2.1 Reducing Barriers to Family Enrollment and Redetermination

Lead Agency enrollment and redetermination policies may not unduly disrupt parents’ employment, education, or job training activities to comply with the Lead Agency’s or designated local entity’s requirements. Lead Agencies have broad flexibility to design and implement the eligibility practices that reduce barriers to enrollment and redetermination. Examples include developing strategies to inform families and their providers of an upcoming redetermination and the information that will be required of the family, pre-populating subsidy renewal forms, having parents confirm that the information is accurate, and/or asking only for the information necessary to make an eligibility redetermination. In addition, Lead Agencies can offer a variety of family-friendly methods for submitting documentation for eligibility redetermination that considers the range of needs for families in accessing support (e.g., use of languages other than English, access to transportation, accommodation of parents working non-traditional hours). 2.1.1 Eligibility practices to reduce barriers to enrollment a. Does the Lead Agency implement any of the following eligibility practices to reduce barriers at the time of initial eligibility determination? Check all that apply and describe those elements checked. i. [x] Establishing presumptive eligibility while eligibility is being determined. Describe the policy, including the populations benefiting from the policy, and identify how long the period of presumptive eligibility is: DWSS/CCDP allows a 90- day presumptive eligibility determination for priority populations while verifications are being collected. The populations benefiting from this allowance are CPS/Foster families. Presumptive eligibility for these populations removes barriers to accessing services timely. ii. [x] Leveraging eligibility from other public assistance programs. Describe: New Employees of Nevada (NEON) households (i.e., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients) are not required to do a full eligibility certification to be eligible. They only need their ID, application, and a NEON referral to approve them for child care services. iii. [x] Coordinating determinations for children in the same household (while still ensuring each child receives 12 months of eligibility). Describe: All children requiring care at the time of application receive certificates with the same start and end dates, so families only must certify eligibility once per year. When mid- certification changes occur related to the addition of a new child to the household, the end date for the change will be updated for all children in the household to match the end date for the newly added child to keep the 12-month eligibility period consistent for the family. This means existing children in the household may receive longer than 12-month eligibility. iv. [x] Self-assessment screening tools for families. Describe: Families with children five (5) years of age and younger can visit https://www.first5nevada.org/ to access a self-assessment eligibility screening tool that will inform them of their eligibility for a variety of benefits/services, including child care scholarships. v. [ ] Extended office hours (evenings and/or weekends). vi. [x] Consultation available via phone. vii. [x] Other. Describe the Lead Agency policies to process applications efficiently and make timely eligibility determinations: DWSS/CCDP requires eligibility decisions to be made within 30 days of receipt of the application to ensure timely processing. DWSS/CCDP requires CCR&R staff to utilize state system records to verify eligibility factors which have already been reviewed by another public benefit program (such as TANF or SNAP) before asking for additional information from families to expedite processing and eliminate burdens on families to produce verifications for multiple programs. viii. [ ] None. b. Does the Lead Agency use an online subsidy application? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe why an online application is impracticable. c. Does the Lead Agency use different policies for families receiving TANF assistance? [x] Yes. If yes, describe the policies: TANF families do not have to provide verification of eligibility to receive care. CCR&R staff only need a DWSS referral, photo ID, and an initial application to approve the case. For renewals, only an updated referral is needed if they are still receiving TANF. [ ] No. 2.1.2 Preventing disruption of eligibility activities a. Identify, where applicable, the Lead Agency’s procedures and policies to ensure that parents do not have their employment, education, or job training unduly disrupted to comply with the State’s/Territory’s or designated local entity’s requirements for the redetermination of eligibility. Check all that apply. i. [x] Advance notice to parents of pending redetermination. ii. [x] Advance notice to providers of pending redetermination. iii. [x] Pre-populated subsidy renewal form. iv. [ ] Online documentation submission. v. [x] Cross-program redeterminations. vi. [ ] Extended office hours (evenings and/or weekends). vii. [x] Consultation available via phone. viii. [x] Leveraging eligibility from other public assistance programs. ix. [x] Other. Describe: Clients can submit documents by email or fax; in person certification is not required for eligibility. b. Does the Lead Agency use different policies for families receiving TANF assistance? [x] Yes. If yes, describe the policies: TANF families do not have to provide full verification of eligibility to receive care. CCR&R staff only need a DWSS referral, photo ID, and an initial application to approve the case. For renewals, only an updated referral is needed if they are still receiving TANF. [ ] No.