(b) A social services district may not reduce or terminate public assistance to an individual or an individual and the family of such individual based on a refusal of the individual to comply with applicable work requirements if the individual is a custodial parent or caretaker relative of a child under 13 years of age and the individual has a demonstrated inability, as determined by the social services district, to obtain child care needed to comply with such work requirements due to the following reasons:

1. (1) unavailability of appropriate and accessible child care within a reasonable distance from the individual's home or work site;
2. (2) unavailability or unsuitability of informal child care by a relative or under other arrangements; and
3. (3) unavailability of appropriate and affordable formal child care arrangements.

(c) The social services district must inform the family:

1. (1) about the exception to the penalties associated with the work requirement if the family is unable to locate child care needed to comply with applicable work requirements including the procedures used to demonstrate an inability to obtain child care and the definitions of the terms “appropriate,” “accessible,” “reasonable distance,” “unsuitability of informal child care” and “affordable”; and
2. (2) that any family assistance received during the time the parent or caretaker relative receives an exception from the work requirements under this section will count toward the family's 60-month limit on receiving such benefits.

(f) When a parent or caretaker relative requests assistance from the social services district in locating child care due to an inability to locate the needed child care on his or her own, the social services district must:

1. (1) assist the family by referring the parent or caretaker relative to the child care resource and referral agency funded under title five-B of article six of the Social Services Law that is responsible for the areas in which the parent or caretaker relative lives and/or would be expected to work or to another appropriate child care referral agency; and/or
2. (2) provide the parent or caretaker relative with a list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of eligible providers.

(i) A social services district must determine that a parent or caretaker relative has a demonstrated inability to locate needed child care if all of the following conditions are met:

1. (1) the parent or caretaker relative has provided an attestation that he or she has contacted those accessible and suitable friends, neighbors and relatives who are within a reasonable distance of the individual's home or work site and who have the potential to act as informal child care providers for the applicable child(ren) but those individuals are not appropriate or affordable. The attestation must include a list of the friends, neighbors and relatives the parent or caretaker relative contacted; and
2. (2) the parent or caretaker relative has provided an attestation that he or she has contacted all of the child care providers to which the parent or caretaker relative was referred by the social services district, a child care resource and referral agency and/or any other child care agency, as applicable. The attestation must specify each potential provider contacted and the reasons why that provider is not appropriate, accessible, suitable, affordable or a reasonable distance from the individual's home or work site.

(l) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

1. (1) Applicable child(ren) means the child(ren) under 13 years of age who are residing with a custodial parent or caretaker relative and who need child care in order for the parent or caretaker relative to comply with the applicable work requirements.
2. (2) Appropriate means the child care provider(s) is open for the hours and days the parent or caretaker relative would need child care in order to comply with the applicable work requirements and the provider(s) is able and willing to provide child care services to the applicable child(ren) including addressing any special needs of the applicable child(ren).
3. (3) Accessible means the parent or caretaker relative is able, by available public or private transportation, to get the applicable child(ren) to and from the child care provider(s) taking into consideration the age and any special needs of the child(ren).
4. (4) Reasonable distance means the child care provider(s) is located within a reasonable distance from the parent or caretaker relative's home and work activity, based on locally accepted community standards, as defined by the social services district in the district's consolidated services plan.
5. (5) Unsuitability of informal child care means the physical condition of the home in which care would be provided, or the physical or mental condition of the informal provider, would be detrimental to the health, welfare and/or safety of the applicable child(ren).
6. (6) Affordable means the parent or caretaker relative would have sufficient income to pay the family share for the child care services determined in accordance with section 415.3(e) of this Part, if required, and/or to pay the cost of care above market rate, if applicable. If the potential provider is a provider of informal child care who would be providing care in the child(ren)'s home, affordable also means that the parent or caretaker relative would have sufficient income to pay the provider at least minimum wage, if required by State and/or Federal law, and to provide such provider with all employment benefits required by State and Federal law.