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July 1, 2026

121 • Disruption of Child Schedule: Picking up the child would interrupt mealtime or nap time • Child Wellbeing: Picking up the child would disrupt the child’s routine

Local agencies should consider the circumstances of the case, including the child’s ability to have stable child care arrangements and the overall wellbeing of the child, and proceed according to their discretion.

Example 1: Hillary works and goes to school. Her child, Lisa, needs to attend child care whenever Hillary is at work or school. Hillary’s work and school hours are verified at 18 hours per week. However, Hillary requests 25 hours per week because she leaves Lisa at the child care provider during a gap in her activities. She tells the worker that if she had to pick Lisa up and drop her off between the two (2) activities, they would only be home for 30 minutes. Because they would be home for an unreasonably short period, the agency worker must include the requested gap time in Lisa’s authorized hours.

Example 2: Hayley works first shift and her spouse, Natalie, attends school during the day. Natalie reports that their child, Aurora, needs care during the day while Hayley works and Natalie attends classes. Natalie indicates that she is available for three (3) hours in the middle of the day between classes, but she prefers to leave Aurora at the child care provider because Aurora struggles with having multiple transitions during the day. Because picking up Aurora for three (3) hours and then dropping her off again would negatively impact Aurora’s wellbeing, the agency worker must include the requested gap time in Aurora’s authorized hours.

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.

This section last updated 11/1/2024

Section 16.1.1.6 Travel Time Travel time is the amount of time the parent needs to travel from the child care location to their approved activity and from the approved activity back to the child care provider location. For sleep hours and online education when the parent logs in from home, travel time includes the time the parent needs to travel from the child care provider to home for sleep or their education activity. Parents do not need to provide their travel time and approved activity time separately.

Agency workers must ensure that adequate travel time is included in the number of authorized hours by confirming with the parent that their self-declared child care need includes travel time.