Library: Policy
340:40-7-6. Household composition and income consideration
Rule text available at Oklahoma Health Care Authority website.
INSTRUCTIONS TO STAFF 340:40-7-6
Revised 9-14-24
1. (a) Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:40-7-10 through 340:40-7-13 for income consideration rules.
(b) When a child lives with a parent for part of each month and with a caretaker for the remainder of the month, only one case is established for the child. Refer to OAC 340:40-7-6(c) and Instructions to Staff # 7.
(c) In the Household tab in Family Assistance/Client Services (FACS), the worker chooses "social services" in the "benefit" field F24 and "added to benefit section" in the "status" field F25 to add only the children being approved for child care. All other household members are shown as "not included in benefit. Income and resources are considered in benefit computation" in the "status" field F25.
(d) When the household consists of the client's own child and another child, such as a niece, nephew, or grandchild for whom the adult is not legally and financially responsible, the worker first determines which children require child care assistance.
(1) When child care is needed for the client's child and a non-sibling, the worker establishes two separate cases, unless combining the children in one case results in a lower family share copayment due to the increased family size.
(2) When child care is needed only for the client's child, the worker counts the income of the client and the client's child. The worker does not count the income of the other child unless including the child and the child's income reduces the family share copayment for the household.
(3) When child care is only needed for another child for whom the client is not legally and financially responsible, the worker only counts the child's income and the income of any siblings present in the home. Family size includes these children only.
(e) When an adoptive parent requests child care for a child who meets all five of the conditions described in OAC 340:40-7-12(6) and for other children who do not meet these conditions, two separate cases are established in order for the system to calculate the family share copayment correctly. The worker documents why two case records are established and why income is considered or excluded in each case in FACS case notes.
(f) Household composition is handled differently for other programs. Refer to OAC 340:50-5-1 for food benefits, OAC 340:10-3-56 through 340:10-3-57 for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and OAC 317:35-5 through 317:35-7 for medical assistance.
2. (a) When the parent is a minor parent, the minor parent's income is considered in determining the family share copayment. When the minor parent lives with the minor parent's parent, neither the grandparent's income nor need factor is considered for the grandchild.
(b) The adoptive parent's income is not considered until the adoption is final. When the adoption is final and the natural parent, whose rights were terminated, and the adoptive parent live in the same household, consider only the income and need factor of the adoptive parent.
(1) Household income is not considered in determining the adoptive child's eligibility for subsidized child care when all five conditions described in OAC 340:40-7-12(6) are met.
(2) The worker documents why the income is being excluded in FACS case notes.
(3) When the household requests child care for a child who meets all five conditions described in OAC 340:40-7-12(6) and one who does not meet these conditions, the worker establishes separate cases.
(c) When the child's natural or adoptive parent is not in the home but the child continues to live with a stepparent, the stepparent's income is considered in determining the child's eligibility. This applies even when the stepparent is divorced from the child's natural or adoptive parent.
3. A court order must state the caretaker is legally and financially responsible for the child before the caretaker's income is considered. When the child's parent lives with the caretaker and the child, the worker counts the parent's income instead of the caretaker's income.
4. (a) A child's income is considered unless specifically excluded, per OAC 340:40-7-12.
(b) When child care is needed for a child predetermined eligible for child care with a zero copayment and the child's income eligible sibling who has a family share copayment, two separate cases are established. This may happen when one child is disabled and receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or when there is a stepparent in the home and the client's child receives TANF but the stepparent's child does not. When two separate cases are established the worker codes the:
(1) predetermined child as added to "social services" in the Household tab "benefit" field F24 and "added to benefit section" in the "status" field F25 of the FACS Interview Notebook of the predetermined eligible case. Other household members are coded as "not included in benefit. Income and resources are not considered for benefit computation in the status field F25 on this case; and
(2) income eligible child as added to "social services" in the Household tab "benefit" field F24 and "added to benefit section" in the "status" field F25 of the FACS Interview Notebook of the income eligible case. All other household members' income is shown in the Income tab, including the SSI or TANF income, and these household members are added to "social services" in the "benefit" field F24 and "income/resources are considered in benefit computation – individual not included" in the "status" field F25 of the Household tab.
5. (a) There is no set length of time established to determine when a household member's absence is temporary. The key is if the rest of the household considers the absence to be temporary.
(b) When a parent is temporarily absent, the temporarily absent parent must meet a need factor, per OAC 340:40-7-7 and 340:40-7-8.
(c) When a parent temporarily leaves the child with a caretaker, the child care benefit remains on the parent's case when the parent signs a statement giving the caretaker authorized representative rights, per OAC 340:40-3-1.
6. When a parent or caretaker provides proof of the hospitalization, a need factor for child care eligibility is met.
7. The incarcerated parent meets a need factor for child care eligibility when the custodial parent provides incarceration verification or the worker obtains the verification. Verification may be obtained through the Oklahoma Department of Corrections or from the jail or prison where the parent is serving a sentence. When the child lives with a caretaker, refer to ITS # 5.
8. When a parent is absent due to military service, the worker counts total gross income, except combat pay, per OAC 340:40-7-12(26)(V), including the dependent allowance, to calculate the family share copayment. This applies to single parents who give temporary custody of their child to a caretaker while they are away from home due to military service and to two-parent households where only one of the parents is temporarily away from home due to military service.
9. When one or both parents work away from home, the worker considers the parents' income in determining the household's eligibility. Both parents must meet a need factor, per OAC 340:40-7-7 in order for child care to be approved. When one parent or caretaker works part-time out-of-town and the other parent or caretaker works full-time, child care is approved on a part-time basis.
10. When a child lives with one or both parents for part of the month and with a caretaker for the rest of the month, the child is temporarily absent from the parent's home while the child lives with the caretaker. The worker establishes one case for the parent and codes the caretaker as the authorized representative on the parent's case. The child's child care plan hours may be adjusted during the month to reflect the work or school schedule of the person caring for the child for different parts of the month.
11. When both parents qualify for subsidized child care benefits, the worker establishes two separate cases. The maximum amount of child care approved in both cases combined is never more than 31 days per month. Neither case qualifies for weekly or blended unit types. Refer to OAC 340:40-7-7 and 340:40-7-8 for information concerning the need factor for child care.
