Running Child Care Eligibility in the VaCMS

Select a Program Category

Before running Child Care eligibility, you must select the funding program for which the family qualifies. The following list outlines acceptable scenarios for each of the eligibility categories available in the VaCMS.

FEE Based

No specific other in-state benefits or program enrollment requirements. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.

Head Start

All eligible children are enrolled in Head Start, as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.

SNAPET

A parent or an in-loco parentis adult is receiving SNAPET, as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. An in-loco parentis adult is identified on the Relationships-Details page. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.

TANF

An eligible child is receiving TANF Non-VIEW as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.
An eligible child is receiving TANF VIEW, as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.
An eligible child is TANF Capped, as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page, and a parent or in-loco-parentis adult is receiving TANF (VIEW or Non-VIEW) as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. An adult is identified as in-loco parentis on the Relationships-Details page. Any included adults who are not receiving TANF need to participate in an approved activity or be working.
An included adult acting in-loco-parentis (identified on the Relationships-Details page) is receiving TANF (VIEW or Non-VIEW).
A teen parent is receiving TANF (VIEW or Non-VIEW).

Transitional TANF

An eligible child, included child, or included adult is receiving Transitional TANF as indicated on the Other In-state Benefits page. Any included adults are participating in an approved activity, as indicated on the Education Details page, or are working, as indicated on the income pages recorded during the Intake process.

Unless the case is associated with a closed case for which the family was eligible under a different program category, any other in-state benefits that apply to a specific eligibility program category need to be effective on or before the application date. For example, if a new application has an application date of 3/1/2012 and the Head Start effective begin date is 3/15/2012 on the Other In-state Benefits page, the system does not allow the Head Start eligibility program category be applied to the case because from 3/1/2012 to 3/15/2012 the family was not eligible for Head Start.

1. Run Eligibility

If any of the in-state benefits, citizenship, immunization, income information is not verified then eligibility is pending.

If eligibility results have never been certified for the case, select the appropriate Child Care Program category (Transitional TANF, TANF, Head Start, SNAPET, or Fee Based) based on the other in-state benefits or services entered in the Other In-State Benefits / Services Details page during the Intake process.

If eligibility is being run after making updates to an ongoing case, the Child Care Program category is auto-populated with the Child Care Program category that the case was last certified under.

2. Review Eligibility Results

The Eligibility Summary page displays the results of the eligibility calculation, showing the result of the case’s eligibility or ineligibility. The unique Eligibility Determination Group (EDG) number for the Family Unit, type of assistance (TOA), eligibility period, family unit size, co-payment, eligibility results, eligibility status, and eligibility determination date are also displayed. If the case has been certified, the certified results are displayed with the new eligibility results. Review the detailed eligibility results for each service period before certifying eligibility.

3. Review Eligibility Result Details

Select a specific service period to view more detailed eligibility information for the eligibility result. The service periods with an eligibility status of certified represent the results last certified and currently applied to the case. The service periods without an eligibility status represent the new results that become effective if the results are certified.

The detailed eligibility information is divided into three tabs: Summary, Notice Reasons, and Income.

Summary Tab – The Child Care – Eligibility Determination Group Summary page displays. Use this page to view information for each member of the family unit; the bottom section of the Child Care – Eligibility Determination Group Summary page displays household members and their status. You can only authorize an eligible child to receive services. Confirm that the children who require services are categorized as eligible children before certifying an eligibility result. Each status is defined below.
Notice Reasons Tab – The Child Care – Notice Reasons page displays. This page includes detailed explanation of the eligibility results; if eligibility is denied or a case is closed, then this page identifies the reason for the denial or closure. The table on the following page identifies common eligibility notice reasons and potential causes.
Income Tab – The Child Care – Income Eligibility page displays. This page includes the financial calculations used to determine income eligibility.

4. Certify Eligibility Results

Review the detailed eligibility results for each service period and confirm their accuracy. Click Next to proceed to the certification page. The new eligibility results are not applied to the case until you certify the results.
Once eligibility results are certified, the VaCMS adds a Notice of Action to the View Pending Forms list, and the eligibility status takes effect for the eligibility period.

Troubleshooting Eligibility Results

Eligibility Reason	Potential Cause
No Valid Child Care need	No valid activity for an adult in the EDG. All adults need a qualified education (enrolled full or part time, making satisfactory progress, and progress is verified) or Employment income, or Self-employment (meeting minimum wage).
No Eligible children in the Family Unit	Children may not be requesting child care services on the Program Request-Clients page.
	Eligible child is not in the household.
	No child in the EDG meets the age requirements (13 or 18 with special needs).
	Children do not have current and verified Immunization records.
	Children are not US Citizens.

Party Definitions:

Eligible Child - a child who is eligible to receive the services and who is included in the EDG / Family Unit.
Included Child – a child who is not eligible to receive services and who is included in the EDG / Family Unit.
Included Adult – an adult who is included in the EDG / Family Unit based on their relationship to the applicant or the eligible child and who is ineligible to receive services.
Excluded Child – a child who is not eligible to receive services and who is excluded from the EDG / Family Unit.
Excluded Adult – an adult who is excluded from the EDG / Family Unit based on their relationship to an eligible child in the Family Unit.

Updated 05/02/2014