The following scenarios will give examples of which unit types to approve for child care benefits based on the Appendix C-4-C.

Example 1

Joshua and Tammy visit the local Human Services Center to complete an interview for child care subsidy benefits for their 1 year old son Seth. Both are employed as bank tellers. Joshua works morning shift from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Tammy works the evening shift from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. They both work Monday through Friday and have weekends off. What unit type and number of units should be approved?

In a two parent or two caretaker household, child care is only approved when both parents / caretakers are involved in an allowable activity at the same time. In this example, Joshua and Tammy’s work hours only overlap between 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. They both declare travel time of 15 minutes each way. Because the time needed for child care is 4 hours or less per day and 5 days a week the household is eligible for 23 part-time units per month.

Example 2

Mike and Mandy complete a phone interview for the child care application they submitted online yesterday for their two daughters, Mindy age 3, and Melanie age 1. Mike is employed at a local foundation restoration business and works Monday through Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mandy works at a jewelry store in the mall Monday through Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Mike and Mandy both request 10 minutes of travel time each way from the child care to their work locations. What unit type should be approved?

Because Mike and Mandy’s schedules overlap from 8:50 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. (more than 4 hours per day) and the need for child care is 6 days a week, the appropriate unit type is 27 full-time units.

Example 3

Sally requests child care benefits for her 7 year old son Charlie. Sally is self-employed as a cosmetologist 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at a local beauty salon. Sally meets the minimum wage requirement. Charlie needs care from 2:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on school days, and from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on school holidays. Charlie attends elementary school 9 months out of the year.

A child age 4 years or older is considered school age for child care benefits. The blended unit type is approved when a school age child needs care Monday through Friday only, part-time on school days and full time on school holidays. Because Charlie’s school follows a traditional 9 month calendar, the appropriate unit type is blended traditional 23.

Example 4

Rick requests child care benefits for his two sons Donovan (age 8) and Seth (age 3) during his work hours (8 a.m. to 6 p.m.) as an auto mechanic. Donovan attends the local elementary school. He has joint custody of his sons with the boys’ mother and has them every other week. The mother receives child care for the boys on another case.

A child age 4 years or older is considered school age for child care benefits. However, the blended unit type is not used when the child receives subsidy on two separate cases due to a joint custody arrangement. The unit type for Donovan would be 10 part-time days and 3 full-time days a month. The case would need to be looked at in December where an adjustment may need to be made to accommodate additional full-time days. The unit type for Seth would be 13 full-time days.