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3.16. Suspension

A. Authorization Status

At the discretion of the head of household, authorized child care payments may be suspended for up to 90 days if a temporary interruption in child care is necessary and the reason for the interruption can be resolved within 90 days. No payments are made during the suspension and no copayment is owed during this time. The effective begin date of the suspension must be at least 10 days from the current date to allow for the advance notice. A child care case for which authorization is temporarily suspended is not considered closed. The family may not be placed on the waitlist. During the suspension period, funds associated with the suspended case are encumbered. A NOA is generated when the authorization status goes to Suspended.

Temporarily suspending care during the eligibility period is fully at the discretion of the parent. A child's authorization may only be suspended at the request of the recipient during the eligibility period. See examples below of possible reasons why a parent may ask to temporarily suspend care: 1. A parent who works for the school system is not actively working during the summer. 2. A parent’s place of employment is seasonally closed. 3. A mother is employed, but on temporary maternity leave. 4. The parent(s) remain in an approved activity, but a break in child care is needed due to child’s illness. 5. The parent(s) remain in approved activity, but child goes to stay with a relative for a period of time not to exceed 90 days.

If any of these situations apply during a family’s redetermination period, workers should base the schedule on anticipated child care need when the parent returns (or the schedule prior to the break, based on the parent’s preference). Parents should be reminded that if they need more care based on their schedule when they return they can come back and request additional hours of service. Parents should also be reminded that it is their responsibility to make arrangements with their child care provider during periods of temporary suspension.

B. End of Suspension Period

To lift the suspension, the head of household may contact the worker or vice versa. The worker must record the contact in the case narrative to assure that the case reader will understand why the case was suspended and when it was lifted. This is strictly voluntary and does not require verification. When the suspension period ends, the authorization status is changed from Suspended to Authorized in VaCMS. An NOA must be sent to the recipient. Since the change in authorization status back to Authorized is not an adverse action, the change can take place without waiting for the 10-day notice period. A suspension would not be appropriate in an instance such as a college student who is taking longer than a 90-day break. A new POSO is required if the authorization is revised. A termination POSO will be available to the provider in EPPIC to let them know that the previous authorization was terminated.