(A)"Absent
day" means any day that a child is authorized and scheduled to be in the
care of the provider, but is not in attendance, and child care would have been
provided had the child been present with the provider.
(B)"Adult"
means an individual who is age eighteen or older.
(C)"Authorization"
means the hours that a county agency determines that a child may receive
publicly funded child care from an eligible provider chosen by the caretaker.
The authorization shall be reasonably related to the number of hours of the
caretaker's qualifying activities.
(D)"Authorized
representative" in the Ohio benefits integrated statewide automated eligibility system means an
individual other than the caretaker applying for and/or receiving publicly
funded child care benefits, who is at least eighteen years of age and is
identified in writing by the caretaker to act on their behalf. The authorized
representative may do all of the following:
(1)Complete and
submit initial and/or recertification applications and verifications for
publicly funded child care on behalf of the caretaker.
(2)Report changes
which may affect the caretaker's eligibility for publicly funded child care on
behalf of the caretaker.
(3)Receive copies
of all correspondence sent to the caretaker.
(4)Communicate on
behalf of the caretaker.
(E)"Automated
child care system" means the automated electronic child care system that
tracks attendance and calculates payments for publicly funded child care.
(F)"Border
state child care provider" means a child care provider who is licensed,
certified, or otherwise approved by the border state to provide child care
services. A border state child care provider may provide publicly funded child
care only to a recipient who resides in an Ohio county.
(G)"Caretaker"
means the father or mother of a child, an adult who has legal custody of a
child, an adult who is the guardian of a child, or an adult who stands in loco
parentis, as defined in this rule, with respect to a child and whose presence
in the home is needed as the caretaker of the child. Caretaker has the same
meaning as "caretaker parent" as defined in section 5104.01 of the
Revised Code.
(H)"Child"
means an infant, toddler, preschool child, or school-age child up to age
eighteen.
(I)"Child
care" per section 5104.01 of the Revised Code means all of the following:
(1)Administering
to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool-age children and school-age
children outside of school hours;
(2)By persons
other than their parents, guardians, or custodians;
(3)For part of the
twenty-four-hour day; and
(4)In a place
other than a child's own home, except that an in-home aide provides child care
in the child's own home;
(5)By a provider
required by Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code to be licensed or approved by the
Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS), certified by a county
department of job and family services, or under contract with the department to
provide publicly funded child care as described in section 5104.32 of the
Revised Code.
(J)"Designee/Sponsor"
means the individual designated by the caretaker to record attendance for a
child receiving publicly funded child care at an authorized provider.
(1)The caretaker
shall not designate a child who is an infant, toddler or preschool child.
(2)The caretaker
shall not designate the authorized provider or anyone acting in any capacity
for the provider.
(3)A school-age
child that is a designee/sponsor may only track attendance for themselves and
other school-age children authorized on the same case and to the same provider.
(K)"Eligibility
period" means a period of at least twelve months that a family is
determined eligible for publicly funded child care benefits, or the period
until the family no longer meets eligibility requirements or requests termination.
The family's eligibility period shall end on the last day of the twelfth month
of eligibility.
(L)"Eligible
provider" means a child care provider who is eligible to receive public
funds in accordance with Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code and rule 5101:2-16-09
of the Administrative Code.
(M)"Head Start
program" means a school-readiness program that satisfies all of the
following:
(1)Is for children
from birth to age five who are from low-income families;
(2)Receives funds
distributed under the "Improving Head Start for School-Readiness Act of
2007," 42 U.S.C. 9831, as in effect on 10/01/2021, and;
(3)Is licensed as
a child care program.
(N)"Homeless
children" as defined in 42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)(2015) means individuals who
lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence (within the meaning of
42 U.S.C. 11302(a)(1)(2014), and includes all of the following:
(1)Children who
are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic
hardship, or a similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or
camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations; are
living in emergency or transitional shelters; or are abandoned in hospitals.
(2)Children who
have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not
designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings (within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. 11302(a)(2)(C).
(3)Children who
are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard
housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings.
(4)Migratory
children (as such term is defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act of 1965) who qualify as homeless for the purposes of
this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in
paragraphs (M)(1)(N)(1)
to (M)(3)(N)(3) of
this rule.
(O)"Income"
means gross income, as defined in rule 5101:2-16-03 of the Administrative Code.
(P)"Infant"
means a child under eighteen months of age.
(Q)"In loco
parentis" means an adult who is the caretaker of a child, including a
relative, foster parent or stepparent, who is charged with the rights, duties
and responsibilities of a parent and whose presence in the home is needed to
perform these rights, duties and responsibilities.
(R)"Minor
parent" means a caretaker who is under age eighteen.
(S)"Ohio benefits integrated
eligibility system" means the centralized automated system that supports
county agencies.
(S)(T)"Preschool child" means a child who
is three years old or older but is not a school child.
(T)(U)"Professional development day" means
a day in which a provider would normally provide child care for currently
enrolled and scheduled children, but has closed to the public so that the
provider and/or child care staff may undergo training meant to improve their
professional knowledge, competence, skill and effectiveness as child care
professionals.
(U)(V)"Publicly funded child care" is the
care of infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school-age children under
age thirteen by an eligible provider. Publicly funded child care is paid,
wholly or in part, with federal or state funds, including funds available under
the child care block grant act Title IV-A, and Title XX, distributed by ODJFS.
(V)(W)"School-age child" means a child who
is enrolled in and attending a grade of kindergarten or above but is less than
fifteen years old or, in the case of a child who is receiving special needs
child care, is less than eighteen years old.
(W)(X)"School hours" means the standardized
hours of school as defined by the child's school. If the child is homeschooled,
school hours are defined by the public school the child would attend if not
being homeschooled.
(X)(Y)"School not in session" means a day
during the ODJFS defined school year when a school-age child is not able to
attend school due to an official school closure, including a delayed start time
or an early dismissal time.
(Y)(Z) "School year" is defined by ODJFS
as the first Sunday in September through the last Saturday in May.
(Z)(AA)"Special needs child care"
means child care provided to a child who is less than eighteen years of age and
either has one or more chronic health conditions or does not meet age
appropriate expectations in one or more areas of development, including social,
emotional, cognitive, communicative, perceptual, motor, physical, and
behavioral development and that may include on a regular basis such services,
adaptations, modifications, or adjustments needed to assist in the child's
function or development.
(AA)"Statewide automated eligibility
system" means the centralized automated system that supports counties
utilizing Ohio benefits.
(BB)"Step up to
quality (SUTQ)" means the tiered quality rating system for licensed child
care programs in Ohio.
(CC)"Temporary
absence" is when a caretaker is out of the home for up to forty-five
consecutive days with a definite plan to return to the household.
(DD)"Toddler"
means a child who is at least eighteen months of age but is less than three
years of age.
(EE)
"Week" is the seven-day period from twelve a.m. Sunday to eleven
fifty-nine p.m. Saturday.
Effective: 12/11/2022
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 10/20/2024
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 12/01/2022
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5104.30, 5104.34, 5104.38
Rule Amplifies: 5104.01, 5104.38, 5104.34, 5104.30
Prior Effective Dates: 02/11/1982, 09/01/1986, 05/01/1989
(Emer.), 09/28/1989, 04/01/1990 (Emer.), 06/22/1990, 07/01/1990 (Emer.),
09/30/1990, 05/01/1991 (Emer.), 07/29/1991, 11/01/1991 (Emer.), 01/20/1992, 03/02/1992
(Emer.), 07/30/1992, 01/01/1994, 10/01/1997 (Emer.), 12/30/1997, 02/22/2002, 06/09/2003,
07/01/2005 (Emer.), 10/01/2005, 02/01/2007, 10/21/2009, 03/28/2010, 08/28/2011,
05/04/2014, 07/10/2015, 09/28/2015, 12/16/2018, 10/20/2019, 01/24/2021,
02/27/2022