Page 77

DIVISION OF WELFARE AND SUPPORTIVE SERVICES Child Care Policy Manual Two-parent household – one parent temporarily disabled as verified by a physician or qualified medical professional. A completed NEON Child Care Referral form is required for the non-disabled parent only. • NEON 2 Program (TN2): TANF household with two work-eligible parents. One or both parents may be disqualified household members but are still work-eligible. Examples: Two-parent household – one parent disqualified for non-cooperation. Two-parent household – both parents disqualified for IPV. A completed NEON Child Care Referral form is required for each parent in a two-parent household. Note: If job search is the approved NEON activity, Child Care staff must ensure there is justification for why one parent/caretaker cannot care for the child while the other is seeking employment. The justification must be documented in the case notes. • Temporary Program (TP): The Temporary Program is limited to receiving no more than four months of payments designed to meet an immediate episode of need, such as flood, earthquake, etc. This program can be a one or two-parent household. A completed NEON Referral form is required for each parent in a two-parent household. Child care cannot exceed four months of coverage under this program per episode. Exception: Applicants must be receiving TANF cash under the Temporary Program to qualify for child care assistance. If an applicant is pending TANF cash under the Temporary Program, reject the referral and notify the DWSS case manager. Refer to MS 116.1 for information on NEON Referrals. 410.1 Additional Information • A completed NEON Child Care Referral form must be received for each parent/caretaker, as appropriate. Refer to MS 116.1 regarding criteria for a completed NEON Child Care Referral. • For the NEON POC, the specific details of the activity are not required as the activity is monitored by DWSS Child Care staff. • Individuals will not be eligible for NEON job search activity during school hours if the only eligible child(ren) is school age (6 to 12 years old) or has special needs (13 to 19 years old). However, part-time child care is allowed to cover before and after school hours if required NEON participation hours are greater than school hours. Child care assistance for job search for child(ren) not in school (e.g. summer break, track break, holidays) will be allowed. Exception: Subsidy assistance for job search is allowed if a child is enrolled and attending part-day kindergarten. • Upon approval under the NEON POC, certificates are issued for a 12-month certification period per the start and end dates requested on the NEON Child Care Referral. Note: The application date entered in the computer system for NEON referrals must be either the start date on the referral or the date care is requested to begin, whichever is later. Do not use the referral date or the application date stamp date for NEON referrals. When the household’s TANF NEON case terminates for any reason, and the POC is not Employment, the certification period will be limited to no more than an additional 90 days of child care assistance. If the household becomes employed during that 90-day period, their child care assistance will be continued for the remainder of the original 12-month certification period. If there are not 90 days remaining in the initial 12-month certification when TANF is terminated, the case must close at the end of the initial certification period. • Non-financial and financial eligibility factors which are verified by DWSS Child Care staff are not required to be re-verified by Child Care staff. However, once the applicant is no longer eligible under the NEON Activity category, all non-financial and financial eligibility factors must be verified. The following chart confirms which eligibility factors are verified by DWSS case managers. 400-Purpose of Care Categories [2] MTL 01/24 July 1, 2024