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Subsidized Child Care Assistance Program Policy Manual Chapter 7. Family Definition and Determining Income Eligibility Revised 08/01/2024

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5. A child who lives with a responsible adult who is not the biological or adoptive parent is considered a child only income unit. If the child has siblings, they are also included in the income unit.

6. Children in foster care will be the case head in their own case and the staff designated by DSS will sign the application, rights and responsibilities and the voucher. With sibling groups, the youngest child will be the case head. If the family is divided, each child will be their own case head.

B. Child Protective Services (CPS), Child Welfare Services (CWS), and Foster Care (FC) Income Units:

When the income unit involves CPS, CWS, or FC, SCCA is provided to children receiving child protective services without regard to the family’s income and parental fees are not assessed.

1. CPS When a recipient applies for child care assistance based on CPS, the recipient will be given 12-months of eligibility. The child must be receiving child protective services and must need child care in order to remain in his/her own home.

When a CPS application is being processed, the child care worker must collect and verify income information from the responsible adult and enter the income into NC FAST to establish a parental fee. The parental fee is waived until the need for CPS ends. Once the CPS need ends, the parental fee can be assessed to the family.