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Child Care Scholarship Policy Manual 116

or other designee. Cases where there is not a discrepancy between providers on who served the child and there is a need to backdate to prevent a gap in services may be approved if the date is within a three-month time frame. Dates outside of the three months must be approved by a manager. Note: Control Center staff may make connections over the phone when they receive a telephone call or email from the client or child care provider and they can confirm with both that the child will be starting and on what date.

4.1.1 PARENTAL CHOICE A parent is legally and morally responsible for their child and has the right to select the child care provider of their choice. Finding suitable child care is one of the most important decisions that a parent can make. The goal of any interaction between a parent and staff is to ensure that the applicant receives adequate information to make choices that provide stable and reliable child care. A parent receiving Child Care Scholarship Program assistance is offered a broad range of options in addressing their child care needs. A client eligible for child care may visit, abcqualitycare.org or scchildcare.org to search for available enrolled child care providers. For clients that do not have access to the internet, they may request a list of providers by calling the Child Care Scholarship Program Control Center. A parent has the option of choosing the provider who will care for their child, whether the provider is a: o Child care center o Family or group day home o Church or synagogue o School o Employer o Family, Friend, and Neighbor

Note: For family preservation (CPS and FC cases), client may choose only licensed child

care programs unless a waiver has otherwise been approved.

4.1.2 PROVIDER SELECTION As with all child care categories, if the provider chosen is not currently enrolled in the Child Care Scholarship Program, the child care worker should: