SECTION 340:40-7-6. Household composition and income consideration

(a)   Definition of household composition terms. The worker uses the definitions of household composition terms listed in (1) through (8) of this subsection when determining who must be considered part of the household for income consideration.

(1)   An adult is an emancipated minor or person 18 years of age and older. A child who is a parent is considered an adult.

(2)   A spouse is a person married by ceremony or common-law to another person. They may live together or separately. When they live separately, they are not considered part of the household unless the separation is temporary or involuntary.

(3)   A stepparent is a person who is or was a spouse to the child's parent.

(4)   A caretaker is an adult who lives with, and acts in the role of a parent to the child applying for or receiving subsidized child care benefits. The caretaker:

(A)   may or may not be:

(i)   related to the child by blood, adoption, or marriage; or

(ii)   legally and financially responsible for the child; and

(B)   must pursue child support from the natural or adoptive parent, per Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:40-7-9.

(5)   The term legally and financially responsible adult is defined as a parent or stepparent of the child who needs child care. The term also includes other caretaker adults who are court-ordered to be legally and financially responsible for the child.

(6)   A child is any unmarried, non-emancipated, non-parental person younger than 18 years of age.

(7)   A child who marries or voluntarily leaves the parental home for any reason other than to attend school or receive medical care, and establishes independent living arrangements is considered emancipated and treated as an adult. Once a child is emancipated, the emancipation is permanent.

(8)   A sibling is a minor child who has at least one parent in common with another child in the same household. A sibling may also include a step-brother or step-sister.

(b)   Household composition and income consideration. To establish a child's eligibility for subsidized child care benefits, it is necessary to define who must be considered part of household composition for income consideration. All persons whose income is counted in determining the income eligibility threshold and family share copayment amount are included in family size on the Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) Appendix C-4, Child Care Eligibility/Copayment Chart. Persons whose income must be considered in determining eligibility are:

(1)   the natural, adoptive, or stepparent living in the home with the child who needs child care;

(2)   the caretaker(s) of the minor child needing child care when the caretaker is legally and financially responsible for the child; and

(3)   the child needing child care and his or her siblings younger than 18 years of age living in the home.

(c)   Temporary absence of a household member.

(1)   When a household member is out of the home due to a temporary absence and intends to return to the home, he or she is considered a household member. Any parent or caretaker who remains in the home must meet a need factor, per OAC 340:40-7-8. Temporary absences may include, but are not limited to:

(A)   hospitalization for physical or mental health reasons;

(B)   incarceration;

(C)   attending school;

(D)   military service;

(E)   working or training away from home

(F)   looking for a job away from home; and

(G)   vacation time for a child. When a child goes to stay with:

(i)   someone other than a natural or adoptive parent for a vacation, household composition, income, and need is based on the usual home situation. The person the child is staying with must also meet the need factor for child care; or

(ii)   a non-custodial natural or adoptive parent, the non-custodial parent must apply and qualify for subsidized child care benefits based on his or her own household's eligibility for the visitation time frame.

(2)   When a child lives with each parent for part of the month, refer to (d) of this Section.

(3)   When a child lives with a parent for part of the month and a caretaker for the rest of the month, the child's eligibility is based on the parent meeting the eligibility factors, per OAC 340:40-7. The caretaker must also meet a need factor during the time he or she has physical custody of the child, per OAC 340:40-7-70.

(d)   Joint or shared custody. When parents separate or divorce and have joint or shared custody of their child and one or both need child care, each parent applies separately for subsidized child care benefits.

(1)   Joint or shared custody may be voluntary or court-ordered.

(2)   The worker determines each parent's eligibility separately. This includes a separate income and need for child care determination.

(3)   When only one parent qualifies for subsidized child care benefits, the worker only approves child care for the days the qualifying parent meets a need factor for child care and has physical custody of the child.

(4)   When both parents qualify for subsidized child care benefits, the worker approves each parent only for the days and hours he or she meets a need factor for child care and has physical custody of the child.

[Source: Added at 17 Ok Reg 25, eff 10-1-99 (emergency); Added at 17 Ok Reg 1244, eff 6-1-00; 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 23 Ok Reg 1872, eff 7-1-06; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 820, eff 6-1-09; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1220, eff 6-1-10; Amended at 28 Ok Reg 831, eff 6-1-11; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1351, eff 7-1-13; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 58, eff 10-1-16 (emergency); Amended at 34 Ok Reg 1481, eff 10-1-17; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1813, eff 9-15-20]