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DIVISION OF WELFARE AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Child Care Policy Manual accurate estimate, income from the same source for up to 365 days prior to the application date stamp may be used. The prior income period begins the day prior to the application date stamp, the interview date, or the date of the household’s income record, whichever is the most current, and extends backwards. This 30-day period applies to timely or untimely case approval unless additional verification of income is provided by the household or discovered by the agency prior to approval. Changes in the best estimate calculation will only be evaluated if one of the following changes in income is reported or discovered prior to approval. Refer to MS 500 for information on updating changes an ongoing case: • Change in employer • Stopping or starting a job • New source of countable unearned income • Termination of unearned income Examples: Timely Processing Customer applies on September 4, and an interview is conducted on September 14; customer reports no changes since the application was submitted. The customer is employed and is paid biweekly on Fridays. The customer provided paystubs for August 31, August 17, and August 3. The 30-day period is September 3 back to August 5. The case manager will use the paychecks received on August 17 and August 31 and no additional paystubs are required. Note: Additional paystubs already provided by the household may be used if they provide a better estimate of the household’s annual income. Untimely Processing Customer submitted their application on June 13. The customer reports on their application they are paid every Thursday, and provides paychecks received on May 15, May 22, June 5, and June 12 along with all other required verifications; no interview is held. Due to extenuating circumstances the case manager is unable to work the application until July 15. The additional paychecks received between June 13 and July 15 will not be required. The 30-day period will begin on June 12 and extend back to May 14. If the application reflects a new source of income, without a 30-day history, a projected best estimate of the new income must be calculated. Refer to MS 312 for calculating new income. Independent verification of exempt income is not required. Self-declaration of exempt income on the application is acceptable. Refer to MS 306 for a list of exempt income. If verification of income is required but unavailable (the individual's job would be jeopardized, the employer refuses to cooperate, the business has closed, etc.), the individual's statement may be accepted. If a statement is used, the reason the applicant’s statement was accepted, along with all other methods of verification attempted prior to accepting the applicant’s statement, must be documented in the computer system. Documentation of Income Verification and computation of all household income must be documented in the computer system at initial application, reapplication, or any time a change is reported or identified. 300- Income and Assets [4] MTL 01/24 July 1, 2024 304