(b) Reimbursement for payment on behalf of children who are temporarily absent from child care is allowable subject to the following conditions:

1. (1) The provider rendering the child care services must be duly licensed, registered or enrolled to provide child care services and the social services district must have opted to make such payments. If a social services district opts to make such payments, it may choose to make such payments either to those child care providers with which the social services district has a contract or letter of intent only, or to all providers of subsidized child care services except for providers of informal child care. The social services district must specify in its Child and Family Services Plan whether it opts to make such payments and, if applicable, for which providers such payments will be made.
2. (2) The social services district has specified in its contract or written agreement with the provider or through written notice to the provider that payment is allowable in cases of temporary absences from child care.
3. (3) Except in cases of extenuating circumstances defined below, temporary absences from child care are allowed up to 12 days in any one calendar month; provided, further, that such absences may total no more than 12 days in any three-month period if the social services district selects a three-month period for determining maximum temporary absences, or 24 days in any six-month period if the social services district selects a six-month period for determining maximum temporary absences.

4. (4) Extenuating circumstance means a situation or occurrence verified by the social services district, and noted in the child's services plan, in which a child is temporarily absent from child care for one or more of the following reasons:

   1. (i) the social services district determines that the child is unable to attend child care because it is necessary for the child or the child's caretaker to appear in court or to keep other appointments related to the provision of preventive, foster care, adoption, or child protective services, or other needs as set forth in the child's services plan;
   2. (ii) the child is ill, has a handicapping or other condition which requires medical care and/or treatment, or the child requires routine medical care and/or treatment;
   3. (iii) the child's family is homeless, and the homelessness necessitates the child's absence from child care; or
   4. (iv) the child's caretaker is participating in an approved education or training program and the child's absences coincide with a temporary suspension of such program for purposes including, but not limited to, holidays, school conferences and snow days.
5. (5) Where it is determined that an extenuating circumstance or circumstances exists, reimbursement for temporary absences due to such circumstance or circumstances will be permitted for an additional three days in any one calendar month; provided, further, that all absences may total no more than 20 days in any three-month period if the social services district selects a three-month period for determining maximum temporary absences, or 40 days in any six-month period if the social services district selects a six-month period for determining maximum temporary absences.
6. (6) Under no circumstances will reimbursement for temporary absences be permitted in excess of the limits set forth in paragraph (5) of this subdivision unless the office and social services district expressly consent to such reimbursement.
7. (7) A social services district must select one of the alternative periods in paragraph (3) of this subdivision as the basis on which it will maintain records and seek reimbursement. No combination of methodologies is permitted within a district. Once a methodology is selected, no change may be made until the end of the annual program year as defined in the Comprehensive Annual Social Services Program Plan.

8. (8) For purposes of this section, a social services district may establish the three-month or the six-month periods used in determining maximum temporary absences on either of the following bases:

   1. (i) beginning on the date of a child's admission to child care and ending three or six months later depending on the period selected; or
   2. (ii) beginning on a fixed calendar date for all children entering child care and ending three or six months later depending on the period selected. If this basis is chosen, a child entering child care during a quarterly or semiannual cycle may, during that initial cycle, receive a prorated number of days of absence beginning on the date of entry and ending on the last day of the quarterly or semiannual cycle. All temporary absences thereafter will be computed using the normal quarterly or semiannual cycle.
9. (9) Reimbursement is not available for a day a child is absent from care if the provider ordinarily charges the caretaker on a daily or part-time basis and the child for whom reimbursement is requested is otherwise in need of and receives subsidized child care from a different provider on the same day.

(c) Reimbursement for payments to licensed or registered child day care providers or legally-exempt group child care programs during program closures also is allowable subject to the following conditions:

1. (1) The social services district has opted to make such payments. If a social services district opts to make such payments, it may choose to make such payments either to those child care providers with which the social services district has a contract or letter of intent or to all providers of subsidized child care services except for providers of informal child care. The social services district must specify in its Child and Family Services Plan whether or not it opts to make such payments and, if applicable, for which providers such payments will be made.

2. (2) The program closure is due to a State, Federal or nationally recognized holiday or due to extenuating circumstances beyond the provider's control including but not limited to:

   1. (i) natural disaster;
   2. (ii) severe weather; or
   3. (iii) other emergency closings that are due to circumstances other than a substantiated regulatory violation.
3. (3) Reimbursement is available only for children in receipt of a child care subsidy who would otherwise be present at the child care program.
4. (4) Reimbursement is not available for a day the program is closed if the provider ordinarily charges the caretaker on a daily or part-time basis and the child for whom reimbursement is requested is otherwise in need of and receives subsidized child care services from a different provider on the same day.
5. (5) The maximum number of days allowable under this section is five per annum.
6. (6) The district must maintain a record of the payments made under this provision for each provider in order to receive reimbursement.

(d) Special reimbursement requirements specific to the title XX Social Services Block Grant Program.

1. (1) State reimbursement for child care services provided under title XX of the Federal Social Security Act will be available for 100 percent of allowable costs up to the amount of the social services district's annual title XX Social Services Block Grant allocation, or as otherwise provided by State law.
2. (2) When a client is determined to be eligible for child care services under the title XX Social Services Block Grant, payment must be claimed for reimbursement in accordance with the State instructions relating to such title.

(e) Payments by a social services district for child day care, informal child care and legally- exempt group child care are subject to reimbursement only when the following requirements are met:

1. (1) Payments do not exceed the actual cost of care. For purposes of this Part, the actual cost of care is:

   1. (i) for care provided pursuant to a contract between the social services district and the provider, the payment rate set forth in the contract;
   2. (ii) for care provided other than pursuant to a contract between the social services district and the provider, the amount charged to the general public for equal care in the providing facility or home; provided, however, if the facility or home cares only for subsidized children, then the actual cost of care is the amount the provider currently is receiving from the social services district for such children unless the provider can demonstrate to the social services district that the actual cost of providing care to such children is higher than that amount.
2. (2) Payments for eligible families/children do not exceed the amount charged to the general public for equal care in the providing facility or home. Income-based fee structures that are applied to the general public by child care providers must be applied to child care subsidy recipients and considered as the actual cost of care. Scholarships or discounts offered by the child care provider to the general public cannot exclude child care subsidy recipients if the family otherwise meets the criteria specified for that scholarship or discount.
3. (3) Payments per child do not exceed the applicable rates for the type of child care provider used and the age of the child set forth in section 415.9 of this Part.
4. (4) Payments cannot be made when such care is provided by a member of the child's or the caretaker's public assistance unit, the child’s caretaker, the spouse of the child’s caretaker, or a member of the child care services unit.
5. (5) Payments cannot be made when such care is provided by a member of the public assistance unit including essential persons as referred to in section 369.3(c) of this Title.