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North Carolina

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The unsuitability of a non-licensed child care arrangement is determined on a case-by- case basis. A license exempt child care provider may be considered “unsuitable” for a particular family if one of the following exists:

• The license exempt child care arrangement does not meet the requirements of North Carolina’s Subsidized Child Care Program to receive subsidy payment. • A parent does not want their child(ren) cared for by the non-licensed child care provider.

Affordable Child Care Arrangement

When a child care subsidy is available to the family, the child care is considered affordable. If the child care provider charges parents the difference in the subsidy payment rate and the private paying rate and the parent cannot afford to pay the difference, that care does not meet the definition of affordable.

HEAD START/EARLY EDUCATION

The DHHS/NC Division of Social Services continues to strengthen its’ partnership with the NC Head Start-State Office. The goal of this collaboration is to:

a) increase the number of referrals of families participating in the Work First program to Head Start or Early Head Start programs for enrollment; b) increase the number of referrals that Head Start or Early Head Start programs make to local department of social services agencies of families potentially eligible to receive Work First or other services; c) develop an effective system of communication and information-sharing between Head Start and local department of social services/agencies; and d) provide joint training opportunities for Head Start staff and Work First staff that have similar job functions.

EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE (ALL COUNTIES)

Counties must use their Work First block grant funds to provide emergency assistance to families. Counties must define the eligibility criteria, including who is eligible and the types of emergencies that will be covered. This assistance is designed to assist with families’ sporadic emergency needs, such as a utility cut-off or an eviction notice. Emergency assistance is not designed specifically to help families move to self- sufficiency, although, use of this assistance could help a family’s progress.

Counties will comply with federal requirements. Emergency assistance does not trigger the 24 or 60-month time limit, nor will families receiving emergency assistance be required to participate in the Work First program. In addition, families who have exhausted their 24 or 60-month time limit are eligible for Emergency Assistance, provided all other eligibility criteria are met. These families are not included in calculating the State’s participation rates.

At a minimum, counties must define and describe in their Emergency Assistance plans the following guidelines: