SECTION 340:40-7-1. Categories of eligibility

  A person may be predetermined eligible for a child care benefit, determined income eligible based on the gross income of the household, or have dual eligibility with his or her tribe.

(1)   Predetermined eligible. A person is predetermined eligible for a child care benefit with a zero copayment when he or she is a recipient of public assistance or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Public assistance is defined as a State Supplemental Payment (SSP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) that includes Supported Permanency, or Refugee Resettlement Program (RRP) cash assistance.

(A)   TANF recipients who work and are eligible for a child care benefit may choose to receive a child care benefit through the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) or pay for the child care themselves. When they choose to pay for the child care cost, it is considered as an earned income exemption for the TANF benefit per Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:10-3-33.

(B)   A person receiving public assistance or SSI is not predetermined eligible for a zero copayment when the recipient is a child and the parent or guardian requesting the benefit for the child is not the payee on the public assistance or SSI payment.

(2)   Income eligible. Households not predetermined eligible for a child care benefit must meet the income eligibility threshold for their family size, per DHS Appendix C-4, Child Care Eligibility/Co-payment Chart, to receive assistance with child care costs.

(3)   Transitional child care. Per Section 230.61 of Title 56 of the Oklahoma Statutes, a TANF recipient who becomes employed is eligible for transitional child care benefits for 24 months following the date of employment as long as he or she meets the income eligibility threshold, per DHS Appendix C-4, for his or her family size unless the:

(A)   employer provides child care benefits; or

(B)   recipient's gross monthly earned income exceeds the monthly allowance of assistance pursuant to the TANF program plus the cost of child care and medical insurance to which the recipient would be entitled.

(4)   Dual eligibility. A person may have dual eligibility to receive child care assistance through the DHS Child Care Subsidy Program and his or her tribe. However, the child care provider may not receive payment for the same service from both programs simultaneously.

[Source: Added at 17 Ok Reg 25, eff 10-1-99 (emergency); Added at 17 Ok Reg 1244, eff 6-1-00; Amended at 17 Ok Reg 3583, eff 10-1-00 (emergency); Amended at 18 Ok Reg 1236, eff 5-11-01; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2800, eff 8-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2916, eff 8-1-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1377, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1364, eff 9-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 61, eff 9-1-04 (emergency); Amended at 22 Ok Reg 796, eff 5-12-05; Amended at 24 Ok Reg 1027, eff 6-1-07; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 920, eff 6-1-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 820, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 21, eff 10-1-09 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 163, eff 12-1-09 (emergency); Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1220, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 1875, eff 10-1-15; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 363, eff 3-1-19 (emergency); Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1813, eff 9-15-20]