencing homelessness. A Lead Agency has the flexibility to prioritize other populations of children. Note: Statute defines children with disabilities, and CCDF rule gives flexibility to Lead Agencies to include vulnerable populations in their definition of children with special needs. CCDF defines “child experiencing homelessness” as a child who is homeless, as defined in Section 725 of Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 2.3.1 Lead Agency definition of priority groups Describe how the Lead Agency defines: d. “Children with special needs.” A child with special needs means a child who is age 18 or younger who requires additional assistance because of an emotional or physical disability and/or cognitive delay that is verified by medical records or other appropriate documentation such as written verification of the physical, emotional, or mental disability from the appropriate authority. e. “Families with very low incomes.” A family, whose income is at or below the TANF eligibility threshold of the current years’ federal poverty guidelines. 2.3.2 Prioritization of child care services Identify how the Lead Agency will prioritize child care services for the following children and families. a. Complete the table below to indicate how the identified populations are prioritized. Population Prioritized Prioritize for enrollment in child care services Serve without placing on waiting list Waive co- payments as described in 3.3.1 Pay higher rate for access to higher quality care Use grants or contracts to reserve spots Other Children with special needs [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: Families with very low incomes [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: Children experiencing homelessness, as defined by CCDF [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: Population Prioritized Prioritize for enrollment in child care services Serve without placing on waiting list Waive co- payments as described in 3.3.1 Pay higher rate for access to higher quality care Use grants or contracts to reserve spots Other (Optional) Families receiving TANF, those attempting to transition off TANF, and those at risk of becoming dependent on TANF [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: a. Does the Lead Agency define any other priority groups? [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, identify the populations prioritized and describe how the Lead Agency prioritizes services: Teenage parent: A teenage parent means a parent through their 20th birthday who is attending high school. If there was limited funding for child care assistance, a household headed by a teenage parent is a priority. Administrative Rules of Montana 37.80.201(5), Nonfinancial Requirements for Eligibility and Priority for Assistance, includes the priority list to be implemented if there are insufficient funds to provide benefits to all eligible households. A household headed by a teenage parent is listed as priority number three, after a household receiving TANF and a household containing a child with special needs or a child with disabilities, respectively. 2.3.3 Enrollment and grace period for children experiencing homelessness Lead Agencies must allow (after an initial eligibility determination) children experiencing homelessness to receive CCDF services while required eligibility documentation is obtained. Lead Agencies must establish a grace period that allows children experiencing homelessness and children in foster care to receive CCDF assistance while providing their families with a reasonable time to take any necessary actions to comply with State, Territory, or local immunization and other health and safety requirements. The length of such a grace period must be established in consultation with the State, Territorial, or Tribal public health agency. Note: Any payment for such a child during the grace period may not be considered an error or improper payment. a. Describe the strategies to allow CCDF enrollment of children experiencing homelessness while required eligibility documentation is obtained: A family experiencing homelessness is eligible for a 90-calendar day eligibility period while families stabilize their living arrangements. To be eligible for 90-day eligibility period, the parent must submit two forms of documentation to prove homelessness. The first is a self-attestation from the parent on the application. The second could be a letter from a homeless shelter or a statement from a friend or relative the family is living with. A parent must select a registered or licensed child care provider for child(ren) in the family. The 90-day eligibility period allows the family experiencing homelessness to meet all Non-TANF eligibility requirements which include proof of Montana residency, citizenship of child(ren), and income and activity requirements. Scholarship contractor agencies are available to support families experiencing homelessness. Referrals are provided for available community services and identifying child care providers that may meet the needs of the family. b. Describe the grace period for each population below and how it allows them to receive CCDF assistance while providing their families with a reasonable time to take any necessary actions to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements. i. Provide the policy for a grace period for: Children experiencing homelessness: The State requires children to have current immunizations to attend a child care facility, but a conditional enrollment form allows a family to have a plan from a medical professional to come current with immunizations. A child experiencing homelessness can conditionally attend a child care facility if the conditional enrollment form documenting the child's conditional immunization status is on file at the child care facility. The 30-day grace period begins the first day the child attends a child care facility as verified on the sign-in/sign-out records. A child must meet the immunization requirement for conditional enrollment before the end of the 30-day period. A child may not be granted grace periods consecutively. Children who are in foster care: The State requires children to have current immunizations to attend a child care facility, but a conditional enrollment form allows a family to have a plan from a medical professional to come current with immunizations. A child in foster care can conditionally attend a child care facility if the conditional enrollment form documenting the child's conditional immunization status is on file at the child care facility. The 30-day grace period begins the first day the child attends a child care facility as verified on the sign-in/sign-out records. A child must meet the immunization requirement for conditional enrollment before the end of the 30-day period. A child may not be granted grace periods consecutively. ii. Does the Lead Agency certify that the length of the grace period was established in consultation with the State, Territorial, or Tribal public health agency? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: c. Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates with licensing agencies and other relevant State, Territorial, Tribal, and local agencies to provide referrals and support to help families with children receiving services during a grace period comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements: If a family does not have a current immunization history for a child, the scholarship contractor will refer the parent to the county health department or a local healthcare provider. The county health department will look at imMTrax (Montana Immunization Information System) to see if the child has a history of immunizations in Montana. The local healthcare provider may look at imMTrax or contact the county health department if the local healthcare provider needs additional help getting the child's history of immunizations in Montana. If a child does not have current immunizations, the county health department or local healthcare provider will work with the family to fill out the conditional enrollment form. This form will have a plan to get the child current on immunizations. If the county health department needs assistance with out-of-state immunization history, the county health department will contact the state health department. The parent needs to grant permission for the State of Montana to contact other states for immunization history. The conditional enrollment form is monitored by the Lead Agency when a monitoring visit occurs.