FAQs

At re-certification, income is verified based on your employer’s reported income for unemployment insurance. If the information reveals unreported income that would have made you ineligible for the program, your child care assistance will be terminated, and you will be required to pay back all of the money paid to your provider. If unreported income would have resulted in your owing more for your parent share of cost, you will be required to pay back the difference. To be eligible for continued child care assistance, you must be participating in work or training a minimum of 25 hours per week for a one parent family or 50 hours per week for a two parent family. You must call to report when you are not working, have dropped out of school, or are not participating 25 hours per week for a one parent family or 50 hours per week for a two parent family. The receipt of services for which you are no longer eligible constitutes grounds on which to suspect fraud, and it may result in criminal prosecution.

You remain eligible as long as the information given at the time of enrollment remains current. If the situation changes and you are not working or attending school the required 25 hours per week for a one parent family or 50 hours per week for a two parent family, you will not be eligible. You can receive a grace period of four weeks to find a new job or to increase your hours, but you must contact a child care representative to request one. You are allowed a maximum of 4 weeks per year (October – September) for job searching. If you begin to receive additional income from a raise, bonus, overtime, or other income such as child support, you must report those changes within 10 days for your eligibility in the program to be re-determined. If there are no changes, you will be sent a notice when it is time to re-evaluate your eligibility. Eligibility must be determined every twelve months or more often if needed.

You should report the gross monthly income before deductions for all working family members. Wages or salaries, commissions, tips, piece-rate payment and cash bonuses earned must be reported. Overtime pay is estimated based on the person’s history of receiving this pay. If you have more than one job, make sure to report gross income from each of your employers. Other income that must be reported includes child support, public assistance payments, SSI, unemployment and worker’s compensation, disability payments, lottery winnings, and social security. Ask a child care representative about any regular income you receive to see if it must be included in your gross monthly income.

The Texas Workforce Commission requires a parent to provide written documentation of the following:

• The parent is cooperating with the Attorney General’s office for each child in the family to establish paternity,
• The parent is receiving child support; and if not, they are cooperating with the Attorney General’s office to seek child support,
• Each child in the family ages 6 -18 years old is attending school regularly,
• The parent must assure that she/he has not used, sold or possessed any controlled substance.

This assures that the provider will reserve a place for your child while he/she is absent. Children are only allowed 30 days of absences during their anniversary year. If you do not report your child’s attendance with your swipe card your child will be counted absent for those non-reported days.

All clients receiving child care assistance through WFS Capital Area will use a “swipe card” to report attendance when the children are dropped off or picked up at the child care provider’s location.

Parents with children enrolled at a licensed child care center will swipe their card through a Point of Service (POS) machine. Parents will also report absences using the POS machine or calling in the absence from any phone to the toll free number on the back of the swipe card.

Parents with children enrolled in a licensed or registered child care home or with a relative provider will use the provider’s phone to call the toll-free number on the back of the card and follow the prompts to report the children’s attendance and absences.

The provider will be paid based on the information recorded by the parent using Child Care Attendance Automation (CCAA). If you do not check your children in using your swipe card, those days will count against the total number of absences allowed within a 12-month period. WFS Capital Area will pay the child care provider each month for your child’s care. You will be required to pay a portion of your child care cost, called a parent share of cost, to the child care provider.

As long as there is no waiting list in place, you may begin the program after all required documentation has been received and you are determined to be eligible for the program. Once you have returned your eligibility packet and documentation, call 512.597.7191 to speak with a child care representative to enroll in the program.

It is possible that a wait list may be necessary when maximum enrollment in the program is reached. You may call 512.597.7191 to find out whether a wait list is currently in place.

If there is a waiting list, children will be placed from the waiting list as space becomes available.