2.3 Prioritizing Services for Vulnerable Children and Families

Lead Agencies must give priority for child care assistance to children with special needs, families with very low incomes (considering family size), and children experiencing homelessness. A Lead Agency has the flexibility to prioritize other populations of children. Note: Statute defines children with disabilities, and CCDF rule gives flexibility to Lead Agencies to include vulnerable populations in their definition of children with special needs. CCDF defines “child experiencing homelessness” as a child who is homeless, as defined in Section 725 of Subtitle VII-B of the McKinney-Vento Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a). 2.3.1 Lead Agency definition of priority groups Describe how the Lead Agency defines: d. “Children with special needs.” a child with disabilities who requires special education, specialized healthcare, or other functional needs or services, or a child receiving Early Intervention under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act e. “Families with very low incomes.” Families with incomes at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Limit based on the household size are considered very low income and are not required to make any co-payment or family share payment toward their child care services. 2.3.2 Prioritization of child care services Identify how the Lead Agency will prioritize child care services for the following children and families. a. Complete the table below to indicate how the identified populations are prioritized. Population Prioritized Prioritize for enrollment in child care services Serve without placing on waiting list Waive co- payments as described in 3.3.1 Pay higher rate for access to higher quality care Use grants or contracts to reserve spots Other Children with special needs [ ] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: Families with very low incomes [ ] [x] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: Children experiencing homelessness, as defined by CCDF [ ] [x] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: (Optional) Families receiving TANF, those attempting to transition off TANF, and those at risk of becoming dependent on TANF [ ] [x] [x] [ ] [ ] [ ] Describe: a. Does the Lead Agency define any other priority groups? [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, identify the populations prioritized and describe how the Lead Agency prioritizes services: Teen parents participating in the Teen and Family Development Program that are employed, attending school or participating in education related activities for a minimum of twenty (20) hours per week on average, may be authorized for CCAP benefits. Families participating in RIWorks Cash Assistance/TANF are CCAP eligible based on their required work plan. The lead agency supports prioritization for children involved with the Department of Children, Youth and Families to identify quality child care placements for children. Children with DCYF involvement are prioritized for Head Start placements. 2.3.3 Enrollment and grace period for children experiencing homelessness Lead Agencies must allow (after an initial eligibility determination) children experiencing homelessness to receive CCDF services while required eligibility documentation is obtained. Lead Agencies must establish a grace period that allows children experiencing homelessness and children in foster care to receive CCDF assistance while providing their families with a reasonable time to take any necessary actions to comply with State, Territory, or local immunization and other health and safety requirements. The length of such a grace period must be established in consultation with the State, Territorial, or Tribal public health agency. Note: Any payment for such a child during the grace period may not be considered an error or improper payment. a. Describe the strategies to allow CCDF enrollment of children experiencing homelessness while required eligibility documentation is obtained: Families experiencing homelessness have 90 days after initial application to provide documents required to make an eligibility determination. Families experiencing homelessness are not responsible for a copay/family share contribution to child care benefits ($0 copy). Providers can immediately enroll children and receive payment for services during the 90-day period. Providers can enroll children without proof of immunization or other medical records and families have 90 days to provide these records. b. Describe the grace period for each population below and how it allows them to receive CCDF assistance while providing their families with a reasonable time to take any necessary actions to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements. i. Provide the policy for a grace period for: Children experiencing homelessness: 90-day grace period for applicant to provide eligibility documents and child/ren's immunization/health documentation Children who are in foster care: 90-day grace period to obtain child/ren￿s immunization and health record documentation ii. Does the Lead Agency certify that the length of the grace period was established in consultation with the State, Territorial, or Tribal public health agency? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: c. Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates with licensing agencies and other relevant State, Territorial, Tribal, and local agencies to provide referrals and support to help families with children receiving services during a grace period comply with immunization and other health and safety requirements: DHS has developed a relationship with the School and Adolescent Services Coordinator in the Office of Immunization at the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH). Through this collaboration DHS is able to have direct access to this content expert as it relates to not only ensuring that the children are up to date on mandatory vaccines but also to support families in accessing immunization services through either clinics or direct referrals for any families who may be in that grace period. DHS is also able to access real time guidance for any instance in which a family is not willing to vaccinate a child. Additionally, DHS partners with this office to support a yearly immunization survey of child care centers that provides information to both DHS and RIDOH as to where there may be areas of the state where vaccine requirements are not being met consistently. This allows for both DHS and RIDOH to outreach providers to gather more information as to why this is occurring and assess if regulatory language or guidance within either Department should be updated to support this work.