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113 documented in case comments (see 12.2). Specific details about the difference (i.e., exact travel times, start or end times of gaps, etc.) do not need to be documented. Agency workers may request additional verification if the answers provided are questionable.

Example 3: Ray attends college and is requesting an authorization for his child, Alan. His school schedule shows that he has 15 hours of class per week. Ray requests an authorization for 25 hours per week. Because this crosses the full-time threshold, the agency worker asks follow-up questions to understand the 10-hour difference. Ray indicates that the 25 hours includes travel time and a gap between classes that occurs on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The agency worker documents that the authorized hours include travel time and gap time and enters 25 weekly hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

Example 4: Lindsey requests an authorization for 30 weekly hours for her child, Tom. The approved activity verification she provided indicates that she works 20 hours per week. When the worker asks about this difference, Lindsey explains that she works third shift and leaves Tom at the child care provider until the morning so that she can sleep and avoid waking Tom up in the middle of the night. Her request also includes travel time to drop him off at the child care provider before work. The agency worker determines this reasonably aligns with the verification, documents the reasons in case comments, and enters 30 weekly hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

If the agency worker determines that the parent’s self-declared need does not reasonably align with their approved activity, the reason for the difference between the approved hours and the requested hours, as well as the rationale for the hours that were ultimately approved, must be documented in case comments (see 12.2).

Example 5: Hannah requests an authorization of 40 weekly hours for her child, Zoe. The approved activity verification she provided indicates that she works 15 hours per week. When the worker asks about this difference, Hannah indicates that she prefers to have Zoe attend the child care provider full-time because it allows her to do other things during the day after she is done with work. The agency worker determines this is not reasonably related to Hannah’s need to participate in her approved activity. The worker discusses Hannah’s schedule with her and determines that Zoe needs 20 hours based on Hannah’s schedule and travel time. The agency worker documents in case comments that the requested 40 weekly hours were reduced to 20 weekly hours because Hannah did not need 40 hours to participate in her approved activity and that the 20 approved hours are sufficient to cover work and travel time. The agency worker enters 20 hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

Example 6: Aiden works full-time and is requesting an authorization for his school-age child, Jack, in October. He requests 45 hours based on his 40-hour work schedule and his need to enroll Jack full-time at the provider. Since Jack is in school, the agency