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(Revised 5/1/2025 ML 3909 )
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( NDAC 75-02-01.3-01 ) ( NDCC 50-33-01 )
Accelerated Degree Program - A degree program that typically includes condensed classes that may be completed more quickly than standard classes.
Activity Search – The time an individual spends looking for employment, education or training activities and housing in situations of homelessness. Activity search is only considered to be an allowable activity in ongoing cases.
Exception: If the household is also Diversion, TANF or Transition at the time of application or review, activity search hours can be allowed. TANF and Transition cases must have activity search listed on the employment plan in order to be considered an allowable activity at time of application or review.
Homeless households are allowed activity search at the time of application and review and during their 30 day grace period to provide verifications.
Adequate Notice - Notification of Adverse Action to a household which must be generated no later than the close of business on the 3rd to the last working day of a month so the notice is received by the household no later than the date the household would normally receive benefits. Adequate Notice does not apply to the Child Care Assistance Program.
Advance (10 Day) Notice - Notification of Adverse Action to a household which must be mailed or given to a household at least 10 days before the date of action. Advance Notice does not apply to the Child Care Assistance Program.
Alien – An individual who is still a subject or a citizen of a foreign country and has not been granted US citizenship.
Allowable Activities – Allowable activities include work, activity search, (only in ongoing cases unless the household is also Diversion, TANF or Transition at the time of application or review. TANF and Transition cases must have activity search listed on the employment plan in order to be considered an allowable activity at time of application or review.), attending education or training, and approved activities under the State Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) or Tribal Native Employment Works (NEW). Child care for participation in these allowable activities are reimbursable under the Child Care Assistance Program.
Allowable Postsecondary Education - Engaging in educational activities which will lead to the award of a certificate, Associate's degree, or a Bachelor's degree.
Allowable Postsecondary Student – A student participating in an allowable, postsecondary educational activity.
Allowable Activities – Allowable activities include work, activity search (only in ongoing cases unless the household is also Diversion, TANF or Transition at the time of application or review. TANF and Transition cases must have activity search listed on the employment plan in order to be considered an allowable activity at time of application or review.), attending education or training, and approved activities under the State Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) or Tribal Native Employment Works (NEW). Child care for participation in these allowable activities are reimbursable under the Child Care Assistance Program.
Allowable Training - Training designed to assist an individual to achieve education or retain employment.
Alternative Response for Substance Exposed Newborns (ARSEN)
Alternative Response for Substance Exposed Newborns (ARSEN) means a child protection response involving substance exposed newborns which is designed to provide referral services to and monitor support services for a person responsible for the child's welfare and the substance exposed newborn; and develop a plan of safe care for the substance exposed newborn. Participation in an ARSEN is voluntary and depends on the cooperation of the caregivers. ( NDCC 50-25.1 )
Applicant – An individual who is seeking a benefit under this program.
Application Month – The calendar month in which a signed and dated application is received in the Human Service Zone office.
Approved Relative - A provider, whose relationship to the child by marriage, blood, or court degree, is a:
• Grand-parent (including step-grandparents) • Great-grand parent (including great step-grandparents) • Aunt or uncle (including step-aunt or uncle) • Sibling (including step-siblings) NOTE: Siblings cannot be an approved relative provider if the sibling resides with the child.
Budgeting – Household income assigned to a payment month that is used to compute eligibility and benefit levels.
Business (Work) Day – An official work day of the week which is between and includes Monday to Friday, but does not include weekends and public holidays during which the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services is closed.
Calendar Month – The period of time that begins at midnight on the last day of the previous month and ends at midnight on the last day of the month under consideration.
Caretaker - A child's biological or adoptive parent, the spouse of the child's biological or adoptive parent, or an individual (loco parentis) acting in the place of a child's parent at the request of the parent or another with authority to make the request, but does not mean a provider.
Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) State Determination Team – The Public Assistance Director and the Child Care Assistance Program Policy Administrators(s) when determining if the medical illness of a member of the Child Care Assistance Unit whose medical condition requires a caretaker to be temporarily out of the home warrants child care costs to be paid for the remaining parent participating in an allowable activity.
Child Care Assistance Unit - Includes child(ren) through the month of their 19th birthday, parent(s), caretaker(s) , stepparent(s), and the acknowledged or adjudicated father of one or more children in common in the household.
Child Care Center - An early childhood facility where early childhood services are provided to nineteen (19) or more children.
Child Care Certificate - A certificate issued by the Department of Health and Human Services to the caretaker who is eligible for Child Care Assistance Program.
Child Care Sliding Fee Schedule - A system of cost sharing by a family and the Child Care Assistance Program based on income and size of the family.
Child Support – A voluntary or court-ordered payment by non-custodial parents for support of their child(ren).
Citizenship – The legal status of being a citizen of a country.
Claim – The result of establishing an overpayment.
Closure – The determination of ineligibility for benefits in an ongoing case.
Co-pay – The portion of an expense an individual or family is responsible to pay towards the cost of a service received.
Collateral Contact – An individual who confirms information about a Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) household’s circumstances but does not reside with or is not a member of the CCAP household.
Converting – Changing something from one form to another.
Crossroads - A program for a parent, married or unmarried, male or female, who is twenty years old or younger, who has the primary responsibility for the care of his/her child and who is pursuing high school, a GED or alternative high school.
Denial – The determination of ineligibility for benefits on a new application.
Department - The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services.
Department of Homeland Security – The federal agency that regulates the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) Department.
Disability - A child with a identified developmental delay or disability is a child who has functional needs that requires ongoing additional care. Written verification is required and should state the nature of the special needs and if for a child age thirteen (13) under age nineteen (19) state that the child is unable is unable to care for themselves.
Disqualified Individual – An individual who is ineligible for TANF due to being determined a Disqualified Alien (DA), Disqualified Fleeing Felon/Parole/Probation violator/Drug Felon (DD), or Disqualified Fraud (DF), Disqualified – Child Support (DM) or Disqualified – JOBS sanction (DI).
Diversion – A program available for families as a means to provide short-term emergency benefits and services to families during a ‘specific crisis or episode of need’ for up to 4 months to households who would otherwise qualify for TANF.
Dividend – The amount of the profit distribution a shareholder receives or the amount of surplus distribution on a policyholder receives.
Documentation – Written statement or verification that substantiates or validates an assertion made by an individual or an action taken by a person, (i.e. pay stubs, written statement from employer or child care provider).
Earned Income – Income received as wages, salaries, commissions, or profits from activities in which a household is engaged through either employment or self-employment. There must be personal involvement and effort on the part of the household for income to be considered earned.
Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) – A federal refundable tax credit for low or moderate income working individuals and families. Individuals may receive an EITC once a year as a refund. Working families with children can apply for advance payments with each paycheck.
Employment Identification Number (EIN) - A Federal Tax ID identified as a free nine-digit number issued by the Internal Revenue Service for banking, tax filing, and other business purposes.
Eligible child - Child member of the care assistance unit who is eligible for payment.
English as Second Language – An individual who is participating in classes for English as a second language.
Expense – An amount subtracted from a household’s income when it is intended for a specific allowable expense.
Extenuating Circumstance - a failure or delay, beyond the control of an applicant, to provide needed information and is not due to agency delays.
Eligibility Criteria – Conditions and standards an applicant or recipient must satisfy to be eligible for benefits.
Face-to-Face Interview – Face-to-face meeting to determine initial or ongoing eligibility for assistance. A Face-to-Face interview is not required for the Child Care Assistance Program.
Fair Hearing – A formal hearing conducted by the Office of Administrative Hearings where a ruling is made in favor or against an adverse action that was made in the eligibility determination and benefit amount.
Family Child Care Home - An occupied private residence in which early childhood services are provided for no more than seven (7) children at any one time, except that the term includes a residence providing early childhood services to two (2) additional school-aged children during the two hours immediately before and after the school day and all day, except Saturday and Sunday, when school is not in session during the official school year.
Family Monthly Co-pay – The portion of the monthly child care costs the family is responsible to contribute towards the costs of their child care.
Financial Aid – Programs that financially assists students with the cost of attending post-secondary education.
Fraud – Obtaining, attempting to obtain, or aiding and abetting another to obtain assistance benefits to which the person is not entitled, through intentionally false statements, representations, or the withholding of material information.
Fraud Overpayment – An overpayment that a court or administrative disqualification hearing determines was the result of fraudulent intent.
GED (General Education Diploma or General Equivalency Diploma) – A high-school degree awarded after successful completion of a series of examinations instead of attendance in a traditional classroom setting.
Group Child Care Facility or Group Child Care Home - A child care facility where early childhood services are provided for eight (8) through eighteen (18) children or a facility, other than an occupied private residence, which serves fewer than nineteen (19) children.
Gross Earned Income – The income earned from employment before any deductions.
Homeless – An individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and includes individuals who;
Share the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals or awaiting foster care placement;
Have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings (bus station, lobby) ;
Live in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
Are migratory and live in any of the circumstances as described above.
Human Service Zone - A county or consolidated group of counties administering human services within a designated area in accordance with an agreement or plan approved by the state.
IEVS (Income and Eligibility Verification System) – A set of data exchanges with other state and federal sources that is used to verify income and assets of applicants for or participants of TANF, SNAP and Medicaid.
Immigrant – A person who leaves a country to settle permanently in another country.
Immigration and Naturalization Services – A department within Homeland Security that oversees immigration related services.
Income – Earned or unearned income received by or available to an applicant or recipient.
Income When Received – Income which is received on a normally occurring schedule. Incidental variations of the date of receipt of income do not change the normally received date schedule.
Indian Land Held in Trust –Rreal property held in trust for an Indian Tribe by the federal government.
In-Home Provider - Any person who provides early childhood services to one or more children in the parental home.
Initial Eligibility – Determination of eligibility for an applicant.
Intentional Program Violation (IPV) – An action by an individual, for the purpose of establishing or maintaining eligibility for the Child Care Assistance Program or for increasing or preventing a reduction in the amount of assistance.
Intentional Program Violation Disqualification - The penalty imposed for having made a fraudulent statement or representation with respect to the Child Care Assistance Program through an administrative hearing, federal or state court.
Irregular Income – Income that is received sporadically and not received on regular pay schedule.
Job Opportunity and Basic Skills (JOBS) Program – The companion program to the TANF Program, which combines components of education, training, and employment to enable participants to become self-sufficient.
Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) – A status of an immigrant legally admitted to the United States on a permanent basis, under the United States Immigration and Nationality Act.
Legal Custodian – An individual under legal obligation to provide care for a minor.
Level of Care – Full-time or part-time child care that is needed.
License - The right, authority, or permission granted by the Department of Health and Human Services to operate a family child care home, group child care facility, child care center, or preschool educational facility. A license is required if the provider cares for six (6) or more children or cares for four (4) or more infants.
Loco Parentis – An individual (relative or non-relative) who is not the natural, adoptive or stepparent of the child but who assumes parental responsibilities and is physically caring for the child in their home on a 24-hour-a-day basis when the natural, adoptive or stepparent is not caring for the child or residing in the home and when the duration is expected to last over 30 uninterrupted days.
Lump Sum – Payments received on a recurring, non-recurring or irregular basis.
Minor Parent – An individual who has a marital status of never married, is under age 18, and is a natural or adoptive parent to a child. An individual is considered age 18 on the first day of the month of their 18th birthday.
Monthly Income – Income from any source, either earned or unearned, which is computed and reduced to monthly units for the purpose of determining eligibility and benefits. Income may be received weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly, intermittently, or annually, but is computed and considered monthly.
Multiple Group Licenses - A child care facility where two group licenses are allowed per facility if the operations are physically separate, meet all the requirement standards of a group facility, and each operate totally distinct in its day-to-day operation both on paper and in practice.
Multiple Licensed Facility - An early childhood facility that provides more than one type of early childhood services.
Need – Services that are required for a child whom needs child care while a caretaker(s) is participating in an allowable activity.
Overpayment – Benefits received that exceed the amount for which the household is eligible.
Parent – A child’s mother or father, whether by birth or adoption, but does not include:
• An individual whose parental rights have been terminated; or • A stepparent, when the natural or adoptive parent resides in the home.
Paternity – Legal fatherhood established by marriage, adjudication in a court proceeding, adoption, or the voluntary acknowledgement of paternity. The United States Supreme Court has made it clear that the statutory term "parent" includes only "an individual who owed to the child a state-imposed legal duty to support."
Pension – A fixed sum paid regularly to disabled or retired individuals and in some instances to their dependents.
Preschool Educational Facility - A facility that offers early childhood services and follows a preschool curriculum and course of study designed primarily to enhance the educational development of the children enrolled in the facility and that services no child for more than three hours per day.
Prior Month – The calendar month immediately before the processing month for which the income and circumstances of the Child Care Assistance Program unit are evaluated to determine the amount of child care benefits to be paid during the benefit month.
Prospective income – The anticipated income to be received in a future month.
Qualified Provider - An individual 18 years of age or older, licensed, self-declaration, registered by a Tribe, or an approved relative who provides child care.
Quality Rating Information System (QRIS) - A voluntary provider improvement process for licensed early childhood providers. QRIS utilizes a tiered system of quality indicators for providers to achieve
Recipient - An individual who is eligible the Child Care Assistance Program.
Recoupment – Withholding of part of the Child Care Assistance Program household’s assistance benefit to recover an overpayment.
Registration Fee – A one time or annual mandatory fee that is charged by providers to cover administrative, operational or enrollment costs but does not include fees charged for transportation, meals, field trips and other costs.
School Age Child – A child in any type of school setting that is not included as part of their daily child care activity. This includes preschool, Head Start, and elementary school, etc.
School Age Child Schedule - Schedule of a school age child that includes the yearly school calendar, including holidays, and the daily hours of school attendance.
Self-Declaration - The process whereby the Department of Health and Human Services maintains a record of all in-home and self-declaration providers who have stated that they have complied or will comply with the standards prescribed. Self-declaration is available, although not required, for those child care providers who care for five (5) or less children.
Self-Employment – Employment where people work for themselves rather than an employer.
Self-Employed Individuals : Earn the income directly from a business or trade, not from wages or salary from an employer. Are responsible for the payment of entire Social Security and Federal withholding taxes. [If an employee, the employer would pay half of their Social Security Tax and withhold federal income tax from the employee’s salary.] File self-employment tax forms, however, not all individuals file tax forms.
Siblings – Brothers and sisters (including full, half, or step) who are related through birth, adoption, or marriage.
Spousal Support – A voluntary or court ordered payment by an individual for support to their ex-spouse.
State Maximum Monthly Share – The maximum amount the state will pay for a child eligible for the Child Care Assistance Program in a specific month.
State Rate – The maximum allowable amount the state allows for each child eligible for Child Care Assistance Program based on the Child Care Sliding Fee Schedule.
Stepparent – A person legally married to a parent after the birth or adoption of a child who is not the parent of that child by either birth or adoption.
Note: A child born after a marriage is dissolved is not a stepchild to the ex-spouse.
Temporary Absence – Period of time an individual may be physically absent from a residence but still considered to be a part of the Child Care Assistance household.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) - A program available for a limited time for families where deprivation exists for the child(ren) and income is insufficient to meet the needs of the family. This includes Transition Assistance provided to families for up to 6 months to qualified TANF households.
Terminated Source of Income – Income, earned or unearned, that stops or ends and is not anticipated to begin again.
Timely Report of Changes - A change that is reported within 10 days from the date the event occurred.
Timely Verified – Information that is provided within the required time frame.
Travel time – A reasonable time that it takes an individual to get to and from their allowable activity while their child(ren) is at child care. This does not include travel time from the parent’s home to the child care provider and from the child care provider to the parent’s home.
Tribal Entity - An organization authorized by the government of an Indian tribe within North Dakota to license, register, or otherwise recognize a child care provider operating within the jurisdiction of that Indian tribe.
Tribal Registration – A provider who is registered through one of the Tribal entities in North Dakota.
Underpayment – A correction to benefits paid a household who was originally paid less than they were eligible to receive.
Unearned Income – Income an individual receives without being required to perform any labor or service.
US Citizen – The status of being a native born or naturalized citizen of the United States.
Verification – The process and evidence used to establish the accuracy or completeness of information from an applicant, recipient, third party, etc.
Vocational Training – Training related to a specific trade, occupation or vocation.
Waived Co-pay – Low income families who are not subject to Co-pay requirements.
Work Study – Federal or non-federally funded employment arranged for students by a post-secondary school.
Working - Earning a wage. Self-employment is also defined as work.