Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items

Transcription

1 TO: FROM: The Chair and Member of Committee of the Whole Joyce Waldron Co-ordinator of Children=s Services MEETING DATE: July 31, 2000 SUBJECT: Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items PURPOSE A report to request City Council approval to use the Determination of Available Income Application (D.A.I.) Form 1, of the Ontario Child Care Service Management Guidelines (OCCSMG) data base calculations and for some revised municipal areas of discretion to determine the amount of financial assistance (full, partial, or not eligible) available to families that apply. Endorsement is also requested for the acceptance of the parent fees determined by the application process to be the only fees that parents be required to pay. This report was endorsed by the Joint Services Steering Committee June 22, RECOMMENDATIONS i) That effective October 1, 2000 the process for determining financial assistance for child care be changed to using the full scope of the computerized calculations of the Ontario Child Care Service Management Guidelines(OCCSMG) data base Determination of Available Income (D.A.I.) Form 1 Program. ii) iii) iv) That effective October 1, 2000, the municipal discretionary items of the provincial D.A.I. Form 1 be the determining points for families needing financial assistance for child care. That effective October 1, 2000 the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation CMHC rent rate levels be used for the rent/mortgage portion of the D.A.I. Form 1 for financial assistance for child care. That effective October 1, 2000 the maximum net earnings exemption be set at 25% to a maximum of $ for the D.A.I. Form 1 for financial assistance for child care. v) That effective October 1, 2000 families already receiving child care financial assistance who will not benefit from the net earnings exemption change be grandparented, under the existing guidelines, until

2 Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items Page 2 vi) each child enters grade one. That effective October 1, 2000, the parent fees determined by the D.A.I. Form 1 process be the only fees assigned to families. BUDGET AND FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS The approved subsidy level will stay the same. Currently we have subsidy dollars available, and we do not have any families on the subsidy wait list requiring immediate care. The recommended changes will enable more city and county of Peterborough families to qualify for child care subsidy. OTHER IMPLICATIONS The Province of Ontario=s new child care data base is now close to being operational in Children=s Services. This system automates financial assistance assessments for child care services. The system will be used for all facets of the process from the first call for information to monthly payment of the programs. The needs test itself, based on calculations built into the system, can determine which families are eligible or ineligible. The new system does not support the way we currently administer the gross income cut off and parental fee components of the fee subsidy application. Change needs to occur for the system to be fully operational. Presently, we determine that a family has no available income and still charge a minimum fee. As a result of the proposed changes, some low income families will not have any child care fees, others may pay the same or higher fees, and some families not currently eligible may be eligible for assistance. BACKGROUND There are three components to child care financial assistance. 1. review of the family=s asset level (Appendix 1) 2. review of monthly income and 3. review of monthly expenses In order to proceed with steps 2 and 3 the asset level of the family is first verified to be within the allowable provincial limits. For example the asset level for a two parent family with two children would have to be less than $6, (Appendix 1) Liquid assets are defined as cash, bonds, stocks, and interest in real property, the beneficial interest in assets held in trust and available to be used for maintenance and any other assets that can readily be converted into cash. If the family=s assets exceed the allowable limit they are deemed ineligible for assistance. If the family=s assets are within the allowable limit the family is then needs tested on income and expenditures. These calculations determine the level of financial assistance for which the family is eligible. This could be full subsidy or a partial subsidy. A family is ineligible for child care subsidy when the assessment reflects enough available income to cover the full child care fees. The intent of financial assistance for child care is to assist those families most in need with the cost of licensed child care. During the last decade the City of Peterborough has addressed this issue to ensure that the lowest income families are the highest priority. Determining who is a family with a low income has been the challenge. The gross income level for families applying for financial assistance was reviewed by City Council in

3 Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items Page and The 1993 recommendation approved by City Council limited financial assistance to families in the following format. Gross income $53,000 (1 child), $56,000 (2 children) $59,000 (3 or more children). The 1996 recommendation approved by City Council limited financial assistance to families with gross incomes less than or equal to $39,750 per year. The difficulty for families since 1996 has been the inflexibility of a gross income level that does not take into consideration the number of children in a family. Prior to the transition of child care for County of Peterborough residents, July 1, 1999, the Joint Services Steering Committee agreed to use the City of Peterborough=s policies for discretionary items, some of which were changed to reflect county issues such as transportation costs and water and septic charges. This issue has been highlighted since the transition of Child Care from the province on July 1, Additional concern has been raised by families with three, four and five or more children that the gross income cut off level that is in place is inequitable - their costs are higher because family size is larger, but these costs are not considered. An example would be that a two parent family with 1 child with a gross income level of 39,750 can apply for assistance but the two parent family with four children with a gross income level of 39,800 cannot apply. 1) That effective October 1, 2000 the process for determining financial assistance for child care be changed to using the full scope of the computerized calculations of the Ontario Child Care Service Management Guidelines(OCCSMG) data base Determination of Available Income (D.A.I.) Form 1 Program. Provincial child care regulations give discretion to Delivery Agents in determining specific policies within the Fee Subsidy Program Guidelines of the OCCSMG. There is no provincial maximum for allowable income. This is within the area of discretion of each Consolidated Municipal Service Manager (CMSM). The province has not established a cut off level for families wanting to apply for financial assistance. The Determination of Available Income Application (D.A.I.) Form 1 ( Appendix 2) determines if a family is eligible for full child care financial assistance, partial child care financial assistance or is ineligible for child care financial assistance. Provincial child care regulations give discretion to Delivery Agents to determine specific policies within the Fee Subsidy Program Guidelines of the OCCSMG. Flexibility can increase or decrease subsidy levels for families based on income and expenses. The D.A.I. Form 1 data base is designed to incorporate specific Alocal@ areas of discretion. Following (page 4) is a list of the current and the proposed levels of discretionary items. The bolded items in the proposed column reflect items recommended for change.

4 Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items Page 4 ii) That effective October 1, 2000, the municipal discretionary items of the provincial D.A.I. Form 1 be the determining points for families needing financial assistance for child care. AREA OF DISCRETION MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE LEVELS CURRENT MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE LEVELS PROPOSED TELEPHONE Basic monthly rate Basic monthly rate RENT MORTGAGE Not to exceed shelter allowance as set by province $ per month (heated) $ per month (no heat) $ month actual Updated yearly based on CMHC rental rate report Not to exceed shelter allowance as set by province Updated yearly based on CMHC Mortgage rate report PROPERTY TAXES Actual costs Actual costs DEBT PAYMENTS TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION DENTAL SERVICES OPTICAL SERVICES HEALTH SERVICES - DRUGS OTHER with the exception of coin laundry all require verification of actuals by receipts and policies $ per month - verified car loans/leases, student loans, house repairs (with approval) up to $ per month per vehicle (2 vehicles allowed) Actual child support payments Car Insurance maximum $50.00/per car/per month/limit 2 cars Coin laundry $20/wk Cost of child care (not covered by subsidy) House/fire/content insurance Hydro Life Insurance Tuition & books - work related courses Water/sewage/septic $ per month - verified car loans/leases, student loans, house repairs (with approval) up to $ per month per vehicle (2 vehicles allowed) Actual child support payments Car Insurance maximum $50.00/per car/per month/limit 2 cars Coin laundry $20/wk Cost of child care (not covered by subsidy) House/fire/content insurance Hydro Life Insurance Tuition & books - work related courses Water/sewage/septic NET EARNING EXEMPTION 25% 25% to a maximum of $300.00

5 Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items Page 5 Information on our local conditions for rent/mortgage levels are available each year from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC). Current average rent rates are within the maximum shelter allowance ceilings for provincial subsidy. Our recommendation is that the CHMC rates ( Appendix 3) become the standard in our policy up to the provincial shelter allowance to be adjusted annually within 30 days of receipt of the information. (Appendix 3). iii That effective October 1, 2000 the Canada Mortgage and Housing rent rate levels be used for the rent/mortgage portion of the D.A.I. Form 1 for financial assistance for child care. The net earnings exemption is identified in the Day Nurseries Act, Section 68(4)(5) of Regulation 262 and provides for the Ontario Works Administrator to set the net earning exemption to an amount up to but not exceeding 25 per cent of the monthly earnings. Net earnings exemption is only applicable to families with earnings. Net earning exemptions do not apply to the portion of the family income that is received from Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), Department of Indian Affairs funding, Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), Employment Insurance or Child Support. This exemption is a method by which CMSM=s can direct available subsidy to the lowest incomes. iv That effective October 1, 2000 the maximum net earnings exemption be set at 25% to a maximum of $ for the D.A.I. Form 1 for financial assistance for child care. On May 25, 2000 the Children=s Services Unit reviewed the caseload to determine which families would be affected by this change and how they would be effected. Of the 416 families presently receiving assistance, 39 families would become ineligible. 5) That effective October 1, 2000 families already receiving child care financial assistance who will not benefit from the net earnings exemption change be grandparented, under the existing guidelines, until each child enters grade one. The City of Peterborough charges a minimum parent user fee of $40.00 to $88.00 per month. This is regardless of the fact that some families are assessed as having no available income to contribute for child care costs. While MCSS does not support child care user fees there is currently no legislation or directive that prohibits the practice. The OCCSMG states that delivery agents are discouraged from adopting parent fee practices that cause subsidized parents to pay fees that may exceed their ability to pay as determined by the needs test. The new provincial data base program can determine if a family is eligible for full subsidy, partial subsidy or not eligible and the fees they needs to pay. vi) That effective October 1, 2000, the parent fees determined by the D.A.I. Form 1 process be the only fees assigned to families.

6 Report CS Child Care - Fee Subsidy Program - Discretionary Items Page 6 SUMMARY Support is required to use the D.A.I. Form 1, data base calculations and the municipal areas of discretion to determine the amount of financial assistance (full, partial, or not eligible) available to families that apply. This approval will support fee subsidy for families in a more equitable, rationale and streamlined way. Joint Services Steering Committee endorsement was given June 22, Respectfully submitted, Joyce Waldron Co-ordinator of Children=s Services Melanie Sangster Director of Social Services Contact Name Name: Joyce Waldron Title: Co-ordinator of Children=s Services Department: Social Services Phone: Ext 3495 Fax Internet address: jwaldron@city.peterborough.on.ca

7 Appendix 1 PROVINCIAL CHILD CARE SERVICES MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES LIQUID ASSET LEVELS HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION MAXIMUM LIQUID ASSETS ALLOWABLE one parent plus 1 child 2 children 3 children 4 children OR two parent plus 1 child 2 children 3 children 4 children $5,000 $5,500 $6,000 $6,500 * add $500 for each additional child $5,500 $6,000 $6,500 $7,000 * add $500 for each additional child NOTE: if the parent or parents is/are disabled, the maximum liquid asset levels quoted above are increased by $ Appendix 2

8 DETERMINATION OF AVAILABLE INCOME - FORM 1 Hard copy provided Appendix 3

9 AVERAGE MARKET RENT RATES CITY AND COUNTY OF PETERBOROUGH SIZE OF UNIT Bachelor $441 $419 $424 $442 1 bedroom $552 $562 $571 $574 2 bedroom $628 $648 $669 $ bedroom $726 $747 $784 $796 Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing PROVINCIAL CHILD CARE SERVICES MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES MAXIMUM SHELTER ALLOWANCE HOUSEHOLD SIZE OR MORE OR MORE HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION one parent plus 1 child 2 children 3 children 4 children 5 or more children two parents plus 1 child 2 children 3 children 4 or more children MAXIMUM MONTHLY RENTAL LEVELS ALLOWABLE $1,350 $1,450 $1,550 $1,650 $1,750 $1,450 $1,550 $1,650 $1,750

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