HAR §17-799.1-7. Family unit eligibility requirements

(a) The department shall verify that the applica nt's child and the family unit meet the eligibility requirements as described in this chapter. 799.1- 10 3 6 3 0 - §17-799.1-7 (b) under this ( 1) ( 2) A child eligible for child care payments chapter shall: Reside with the eligible caretaker; and Be eligible to enter kindergarten by the end of the specified program year or are two or three years old by July 31 of the specified program year. (c) Applications received during the application period for children not described in subsection (b) shall be denied pursuant to section 17-799.1-20 and be sent a notice in accordance with section 17-799.1-21. (d) A child receiving child care payments under this chapter shall not be eligible to receive child care payments under chapter 17-798.3 for the same preschool provider or same type of care. (e) A family unit shall be eligible for child care payments provided the family unit has monthl y gross income verified through documentation that does not exceed five hundred per cent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines for a family of the same size, which shall be updated annually on February 1 to determine eligibility for the next specified program year. (f) A family unit in which the caretaker is a foster parent licensed by the department, or by an organization under the authority of the department, shall not be subject to income limits for determining eligibility, and are not subject to the family unit's co-payment requirement under section 17-799. 1-14, when the applying child is a foster child. (g) A family unit who meets the eligibility conditions of this section, but is not selected to participate in the program due to lack of funds shall be placed on a waitlist and assigned a waitlist priority as established in 17-799.1-19. (h) When the family unit is experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, as defined in this chapter, and does not have documentation to support verification of subsection (b), and section 17-799 . 1- 8, the department may issue presumptively eligible payments pending receipt of the documentation within two months from the first calendar day of the initial month of presumptive eligibility for the family unit, provided that : 799.1-11 3 6 3 0 - §17-799.1-7 (1) Payments shall be terminated after two months if the family unit fails to submit verifying documentation within two months; and (2) Such presumptively eligible payments are not considered an overpayment under section 17-799.1-23. (i) Child care payments will continue as long as the family unit remains eligible under this chapter, and until the applicant's child reaches kindergarten eligibility pursuant to section 302A-411, HRS, provided that the family unit continues to meet all other eligibility requirements. [Eff MAY 2 9 2026 (Auth: HRS §§346-14, 346-181) (Imp: HRS §§346-14, 346-181) §17-799.1-8 Income considered in eligibility determination. (a) Monthly gross income shall be used to dete rmi n e income eligibility of the famil y unit by using one of the following : (1) The average of the prior two months gross income for existing employment; (2) The monthly gross income received in the prior month for existing employment; or (3) The monthly gross income that is anticipated to be received by the family unit, such as, but not limited to, from prospective employment. (A) Weekly gross income anticipated to be received shall be converted to a monthly gross income by multiplying the weekly income by 4.3333. (B) Bi- weekly gross income anticipated to be received shall be converted to monthly income by multiplying the bi- weekly income by 2.1667. (C) Semi-monthly income anticipated to be received shall be converted to monthly income by multiplying the semi - monthly income by 2. (4) Gross income from the caretakers' business or self-employment such as selling real estate, or engaging in fishing and farming, 799.1-12 §17-799.1-8 which provide irregular income over a period of six months, may be allowed to be averaged to determine the budget month amount. (b) Monthly gross income means monthly sums of income received from sources such as but not limited to: (1) Gross income (before deductions are made for items such as, but not limited to, taxes, union dues, bonds, and pensions) from: (A) Wages; (B) Salary; (C) Armed forces pay, excluding basic housing allowance; (D) Commissions; (E) Tips; (F) Piece-rate payments; or (G) Cash bonuses earned. (2) Social security pensions and survivors' benefits (prior to deductions for medical insurance) including: (A) Railroad retirement insurance checks from the U.S. government; and (Bl Permanent disability insurance payments made by the Social Security Administration . (3) Unemployment insurance benefits such as: (A) Compensation received from government unemployment insurance agencies or private insurance companies during periods of unemployment; and (B) Any strike benefits received from union funds. (4) Worker's compensation benefits and temporary disability insurance benefits: (A) Worker's compensation benefits include compensation received from private or public insurance companies for injuries incurred at work; (Bl Temporary disability insurance benefits include compensation received from private or public insurance companies for short-term disabilities resulting from off-the-job sickness or injury; and 799.1-13 3 ,6 3 0 - §17-799.1-8 (C) The cost of the insurance shall have been paid by the employer and not by the employee, and the benefits are made to individuals who continue to be considered employees of the company; (5) Pensions and annuities, including pensions or retirement benefits paid to a retired person or the person's survivors by a former employer or by a union, either directly or by an insurance company; (6) Veteran's pensions and other benefits, which include: (A) Money paid periodically by the Veteran's Administration to: (i) Survivors of deceased veterans; or (ii) Disabled members of the armed forces; (B) Subsistence allowances paid to veterans for: (i) Education; or (ii) On-the-job training; and (C) Refunds paid to former members of the armed forces as GI insurance premiums; (7) An allotment of a member of the armed forces; (8) Alimony; (9) Child support, including support or maintenance for or on behalf of a son or daughter who is over eighteen years of age; (10) Public assistance payments from another state; (11) Hawaii public assistance payments; (12) Adoption assistance payments; (13) Dividends from stockholdings or memberships in associations; (14) Periodic interest on savings or bonds; (15) Income from estates or trust funds; (16) Income from rental of property after business expenses; ( 1 7 ) Roy alt i es ; (18) Income received from self-employment: (A) Income received from non-farm self- employment means the gross receipts minus expenses for an individual's own 799.1- 14 3 6 3 0 - §17-799.1-8 business, professional enterprise, or partnerships. (i) Gross receipts shall include the value of all goods sold and services rendered. (ii) Expenses shall include the costs of goods purchased, rent, heat, light, power, wages and salaries paid, business taxes, and other similar costs. (iii)The value of salable merchandise consumed by the proprietors of retail stores shall not be included as part of net income. (iv) Items such as depreciation, personal, business, and entertainment expenses, transportation, purchase of capital equipment, and payments on the principal of loans for capital assets or durable goods shall not be deducted as business expenses. Personal expenses such as lunches and transportation to and from work shall not be deducted as business expenses. (B) Income received from farm self- employment means the gross receipts minus operating expenses from the operation of a farm by a person on the person's own account, as an owner, renter, or sharecropper. (i) Gross receipts shal l include the value of all products sold, government crop loans, money received from the rental of farm equipment to others, and incidental receipts from the sale of wood, sand, gravel, and s i milar items. (ii) Operating expenses shall include the cost of feed, fertili zer, seed, and other farming supplies, cash wages paid to farmhands depreciation charges, cash rent, interest on farm mortgages, farm 799.1-15 3 6 3 0 - .., §17-799.1-8 building repairs, farm taxes (not state and federal income taxes), and other similar expenses. (iii) The value of fuel, foods, or other farm products used for family living shall not be included as part of net income. (iv) Items such as depreciation, personal, business, and entertainment expenses, transportation, purchase of capital equipment, and payments on the principal of loans for capital assents or durable goods, and state and federal taxes paid shall not be deducted as business expenses. [ Eff MAY 2 9 2026 l (Auth: HRS §§346-14, 346-181) (Imp: HRS §§346-14, 346-181)