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21 North Carolina

• Lack of childcare for parent and/or a minor parent in school, training, or other work activity. An application for Work First Cash Assistance is valid for a 45-day period. If the application is denied before the 45th day, eligibility for Work First Cash Assistance can be established at any time within the 45-day period without requiring a new interview, assessment or Documentation Workbook. This is dependent on the county case manager having all information and documentation required to make the eligibility determination with the 45-day period.

ELIGIBILITY REVIEWS

Frequent contact with Work First families is critical in ensuring their success at moving to employment. Counties must review a family’s progress on the terms of the MRA-B Plan of Action/Outcome Plan at least every 12 weeks. Families that do not participate in or allow the county to complete the periodic review will lose their Work First payment for at least one month. The family may re-apply for Work First, but eligibility can begin no earlier than the first of the month following the month of ineligibility. A face-to-face interview must be conducted, and eligibility re-determined at a minimum of every 12 months. A face-to-face interview can be in-person or any virtual platform which includes video capability and allows the worker to have a face-to-face conversation with the client. (This can include but is not limited to Zoom, Microsoft Teams, FaceTime, etc.) Case manager documentation should clearly outline the platform being used.

The Work First case manager must provide or arrange for appropriate accommodations for families with limited English proficiency or with disabilities to ensure reviews are conducted as scheduled.

CHILD-ONLY CASES

In alignment with North Carolina’s 2020-2024 Child and Family Services Plan (CFSP), strategic priorities include ensuring safety, permanency and well-being needs are met for all children involved with child welfare services. This includes providing support to meet the diverse needs of relatives and kin who are caring for children in the child welfare system. Namely, by 2024, NC’s CFSP aims to decrease the number of days it takes a child to exit foster care and increase the rate of permanent exits (reunification, adoption, guardianship, custody).1 This goal reflects certain requirements identified in Rylan’s Law, as well as the Family First Prevention Services Act which has an increased focused on family-based placements and supports for kinship caregivers. County departments of social services/agencies are encouraged to provide family enrichment services to child only cases and to conduct home visits. Children in child-only cases are likely to be “known” to the child welfare system. Often the child resides with a relative or kin rather than in the foster care system.

In terms of eligibility, child-only cases must be reviewed within six (6) months after the application has been approved and at least every 12 months thereafter. All reviews

1 Also aligns with North Carolina’s Early Childhood Action Plan (ECAP) which outlines a cohesive vision, sets benchmarks for impact by the year 2025, and establishes shared stakeholder accountability to achieve statewide goals