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The purpose of this release is to advise the local social services districts of amendments to the Social Services Law (SSL) section 410-w regarding eligible families under the New York State Child Care Block Grant (NYSCCBG).
Section 410-w of the SSL was changed to extend the child care guarantee to Temporary Assistance (TA) applicants. TA refers to both Family Assistance (FA) and Safety Net (SN) Assistance. TA applicants who would otherwise be eligible for, or are recipients of, recurring TA benefits and who are employed, can now choose child care “in lieu of TA” and be afforded a guarantee of child care benefits, regardless of whether federal or state funding is available to the district.
Other changes to SSL require districts to provide child care subsidies for TA recipients during breaks in certain activities; allow districts to pay for post-secondary education for low income families who are working a minimum of 17½ hours a week; and prohibit requiring a new application for families whose TA cases are closing and who have a continuing need for child care in order for parents to work. The amendment providing the new “in lieu of TA” child care guarantee became effective December 19, 2001. All the other amendments became effective June 17, 2002. Section IV of this release, entitled Required Actions, provides information regarding implementation of these changes.
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