EXPEDITED REGULATIONTRAINING:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

SELF-EMPLOYMENT

  1. Will the notarized statement be a specific DPW form that a parent/caretaker (p/c)must use?

The Division of Policy created a new Self-Employment Income Notarized Statement based on the Self-Employment Self-Declaration form. The form is currently in review; we plan to release it next week. The parent/caretaker (p/c) may complete this form and have it notarized. The form asks the p/c to list the total amount of gross receipts, the total amount of business expenses and the total amount of net income. By signing the form, the p/c affirms that the information given is true, correct and complete to the best of his/her ability, knowledge and belief. The p/c must attach supporting documentation, such as receipts or a ledger, to substantiate the information stated on the form. The p/c may submit another type of notarized statement, such as a handwritten statement, as long as all the pertinent information is included and supporting documentation is attached.

  1. If a p/c does not file a tax return by April 15, but files for an extension, is this acceptable?

Yes. If the p/c has not filed a tax return by April 15 because the p/c has filed for an extension, the p/c can complete a self-declaration form and self-declarefor 30 days, but must provide the tax return no later than Day 31 following the self-declaration. The p/c must also provide verification that he/she has filed for the extension. The CCIS must complete a system redetermination and the redetermination date must be set back to October in order to maintain an April/October redetermination cycle.

  1. Should self-employment income be entered into PELICAN CCW as an annual or a weekly amount?

The CCIS must continue to enter the self-employment income as an annual amount on the Self-Employment Detail page in PELICAN CCW. The CCIS must perform the calculation regarding minimum wage outside of the system, and enter the number of hours/week derived from the calculation in the “Hours worked per week” field.

  1. How is income and hours of care calculated?

The CCIS must divide the annual income by the number of weeks over which the income was earned and then divide the weekly income by the PA minimum wage ($7.25) to determine the number of hours of care per week the p/c is eligible to receive subsidized child care. If the number of hours of care is 20 hours/week or greater and the p/c meets all other eligibility requirements child care is authorized for that number of hours per week. If the income covers less than a six month period, a tracking date should be setto reevaluate whether the p/c continues to meet the work-hour requirement when the period of self-employment ends. If the income covers more than a six month period, a redetermination should be completed as usual.

EXAMPLE 1:Income covers 52 weeks - ELIGIBLE. Redetermination completed on 4/16/13. The p/c works 52 weeks as a beautician and provides an income tax return showing a profit of $18930.85. $18930.85 (annual income)/52 weeks = $364.05 per week. S364.05 (weekly income)/$7.25 (PA minimum wage) = 50 hours of care per week. The p/c is eligible for up to 50 hours of care per week. On 10/16/13, the CCIS must complete a redetermination but the verification of self-employment income that was submitted during the previous redetermination is valid until the next income tax return is filed. If the p/c reports that he/she is still self-employed in the same business, the CCIS will continue to use the same income information from the previous year’s income tax return. The p/c will remain eligible for 50 hours of care per week.

EXAMPLE 2:Income covers 52 weeks - INELIGIBLE. Redetermination completed on 4/16/13. The p/c works 52 weeks as a carpenter and provides an income tax return showing a profit of $6930.85. $6930.85 (annual income)/52 weeks = $133.29 per week. $133.29 (weekly income)/$7.25 (PA minimum wage) = 18 hours of care per week. The p/c is ineligible for subsidized child care.

EXAMPLE 3:Income covers 40 weeks - ELIGIBLE. Redetermination completed on 9/17/12. The p/c

is aconstruction worker who works 40 weeks out of the year, ending on 6/14/13. The p/c provides an income tax return showing a profit of $9,000. $9,000 (annual income)/40weeks = $225.00 per week. $225.00 (weekly income)/$7.25 (PA minimum wage) = 31 hours of care per week. The p/c is eligible for up to 31 hours of care per week through 6/14/13. Because the self-employment is ending on 6/14/13, the CCIS must set a tracking date to reevaluate whether the p/c is meeting the work-hour requirement. The CCIS sends a Missing Information Letter requesting employment verification no later than 6/14/13. On 6/14/13, the CCIS processes any verification the p/c has submitted in Open/Ongoing mode in PELICAN CCW. If the p/c fails to submit employment verification, the CCIS must generate an Adverse Action Notice (AA) and end care effective the date the AA expires.

  1. Can a family be eligible for subsidized child care based on prospective self-employment?

No. In order for a p/c to be self-employed the p/c must submit verification indicating he/she is making an hourly profit equal to or more than the PA minimum wage, for the preceding Federal tax quarter or the most recent 3-month period, for 20 hours per week or at least 10 hours per week if the p/c is also participating in a training program for 10 hours per week.

  1. How long must a p/c be self-employed before he/she can apply for subsidized child care?

A p/c must be self-employed for a minimum of 3 months since the p/c must submit verification indicating he/she is making an hourly profit equal to or more than the PA minimum wage, for the preceding Federal tax quarter or most recent 3-month period, for 20 hours per week or at least 10 hours per week if the p/c is also participating in a training program for 10 hours per week.

EXAMPLE:The p/c began self-employment on 4/2/12. The p/c must submit verification indicating he/she is making an hourly profit equal to or more than the PA minimum wage, for the quarter beginning 4/2/12 and ending 7/1/12, for 20 hours per week or at least 10 hours per week if the p/c is also participating in a training program for 10 hours per week.

  1. Is there a limit on the number of self-employment businesses a p/c can claim in a year?

No, there is not a limit on the number of self-employment businesses a p/c can claim in a year. However, if the p/c changes self-employment businesses the p/c will not be permitted to continually submit a notarized statement as income verification and avoid having to provide an income tax return. By April 15ththe p/c will be required to file an income tax return including all self-employment income for the previous year.

EXAMPLE:The p/c begins self-employment as a beautician and provides a notarized statement as income verification. A redetermination is due on 4/16/13. The p/c indicates her beauty salon didn’t work out and she is now providing therapeutic massages. Her old business, “Destiny’s Doos,” closed on 11/2/12 and her new self-employment business, “Total Relaxation,” began on 11/12/12. The p/c must submit an income tax return listing the income she received from “Destiny’s Doos,” in addition to the income she received from “Total Relaxation from 11/12/12 through 12/31/12.

  1. Does the Missing Information Letter reflect all forms verification of self-employment income?

The Missing Information Letter currently displays the following forms of verification of earned income from self-employment: 1040; Schedule C, F or SE; and K-1 Form (From Partnership). The CCIS must include as “Other” the statement “Federal Income Tax Return, including all schedules and forms required to be attached when filed with the Internal Revenue Service”.

INVOLUNTARY TERMINATIONS OF EMPLOYMENT/EDUCATION

  1. When generating the Confirmation Notice, what is the short description that must be selected?

There are now separate short descriptions, each specific to the circumstances as follows:

  • 60 day period following loss of work
  • 60 day period following loss of work - Effective 07/01/2012
  • 60 day period following graduation
  • 60 day period following graduation - Effective 07/01/2012

If the p/c reports the last day of work prior to the involuntary job loss was 6/30/12 or before, the CCIS must select “60 day period following loss of work”. If the p/c reports the last day of work prior to the involuntary job loss as 7/1/12 or later, the CCIS must select “60 day period following loss of work - Effective 07/01/2012”. The same logic applies to the short descriptions regarding graduation.

  1. What reason code should be used if the p/c involuntarily loses a job and chooses not to keep the children in care while he/she looks for work?

The CCIS must suspend the enrollment using the reason “Parent on Break from education program” so a Child Care Stop Letter is not generated inappropriately. The Division of Policy is researching the possibility of changing the reason to “Parent on Break from Work Activity” in PELICAN CCW to decrease the confusion regarding when this reason should be used.

HEAD START

  1. Are children who are enrolled inchild care centers that receive Head Start funding,but do not have specific Head Start hours, considered eligible for special eligibility through the Head Start expansion program?

The Division of Policy is in discussion with the PA Head Start State Collaborative Office regarding what should be considered a Head Start program for the purpose of subsidized child care as it relates to special eligibility. Until a decision is made, if a child currently has special eligibility under the Head Start expansion program, the child should remain eligible.

If there are other children in the family receiving subsidized child care, but not enrolled in Head Start, please follow the steps in the Processing a Head Start Case Job Aid to change the child care program to Low-Income or Former TANF, as appropriate. Even though these families will be required to have a redetermination every six months, the eligibility for the child enrolled in Head Start is not affected.

  1. If the family must complete a redetermination because there are children receiving subsidized child care and not enrolled in Head Start, do the changes reported during the redetermination affect the Head Start child?

If a p/c reports a change in income or work hours during the redetermination, the hours of care and co-payment will be adjusted for the family, including the Head Start child.

EXAMPLE:The p/c was working 8:00am-4:00pm, M-F. The Head Start child attends Head Start 9:00am – 3:00pm. The non-Head Start children receive FT care, M-F. The Head Start child receives PT wrap around care, M-F. At redetermination, the p/c reports a change in work hours. The p/c is now working 8:00am – 4:00pm, M, W, F. The child care schedule would change and the non-Head Start children would receive FT care on M, W, and F only. The Head Start child could continue to attend Head Start M-F from 9:00am- 3:00pm, but would only receive PT wrap-around care on M, W and F.

NOTE:For child day care centers that receive Head Start funding but do not currently have set Head Start hours, the child’s current enrollment schedule should not be altered. The Division of Policy is in discussion with the PA Head Start State Collaborative Office regarding what should be considered a Head Start program for the purpose of subsidized child care as it relates to special eligibility and hours during which subsidized child care may be provided.

  1. What if a p/c who does not have to report changes in work hours or income, because the only child in the family receiving subsidy is a Head Start child, reports a change?

When a p/c reports a change that he/she is not required to report under Head Start Expansion, the change should have no impact on the case. The CCIS should inform the p/c that he/she continues to be eligible for the same co-payment and number of hours and days of care. However, the CCIS should ask the p/c if he/she wants to continue to take the child to child care for all those days/hours. If the p/c states that he/she will not take the child during the days or hours he/she is not working, the schedule must be changed for the child. If the p/c states that he/she would like care to continue as before, the child care schedule must remain the same. The CCIS should counsel the p/c that if the child does not attend child care when scheduled, the child will be considered absent and the child is only allowed 25 days of absence per year before the p/c is responsible to pay for absences.

NOTE:When processing any reported changes in a Head Start case, the CCIS must note the reported information in the case comments only. If a p/c reports a change in income or work hours, the CCIS may not enter the information into PELICAN CCW on the Employment and Wage Detail page. The CCIS may enter changes to the enrollment schedule only.

EXAMPLE:The p/c reports a decrease in work hours from 20 hours/week to 15 hours/week and requests the child’s enrollment schedule be decreased. The CCIS must enter a case comment and decrease the child’s schedule accordingly but may not enter the decrease in work hours on the Employment and Wage Detail page.

  1. If the CCIS enters new income into PELICAN CCW during a redetermination, will the system lower the co-payment as it does for Low-Income or does it do nothing because it knows the child is Head Start?

PELICAN CCW will increase or decrease the co-payment when the CCIS processes a redetermination from the Full Redetermination page and the case is in Open/Redetermination mode.

  1. If siblings in the case are ineligible because the family is over income, what happens to the Head Start child if the co-payment now exceeds the cost of child care? Is the HS child ineligible?

Yes, §§ 3041.108(d) (relating to co-payment for families headed by a parent) and 3041.109(b) (relating to co-payment for families headed by a caretaker) apply to Head Start cases.

  1. Some Head Start programs are requesting eligibility and income information from the CCISs. Should CCIS provide this information to Head Start?

The CCIS may share eligibility and income information only if the p/c has completed a Release of Information form indicating the CCIS may share this information with the Head Start program.

  1. What happens if the CCIS discovers during a redetermination that the Head Startp/c’s hours are reduced and the Head Startprogram fully covers the hours the p/c is working? Does the Head Start child lose eligibility?

Yes. § 3041.52 (b) states “A child who is enrolled in a Head Start program, whose parent or caretaker needs extended hours or days of child care beyond the hours or days provided by the Head Start program to work, is eligible for subsidized child care under this section, if the parent or caretaker meets the eligibility requirements for subsidized child care as specified in subsection (f).”

For example, if a child attends a Head Start program from 9:00am -2:00pm and the p/c is only working 10:00am – 1:00pm, the child is ineligible for subsidized child care, as there is no need for care. The Head Start hours cover the hours the p/c is working.

REMINDER:If this is a family where the only child requesting or receiving subsidy is enrolled in Head Start, the p/c is NOT required to report a reduction in work hours and if the p/c reports a decrease inhours, the CCIS will not reduce the amount of care unless the p/c requests it.

  1. If a non-Head Start child loses subsidy because the p/c is no longer working 20 hours per week and later the p/c begins meeting the work-hour requirement again, what is the process of requesting care again for the non-Head Start child(ren)in the case? Must the family complete a new application? Can the p/c simply self-declare the new information that re-establishes eligibility for the siblings?

The AA is not resolved by the p/c self-declaring he/she is meeting the work-hour requirement so the non-Head Start child(ren) will become ineligible. The case will be eligible under the Head Start child care program. The Head Start child will be an “Eligible Child” and the non-Head Start child(ren) will be “Not Requesting”. The family must complete a new application for subsidy and submit all the necessary verification to determine eligibility for subsidized child care for the non-Head Start child(ren). Upon receipt of the application and verification, the CCIS must complete the following steps in PELICAN CCW:

  1. Navigate to the Full Redetermination page, select “No, Unscheduled” in response to the “Has the Redetermination packet been returned?” question and click “Save”.
  1. Click “Save” again.
  1. Navigate to Care Request page, select “CC Request” for each non-Head Start child in the case for whom subsidy is again requested and click “Save”.
  1. Navigate to the Employment and Wage Summary page, select the employment record that must be updated and click “Update”.
  1. Update the information as appropriate on the Employment and Wage Detail page and click “Save”.
  1. Update the information related to self-employment, other income, deductions, etc. on the appropriate pages.
  1. Determine eligibility under the Low-Income or Former TANF child care program by navigating to the Child Care Program page and clicking “Assess Eligibility”.
  1. Click “Assess Eligibility” again.
  1. Click “Confirm” on the Family Composition Eligibility Results page.
  1. Generate a Confirmation Notice if the co-payment increases or decreases, as appropriate.
  1. Generate an Enrollment Summary for the Head Start child to communicate any increase or decrease in co-payment.
  1. Establish a new enrollment for each non-Head Start child for whom subsidy is again requested.
  1. Mail the Waitlist Funds Available Letter for each non-Head Start child, as appropriate.

OVERPAYMENT - Provider