Child Care Service Screening for Stage II

A family must be screened for Stage II Child Care services when:

• The Associate Employment Counselor (AEC)/Employment Counselor (EC) discovers that the CalWORKs Employment Services (CWES) client has been discontinued from cash aid, or
• The client receives a notice of discontinuance or is discontinued from cash aid and calls the Child Care Information Telephone Line, or
• The client received a CalWORKs Diversion Payment in the previous 24-month period and calls the Child Care Information Telephone Line.

Note: Families must be screened for ANY Supportive Services they may be entitled to whenever their cash aid is discontinued.

Initial Payment

Payment can be made from the first day of the month in which the client calls the child care information line and is screened eligible for Stage II by the AEC/EC, provided that:

• Costs were incurred in that month,
• The family is not on cash aid, and
• Child care has not already been paid by another source.

Note: When an application is not returned within 30 days from the date the AEC/EC mails the application packet, the initial payment date will be the first of the month in which the application is received.

Note: Payment for TrustLine (TL) pending providers is limited to a maximum of 120 calendar days from the date the client applied for child care assistance and returned a completed child care packet. Once a license-exempt provider becomes TL registered, they may receive retroactive child care payments for no more than 120 calendar days from the date their TL is approved. However, payment may not be authorized if the TL is denied.

Stage II Retroactive Payments

Retroactive payments will not be made in Stage II. A family may forfeit payment for each month they do not apply for assistance with child care costs after discontinuance from cash aid.

Example Example A family is discontinued from cash aid effective June 30, 2025. The 24-month period for Stage II child care begins July 1, 2025, and ends June 30, 2027. If the family waits until September 2025 to request help with child care costs, they would not be eligible for payment for July 2025 and August 2025. If found eligible for Stage II, the beginning month of child care assistance would be no earlier than September 2025 if all eligibility requirements are met.

Screening Post-Aid Clients for Stage II Child Care

When the AEC/EC discovers that an employed CWES client is discontinued from cash aid, the assigned AEC/EC will:

1. Contact the client by telephone within 5 working days, to screen for Stage II. When determining Stage II eligibility for a client who does not have an existing child care approval, refer to the Child Care Checklist (SCD 1775).
2. Review countable income and family size.
3. Document the negative action date in the Journal Detail page in CalSAWS.
4. Verify the child care provider information.
5. Determine that the family’s income does not exceed 85 percent (%) of the State Median Income (SMI):
   1. If the family’s income is over 85% SMI, issue a Child Care Services Discontinuance (NA 835) form to discontinue child care.
   2. If the family’s income is at or below 85% SMI, continue the screening process.
6. The AEC/EC must complete and submit the APP/CWES Referral & Communication Form (SCD 1776) via email to scchild@ssa.sccgov.org within 5 working days.
   1. The AEC/EC will use the SCD 1775 to instruct the client regarding any action required.
   2. The client will be allowed 30 calendar days to complete and return the child care packet.

Screening the Child Care Telephone Line

Clients discontinued from cash aid who do not have an assigned AEC/EC, may call the Child Care Telephone Line at (408) 758-3500 to request help with child care costs.

Use the following procedures to process child care requests from the telephone line:

1. Messages will be retrieved from the child care telephone line daily by the designated person, and the information will be recorded on the log sheet.
2. If the client is assigned to an AEC/EC, the Telephone Request Acknowledgment letter will be mailed to the client, and a copy forwarded to the assigned AEC/EC. The assigned AEC/EC will conduct the appropriate follow-up.
   1. If the client is not assigned to an AEC/EC, continue with the next step.
3. The AEC/EC must call the client within (3) days to screen for potential Stage II child care eligibility. If the client cannot be reached by telephone, the “Attempted to Contact” letter will be mailed for the client to respond within ten (10) working days.
   1. If the client does not respond to the letter after ten (10) working days, a Child Care Services Denial (NA 834) must be sent to the client by the AEC/EC.
4. Within five (5) working days of case assignment the AEC/EC must determine the income eligibility of the client (at or below the 85% SMI).
   1. If the client is income eligible, the Stage II Child Care application packet (SCD 1775, and any other necessary paperwork) must be mailed to the client within five (5) working days. The client will be given 30 calendar days to complete and submit the application along with all required verifications.
   2. If the client is NOT income eligible, issue the NA 834.
5. If the application packet is received within the 30-day time frame, the designated Stage II AEC/EC will determine final Stage II eligibility.
   1. If the application packet is NOT received within the 30-day time frame, issue the NA 834.

Processing the APP/CWES Referral & Communication Form (SCD 1776)

AECs/ECs must immediately complete the SCD 1776 and email it to ‘SCChild’ located in the SSA Global Outlook Address List for clients who are deemed income eligible for Stage II Child Care.  Designated CWES staff with access to the Global email address will process the SCD 1776 and provide child care transfer follow-up information to the referring AEC/EC. 

Clients income eligible for Stage II Child Care will be given 30 calendar days from the time the child care packet and/or SCD 1775 was mailed, to return the income verification, and all other supporting documentation needed to determine Stage II Child Care eligibility.

If the required documentation is not returned within 30 calendar days, the NA 834 will be issued. If the application is received after the 30 calendar days, it will be processed, however, the approval date will be the first of the month in which the returned application is date-stamped.

Follow the application process below:

1. The application must be approved or denied within 30 calendar days from the date stamp on the application.
2. If the application is approved, issue the Child Care Approval (NA 832). It must indicate the date the payment begins and the end date of the 24-month eligibility period.
   1. Include the following statement in the Comments section: “This approval is valid until your child care is approved or denied by the Alternative Payment Program (APP) (Go Kids, Inc. or Choices for Children)."
   2. If the application is NOT approved, issue an NA 834.
3. Child care must be correctly set-up and approved in CalSAWS. Continue making payments until the assigned APP approves or denies the referral.