Page 221

(a) Full-time child care is provided for participation of twenty or more hours per week or attendance at a post secondary institution of at least twelve hours per week; or (b) Half-time child care is provided for participation of ten or more hours but less than twenty per week; or (c) Hourly rate child care is provided for participation of less than ten hours per week. (4) In arranging child care, the Department will consider the following: (a) The individual needs of the child, including reasonable accessibility of the care to the child’s home and school or to the parent’s place of employment or training; (b) The appropriateness of the care to the age and special needs of the child; and (c) Encouraging the recipient to arrange his own child care at no cost to the State when possible. (d) The local Department will make available for a parent’s review the available county listings of regulated child care providers. (5) Payment of child care by the Department: (a) Payment will not be made to any Child Day Care Centers, Group Day Care Homes or Family Day Care Homes that do not meet applicable State and local regulatory requirements. (b) Payments may be made to providers who are by law exempt from regulatory requirements (e.g. churches) and who provide documentation of their exempt status. (c) Payments cannot be made to an alleged absent parent. (d) Payments cannot be made to a child care provider who is a member of the same FI budget group as the parent. (e) Payments cannot exceed the prescribed local market rates established by the Department. (f) A parent who chooses a child care provider whose rates exceed the maximum allowable amount shall be responsible for the excess amount (the excess is not considered to be a fee or co- payment). (g) Child care registration will be paid only once per year unless there are extenuating circumstances that require a change in child care providers. (h) Informal child care providers must be at least twenty-one years of age. (i) Child care payments to relatives, friends, or neighbors are subject to federal and State income taxes; the provider of the child care will be sent a 1099 form showing the amount of the child care payments. (j) Any child care facility accepting children of FI recipients shall allow parents or guardians unrestricted access to the child care facility. (6) The Department will provide, pay for, or reimburse transportation expenses which it deter- mines are necessary, based on a recipient’s established need which enable the recipient to participate in approved FI employment and training program activities. (a) Recipients who live less than one and one-half miles from their destination will not receive assistance with transportation costs. (b) Transportation costs that will be reimbursed include, but are not limited to: (i) Reimbursing a recipient or operator driving a privately owned vehicle at a rate set by the Department, dependent on funds available. The Department may set a maximum on the amount of the reimbursement. (ii) Purchased transportation will be contracted for at the least expensive rate not to exceed the rate set by the Department, dependent on funds available. (iii) Recipients living in areas where bus service is available must use this mode of transporta- tion, unless the recipient has alternate transportation. Bus tickets may be provided. (iv) Payments to assist with child care transportation to and from the child’s home are allowable up to limits established in items (3)(a)-(c) above.