Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Administrative Rules
3400.0060 BASIC SLIDING FEE PROGRAM.
Subp. 2.
Basic sliding fee allocation.
The commissioner shall allocate child care funds for the basic sliding fee program as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03, subdivisions 6 to 9.
Subp. 4.
Reallocation of unexpended or unencumbered funds.
The commissioner shall reallocate unexpended or unencumbered funds according to items A to D.
A.
The commissioner may reallocate unexpended or unencumbered funds following the first, second, and third quarters of the allocation period as provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03, subdivision 5. Following the fourth quarter of the allocation period, the commissioner shall review county expenditures under the basic sliding fee program and shall reallocate unearned allocations to counties that had direct service earnings in excess of their allocation.
B.
The amount reallocated to any county shall be based on direct service earnings in excess of its allocation. The amount reallocated shall not be greater than the direct service earnings in excess of allocation minus the county's fixed local match to be calculated as specified in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.11, subdivision 1.
C.
If the amount of funds available for reallocation is less than total county direct service earnings in excess of allocations, the reallocated funds shall be prorated to each county based on the ratio of the county's direct service earnings in excess of its allocation to the total of all county direct service earnings in excess of their allocation.
D.
If the amount of funds available for reallocation is greater than total county direct service earnings in excess of allocations under the basic sliding fee program, the funds remaining after the basic sliding fee reallocation shall be carried forward and added to the funds available for allocation in the next allocation period.
Subp. 5.
Families eligible for assistance under the basic sliding fee program.
To the extent of available allocations, a family is eligible for child care assistance under the basic sliding fee program if:
Subp. 6.
Basic sliding fee program waiting lists.
Counties must keep a written record of families who have requested child care assistance. When a family requests information about child care assistance, the county shall perform a preliminary determination of eligibility. If it appears that a family is or will be eligible for child care assistance and funds are not immediately available, the family shall be placed on a child care waiting list. The county must determine the highest priority group for which a family qualifies and must notify the family of this determination.
Families who inquire or apply while they are temporarily ineligible shall be placed on the waiting list if it appears they will be eligible for child care assistance. When a family advances to the top of the county's waiting list and is temporarily ineligible for child care assistance, the county shall leave the family at the top of the list according to priority group and serve the applicant who is next on the waiting list unless a different procedure is provided in the county's child care fund plan.
Subp. 6a.
Transfer of families from waiting list to basic sliding fee program.
Families on the basic sliding fee waiting list shall be moved into the basic sliding fee program as funding permits according to the priorities listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03. After the county has complied with the priority requirement in section 119B.03, the county must comply with any priority requirements adopted under part 3400.0140, subpart 10, to move families on the waiting list into the basic sliding fee program.
Subp. 7.
Waiting list; transfer of transition year families to the basic sliding fee program.
A.
The county shall place transition year families on the county's basic sliding fee program waiting list effective on the date the family became eligible for transition year child care assistance.
B.
If a transition year family moves to a new county, the date the family was placed on the basic sliding fee waiting list in the original county shall transfer with the family.
C.
Families who are eligible for, but do not use, transition year child care assistance retain their priority status for the basic sliding fee program. Families lose their priority status at the conclusion of their transition year.
D.
The county shall manage its basic sliding fee allocation in a way that allows families to move from transition year to the basic sliding fee program without any interruption in services. The county shall not serve families who are a lower priority on the basic sliding fee waiting list than a transition year family unless the county can ensure basic sliding fee program funding for the transition year family at the end of the transition year.
E.
When the transition year ends, the county shall move the transition year family into the basic sliding fee program. A transition year family that does not come to the top of the county's basic sliding fee program waiting list before completion of the transition year shall be moved into the basic sliding fee program as funding becomes available according to the priority under Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.03, subdivision 4. Transition year extension child care may be used to support employment or a job search that meets the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.10, for the time necessary for the family to be moved from the basic sliding fee waiting list into the basic sliding fee program.
Subp. 8.
Application for child care assistance.
A family must apply for child care assistance in the family's county of residence.
Subp. 9.
County child care responsibility when family moves.
A.
When a family receiving child care assistance from the basic sliding fee program moves to a new county within Minnesota, the original county must continue to provide child care assistance for two full calendar months after the move if the family needs child care and remains eligible for the basic sliding fee program. The family is responsible for notifying the new county of residence within 60 days of moving and applying for basic sliding fee assistance in the new county. The limitation in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.09, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), regarding the family's household income at program entry does not apply when a family receiving assistance moves to another county and timely applies under this item to continue receiving assistance in the new county.
B.
If there is a waiting list for the basic sliding fee program in the receiving county when it assumes responsibility for the family, the receiving county must fund child care assistance for the family through the portability pool. Portability pool funding must continue for the lesser of six months or until the family is able to receive assistance under the receiving county's basic sliding fee program. The family must also be added to the basic sliding fee program waiting list according to portability pool priority group in the receiving county effective the date of the move. If the family reaches the top of the waiting list and funds become available before the six months have ended, the receiving county must immediately add the family to its basic sliding fee program. If basic sliding fee funds are not available when the six months has ended, services to the family must be terminated. The family must stay on the waiting list effective the date of the move. If funds become available after the family's child care assistance has been terminated due to the end of the portability pool period, the family must be treated as a new applicant and must have a household income that meets the income requirements in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.09, subdivision 1, for program entry.
C.
If there is no waiting list for the basic sliding fee program and funds are available, the receiving county must immediately move the family into its basic sliding fee program when it assumes responsibility for the family according to Minnesota Statutes, section 256G.07.
D.
If the participant had an approved educational plan in the original county, the plan transfers with the participant. The plan remains in effect during the two months that the original county continues to pay for the family's child care assistance and during any time the family's child care assistance is paid through the portability pool. When the receiving county pays the family's basic sliding fee assistance from its own allocation, the receiving county may reject, approve, or modify the family's educational plan based on the receiving county's criteria for approving educational plans.
Subp. 10.
Continued eligibility under basic sliding fee program.
A county may not refuse continued child care assistance to a family receiving assistance under the basic sliding fee program when there is a change in the family's financial or household status provided that the family continues to meet the eligibility requirements in this part and the general eligibility requirements in part 3400.0040. Except for the job search time limit under Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.10, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), the education time limit in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.07; and the time limit for the at-home infant care program in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.035, subdivision 4, counties may not set a time limit for eligibility under the basic sliding fee program.
History:
14 SR 519; 18 SR 1144; 26 SR 253; 33 SR 695
Published Electronically:
October 3, 2013
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes