NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON THE CHILD CARE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION The Department of Health & Social Services proposes to change regulations on the child care assistance program related to the program rates, enrollment authorization, family contribution toward care, and continued participation. |
The Department of Health & Social Services proposes to adopt regulation changes in Title 7 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with the child care assistance program, including the following:
- 7 AAC 41.025. Program Rates- is proposed to be changed as follows: Revise rates to the Child Care Assistance Program Rate Schedule for the maximum state payment to a child care provider.
- 7 AAC 41.035.Enrollment authorization- is proposed to be changed as follows: Allow for a child in a shared custody arrangement to be authorized for up to a maximum of a full month enrollment for each parent based on service delivery area.
- 7 AAC 41.335. Family income and contribution schedule- is proposed to be changed as follows:
- Revise the 2008 Family Income and Contribution Schedule for participating families to pay the provider a percentage of their income.
- Revise the Family Income and Contribution Schedule to expand the maximum allowable income.
- 7 AAC 41.335(d) is proposed to be repealed.
- The intended effect of this repeal is to allow participating families to continue participating in the program without requiring a phase-out period.
You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to the Department of Health & Social Services, Child Care Program Office, 3601 C Street, Suite 140, Anchorage, AK 99503. Additionally, the Department of Health & Social Services will accept comments by facsimile at (907) 269-4536 and by electronic mail at samantha.ray@alaska.gov . The comments must be received not later than 5 p.m., on June 5, 2017.
Oral or written comments also may be submitted at a hearing to be held on May 19, 2017, at the Frontier Building, Conference Room Number 896, 3601 C St., Anchorage, AK 99503. The hearing will be held from 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. and might be extended to accommodate those present before 2 p.m. who did not have an opportunity to comment. If you are unable to attend in person, but would like to comment during the oral public hearing, you can call the teleconference number 1- (800) 315-6338 (Toll Free) and use the code 94878#.
You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Samantha Ray by email at samantha.ray@alaska.gov or at 3601 C Street, Suite 140, Anchorage, AK 99503. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Department of Health & Social Services will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System at https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/ and its website at http://dhss.alaska.gov/dpa/Pages/ccare/default.aspx .
If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Samantha Ray at samantha.ray@alaska.gov or at (907) 269-4681 not later than May 9, 2017, to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.
A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Samantha Ray at samantha.ray@alaska.gov or (907) 269-4681.
After the public comment period ends, the Department of Health & Social Services will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.
Statutory authority: AS 47.05.010; AS 47.25.001; AS 47.25.041; AS 47.25.051.
Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 47.05.010; AS 47.25.001; AS 47.25.041; AS 47.25.051.
Fiscal information: The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.
DATE: April 14, 2017
/s/Jon Sherwood
Deputy Commissioner
Department of Health & Social Services