Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Administrative Rules
3400.0235 AT-HOME INFANT CHILD CARE PROGRAM.
Subpart 1.
Purpose and applicability.
This part governs the administration of the at-home infant child care program. All provisions in parts 3400.0010 to 3400.0230 apply to the at-home infant child care program unless otherwise specified in this part or in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.035.
Subp. 2.
Administration of at-home infant child care program.
Within the limits of available funding the commissioner shall make payments for expenditures under the at-home infant child care program. Participation in the statewide pool shall be determined based on the order in which requests are received from counties. Following the birth or arrival of an infant, counties shall submit family requests for participation in the at-home infant child care program on forms provided by the commissioner. The commissioner shall respond within seven days to county inquiries about the availability of funds. The commissioner shall monitor the use of the pool and if the available funding is obligated, the commissioner shall create a waiting list of at-home infant child care referrals from the counties. As funds become available to the pool, the commissioner shall notify counties in which eligible families on the waiting list reside.
Subp. 3.
General eligibility requirements.
Items A to E govern eligibility for the at-home infant child care program.
A.
A family is eligible to receive assistance under the at-home infant child care program if one parent provides full-time care for the infant. The eligible parent must meet the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.035, subdivision 3. The requirements of caring for the infant full-time may be met by one or both parents. For purposes of this part, eligible parents include birth parents, adoptive parents, and stepparents. Nonfamily members may provide regular care for the child but are limited to a maximum of ten hours of care per week.
B.
A family may apply for the at-home infant child care program before the child is born or anytime during the infant's first year. The family must apply before the end of the infant's first year to receive an at-home infant child care subsidy. Following the birth of a child, a family is eligible to receive a subsidy under the at-home infant child care program according to the date of eligibility in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.09, subdivision 7, and when funding is available. A family shall only receive subsidy payments through the infant's twelfth month. "Infant" means a child from birth through 12 months of age and includes adopted infants.
C.
A family is limited to a lifetime total of 12 months of at-home infant child care assistance. At the time of application to the program, the parent or parents must declare whether they have previously participated in the at-home infant child care program. If the parent or parents declare that they have participated in the at-home infant child care program, the commissioner shall, at the request of the county, inform the county of the remaining months of eligibility for the at-home infant child care program.
D.
At the time of application to the at-home infant child care program, the family must meet the eligibility requirements in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.035, subdivision 2, and be income-eligible based on these activities. At the time of application to the at-home infant child care program, a family who is not currently participating in the basic sliding fee program must provide verification of participation in an authorized activity within the nine months before the birth or expected arrival of the child.
E.
During the period a family receives a subsidy under the at-home infant child care program, the family is not eligible to receive basic sliding fee child care assistance for the infant or any other child in the family.
Subp. 4.
Continued eligibility under basic sliding fee program.
If families exiting the at-home infant child care program request continued child care assistance and meet all eligibility factors for the basic sliding fee program, the provisions in Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.035, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), apply.
Subp. 5.
Assistance payments.
Items A to C govern assistance payments under the at-home infant child care program.
A.
The number of months of at-home infant child care participation used shall be credited to the eligible parents. If an eligible parent later forms a new family, the number of months of at-home infant child care subsidy received shall be subtracted from the maximum assistance available under this part.
B.
There is no additional subsidy for infants with special needs or for multiple births. The county must subtract the family's copayment required by Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.12, to determine the final at-home infant child care subsidy for the family.
C.
Family income shall be determined or redetermined at the time a family applies for the at-home infant child care program. Family income shall be annualized from the beginning of the month in which the family would first participate in the at-home infant child care program. Family income includes:
(4)
other income the family may receive as determined under part 3400.0170 and Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.011, subdivision 15.
Excluded income is defined in part 3400.0170, subpart 6, and Minnesota Statutes, section 119B.011, subdivision 15. The calculation of the family copayment fee is described in part 3400.0100.
D.
For purposes of counting the number of months that a family has participated in the at-home infant child care program, any portion of a month in which a family receives a subsidy under the at-home infant child care program is considered a full month of participation in the at-home infant child care program.
For purposes of calculating the at-home infant child care program copayment and subsidy in the first service period, the county shall use the method described in part 3400.0100. In addition, the county shall prorate the subsidy received in the first and last service period of participation according to subitems (1) to (4).
(1)
If the family participates in the at-home infant child care program during the service period in which the infant is born or arrives in the home, the subsidy must be prorated to cover the number of calendar days from the date of birth or arrival until the end of the service period.
(2)
If the family participates in the at-home infant child care program during the service period of the infant's first birthday, the subsidy must be prorated to cover the number of calendar days from the beginning of the service period to the date of the infant's first birthday.
(3)
If the eligible parent leaves employment or another authorized activity in order to participate in the at-home infant child care program, the subsidy must be prorated to cover the number of calendar days from the date the eligible parent leaves the authorized activity to the end of the service period.
(4)
If the eligible parent returns to an authorized activity and will no longer be participating in the at-home infant child care program, the subsidy must be prorated to cover the number of calendar days from the beginning of the service period to the date the parent returns to the authorized activity. If all other eligibility conditions are met, the family shall be eligible to receive basic sliding fee child care assistance beginning on the day the eligible parent returns to the authorized activity.
Subp. 6.
County responsibilities.
Items A to C govern county responsibilities for the program.
A.
In addition to duties required under part 3400.0140, counties shall perform the following functions to administer the at-home infant child care program:
(3)
determine availability of and encumber ongoing basic sliding fee funding if the family was participating in the basic sliding fee program before participating in the at-home infant child care program or has reached the top of the county's waiting list for the basic sliding fee program;
(6)
notify the commissioner when a family's participation in the at-home infant child care program ends.
B.
During program participation, the county shall apply billing procedures established under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 119B, to issue the at-home infant child care subsidy to families.
C.
When a family's participation in the at-home infant child care program ends, the county shall send the family and the commissioner a notice indicating the number of months the family participated in the at-home infant child care program in that county.
History:
23 SR 1625; L 1999 c 205 art 5 s 21; 26 SR 253; L 2005 c 107 art 2 s 60; 33 SR 695
Published Electronically:
October 3, 2013
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes