D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 5-A, § 299 – Definitions

299

299.1

For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed:

Applicant - The parent(s) or guardian(s) who makes initial application for subsidized child care.

Child - an individual who is less than thirteen (13) years of age, or under nineteen (19) years of age with special needs.

Child Experiencing Homelessness -- A child who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and includes children and youths:

(a) Sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason;
(b) Living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative adequate accommodations;
(c) Living in emergency or transitional shelters (including DC transitional housing); are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
(d) In 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;
(e) Living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings;
(f) Migratory children, as defined in section 1309 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 USCS § 6399), who qualify as homeless because they live in circumstances described above; and
(g) Unaccompanied youth, including youths who are not in physical custody of a parent or guardian, who qualify as homeless because they live in circumstances described above.

Extended day full time – more than eleven (11) hours where at least one (1) hour of care is in the morning before 7:00 a.m. or in the afternoon after 6:00 p.m. and the majority of hours are between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. If more than fourteen (14) hours of service are

provided, an additional service will be authorized.

Extended day part time - less than six (6) hours where at least one hour of care is in the morning before 7:00 a.m. or in the afternoon after 6:00 p.m. and the majority of hours are between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Family - a unit consisting of one or more adults and children related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship who reside in the same household.

Federal poverty guidelines - means the most current federal “Poverty Guidelines for the forty-eight (48) Contiguous States and the District of Columbia”, as published in the Federal Register.

Fraud – Any action by any person who obtains or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any person, who pursuant to a scheme to deceive, knowingly falsifies, conceals or otherwise fails to disclose, covers up a material fact, or makes or uses any false statement or document to obtain a benefit or payment described in this chapter to which the applicant or provider would otherwise not be entitled. A failure to disclose a material fact that results in obtaining or continuing to receive child care subsidy funds or services for which the parent or provider is not entitled.

Full time traditional - six (6) to eleven (11) hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Gross countable income - The portion of the annual gross family income of the family all family members living in the same household who are included for purposes of determining family size that includes:

(a) Gross salaries or wages of one or both parent(s) or guardian(s), including regularly received commissions, tips, and overtime;
(b) Net income from self-employment (business expenses shall be deducted from gross receipts);
(c) Other income of parent(s) or guardian(s) such as Social Security and Veterans Benefits;
(d) Income of children receiving subsidized care such as child support or Social Security Income;
(e) Unemployment Compensation;

(f) Workers Compensation;

(g) Alimony; and

(h) The portion of an educational grant that is specifically designated for living expenses.

Hearing officer – An Office of Administrative Hearings administrative law judge.

Income – the combined gross countable income of all family members living in the same household who are included for purposes of determining family size. Used to determine income eligibility and co-payments.

Infant and Toddler - a child birth to thirty-six (36) months of age.

Level II Providers – child development facility authorized to conduct initial eligibility determinations and re-determinations for families seeking child care subsidy under specified eligibility categories.

Non-temporary change - Any cessation of work or attendance at a training or education program that exceeds 90 calendar days.

Nontraditional full time - six (6) to eleven (11) hours between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday; or six (6) to eleven (11) hours on Saturday or Sunday, regardless of the time of day. If more than eleven (11) hours of service are provided, an additional service will be authorized.

Nontraditional part-time - less than six (6) hours between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday; or less than six (6) hours on Saturday or Sunday, regardless of the time of day.

Part-time traditional - less than six (6) hours of care, Monday through Friday.

Preschool - a child thirty-six (36) months of age or older, but less than five (5) years of age on or before September 30th of that year.

Preschool traditional full time - six (6) eleven (11) hours between 7:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, for three (3) and four (4) year-olds who are not in the public or private pre-Kindergarten programs.

Preschool traditional part-time - less than (6) hours of care between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, for three (3) and four (4) year-olds who are not in the public or private pre-Kindergarten programs.

Preschool before and after traditional full time - service for the three (3) and four (4) year-olds in public or private pre-Kindergarten programs, Monday through Friday, during school holidays.

Preschool before and after traditional part time - before and after service for the three (3) and four year-olds in public or private pre-Kindergarten programs, Monday through Friday.

Provider - A licensed child development center, a licensed family child care home or expanded home, or a person approved as an in-home or relative caregiver.

Qualifying Activity - A qualifying activity shall include:

(a) Employment (including through an agency or self-employed);
(b) Job Search;
(c) Training Program;
(d) Work Experience Program;
(e) Job Corps;
(f) Teen or young adult parent in high school or G.E.D. Program
(g) Student in Undergraduate Program; or
(h) Summer School Program (including undergraduate program).

Recipient - An individual child who is determined eligible for and receives subsidized child care.

Resident or Residence – In absence of the contrary, residence of a child shall be presumed to be the residency of the child’s parent(s) or guardian(s). The residence of a parent(s) or guardian(s) is where the person(s) has established a physical presence, the actual occupation and inhabitation of a place of abode with the intent to dwell for a continuous period of time.

School-age child – a child five (5) years of age on or before September 30th of that year through the age of twelve (12) or through the age of nineteen (19) if the child has special needs.

School age before and/or after traditional full time - six (6) to eleven (11) hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, for school age children when the child is not in school during school holidays.

School age before and after traditional part time - before and after school-age children, Monday through Friday.

School age before or after traditional part time - before or after school services for school-age children, Monday through Friday.

Shared Services Business Alliance – An entity authorized by OSSE to conduct eligibility determinations, collect payments, and provide centralized back office supports for a network of licensed child development facilities in the District of Columbia.

Special needs -- Conditions or characteristics of a child under the age of nineteen (19) that reflect a need for particular care, services or treatment, most commonly physical and/or mental disabilities and/or delays and is evidence by IFSP or IEP.

Subsidized Child Care -- Child care provided in a licensed child development facility, a relative child care home, or in a child's home for fewer than twenty-four (24) consecutive hours a day for which the government provides reimbursement to the provider.

Teen or Young Adult Parent- A parent under the age of twenty-six (26) years old.

Temporary Change - A temporary change shall include any of the following:

(a) Any time limited absence from work for employed parent or guardian due to reasons such as need to care for a family member or an illness;
(b) Any interruption in work for a seasonal worker who is not working between regular industry work seasons;
(c) Any student holiday or break for a parent or guardian participating in training or education;
(d) Any reduction in work, training or education hours to less than twenty hours per week, as long as the parent or guardian is still working or attending training or education;
(e) Any other cessation of work or attendance at a training or education program that does not exceed ninety (90) calendar days;

(f) Any change in age, including turning thirteen (13) years old during the eligibility period; and

(g) Any change in residency within the District of Columbia.

Vulnerable child - For the purposes of eligibility:

(a) A child with documented special needs;

(b) A child experiencing homelessness;

(d) A child receiving or needing to receive protective services;

(e) A child of a parent with disabilities, either medical, psychological or psychiatric in nature that prevents them from performing a substantial amount of work; or

(f) A child of recipients of vocational rehabilitation services.

SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 2972 (March 24, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 64 DCR 9542 (September 29, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 1115 (January 25, 2019).