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114 worker asks follow-up questions to understand the need for the full-time authorization. Aiden tells the worker that he works first shift but since he needs both before and after school care, Jack is enrolled “full-time” with the provider. He explains that the provider enrolls children “part-time” if they only need before or after school care (not both). The agency worker explains that even though this is how the provider defines full-time, the actual weekly hours needed are used to determine the authorization hours for Wisconsin Shares. Aiden and the agency worker discuss Aiden’s schedule and determine that Jack needs 18 hours per week based on the actual before and after school care, including travel time for Aiden. The agency worker documents that the requested 45 hours were reduced to 18 hours due to the misunderstanding of the “full- time” definition and that the 18 approved hours are sufficient to cover work and travel time. The agency worker enters 18 weekly hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

This section last updated 11/1/2024

Section 16.1.1.2 Sleep Hours Parents who work third shift may request an authorization for child care for sleep time based on the parent’s need to sleep to remain employed. The local agency will determine a reasonable number of authorized hours on a case-by-case basis. The same family may also request child care for the hours of employment.

Agency workers must consider the maximum hours per day when determining authorized hours (see 16.1.2). This maximum includes hours of employment, travel time, gap time, and any sleep hours requested by the parent.

Example 1: Theresa works third shift and sleeps during the day. Theresa requests a child care authorization for her child, Milo, only for the hours that she sleeps. She requests an authorization for 24 weekly hours, which Theresa indicates is around 7 hours per day of sleep time plus travel time. The local agency determines that the requested hours are reasonable and enters 24 weekly hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

Example 2: Ximena requests an authorization for 54 weekly hours. She tells the agency worker that this amount includes three (3) 12-hour work shifts plus five (5) hours of sleep time, and 30 minutes of travel time each way for each shift. Because the limit for a child to be in care at a licensed group provider is 14 hours in a 24-hour period, only 14 hours of care may be authorized for each shift, resulting in 42 weekly hours. Ximena must also provide written documentation showing the work, travel, or other factors that show a child care need of more than 12 hours per day. After Ximena provides the documentation, the agency worker enters 42 weekly hours as the authorized hours in CSAW.

This section last updated 11/1/2024