(a) Child care services means care for an eligible child provided on a regular basis either in or away from the child's residence for less than 24 hours per day which is provided by an eligible provider as defined in subdivision (g) of this section. Child care services may occur for 24 consecutive hours or more when such services are provided on a short-term emergency basis or in other cases where the caretaker's approved activity necessitates care for 24 hours or more on a limited basis, if the district has indicated in its Child and Family Services plan that it will provide for such care. Child care services does not refer to programs providing care for children operated solely for the purpose of religious education, sports, recreation, classes, or lessons.

(b) Eligible child means a child who resides with a caretaker which meets the program and financial eligibility requirements for the particular type of child care services and who:

(c) Child with special needs means a child who is incapable of caring for himself or herself and who has been diagnosed by a physician, licensed or certified psychologist or other professional with the appropriate credentials to make such a diagnosis, as having one or more of the following conditions to such a degree that special education or related services are required, in accordance with section 602 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1401), part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (20 U.S.C. 1431 et seq.), and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794):

(d) Caretaker means the child's parent, legal guardian or caretaker relative, or any other person in loco parentis to the child.

(e) Caretaker relative means any person who is a parent or other relative as set forth in section 369.1(b) of this Title who exercises responsibility for the day-to-day care of, and who lives with, a child.

(f) Person in loco parentis to a child means the child's guardian or caretaker relative or any other person with whom a child lives who has assumed responsibility for the day-to-day care and custody of the child.

(g) Eligible provider means a person or entity that may provide child care services to a child receiving child care assistance. Members of the child's or the caretaker's public assistance unit, the child’s caretaker, the spouse of the child’s caretaker, and other members of the child care services unit are not eligible to provide subsidized child care to that child. An eligible provider is one of the following:

(h) Informal child care refers to child care provided in a residence, which is not required to be licensed or registered pursuant to section 390 of the Social Services Law. Informal child care means in-home child care and family child care.

(i) Legally-exempt group child care means a program in a facility, other than a residence, in which child care is provided on a regular basis and is not required to be licensed by or registered with the office or licensed by the City of New York but which meet all applicable State or local requirements for such child care programs. Legally-exempt group child care includes, but is not limited to:

(j) Family share means the weekly amount paid by the child's caretaker toward the costs of the child care services determined in accordance with section 415.3(f) of this Part.

(k) State income standard means the most recent Federal income official poverty line, as defined and annually revised by the United States Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2), updated by the department for a family size of four and adjusted by the department for family size.

(l) Child care services unit means those adults and/or children residing in the same household who will be considered for the purposes of determining a family's eligibility for child care services. For the purposes of this Part, an adult means any person 18 years of age or older unless the individual meets the definition of a child with special needs or the district has elected to include 18-,19- or 20-year old individuals in the same child care services unit as their parent by indicating such option in its consolidated services plan or integrated county plan. Districts have the option to include all 18-, 19- or 20-year olds in the child care services unit or to include only those 18-, 19- or 20-year olds whose inclusion in the child care services unit would benefit the family. The district's approved consolidated services plan or integrated county plan must specify the criteria it will use to determine whether or not an 18-,19- or 20-year old is included in the child care services unit.

(m) Actual cost of care means the rate usually charged by the child care provider for non-subsidized child care services. When child care services are provided in accordance with the terms of a contract between a social services district and the child care provider, the negotiated contract rate is the actual cost of care for such services even if such rate is less than the rate usually charged by the child care provider for non-subsidized child care services.

(n) Child care certificate means a certificate that is issued directly to a child's caretaker which verifies that the caretaker is eligible for subsidized child care services which the caretaker arranges.

For an individual who is not receiving public assistance, seeking employment means making in-person job applications, going on job interviews, registering with a New York State Department of Labor's Division of Employment Services Office to obtain job listings, and participating in such other job seeking activities as are approved by the social services district.

(q) Family resources means the value of:

(r) Office means the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.

(s) The enrollment agency, also known as the legally-exempt caregiver enrollment agency means the agency under contract with the office to enroll legally-exempt child care providers, including informal child care and legally-exempt group child care to provide subsidized child care services funded under the New York State Child Care Block Grant Program. For each social services district in New York State except for the City of New York, the enrollment agency will be the applicable child care resource and referral agency under contract with the office to serve that district. For the City of New York, the enrollment agency will be an entity or entities identified by the office in consultation with the New York City Human Resources Administration and the New York City Administration for Children's Services.

(t) Child care provider means a person or entity that is responsible for all matters related to the operation, oversight and direction of any child day care program or enrolled legally-exempt child care provider. Child care provider includes a person providing care in a residence where the provider has responsibility for the supervision and care of the children, and any person, association, corporation, partnership, institution, organization, or agency that oversees a child care program in a facility that is not a residence.

(u) Legally-exempt child care provider means a person or entity that provides child care and is not required to be licensed or registered pursuant to section 390 of the Social Services Law.

(v) Director means the person or persons who have responsibility for the development and supervision of the daily activity programs for children in care and/or the administrative authority and responsibility for the daily operations of a legally-exempt group child care program. Director may include:

(w) Employee is used interchangeably with the term staff, and means all personnel including directors, temporary personnel, teachers, aides, para-professionals, cooks, custodians, administrative staff and any other person(s) employed by a legally-exempt child care provider.

(x) Enrollment applicant means a person submitting an application for enrollment or re-enrollment as an informal child care provider, or the director designated to submit such an application to be a legally-exempt group child care program on behalf of an entity, including, but not limited to, a person, association, corporation, partnership, institution, organization, or agency.

(y) Family child care household member means a person living in the residence where family child care or relative-only family child care is provided.

(z) Medication administrant is a person licensed in New York State as a physician, physician assistant, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, licensed practical nurse, or advanced emergency medical technician; or a legally-exempt child care provider or his or her employee, who is trained in medication administration, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and first aid. The medication administrant must be designated in a health care plan which meets the specifications of section 415.13 of this Part and be authorized by the office or its designees to administer medications.

(aa) Volunteer means any unpaid person present for the purpose of assisting with care of children or the operation of the child care program, and who has the potential for either unsupervised contact or regular and substantial contact with children in care.

(ab) Visitor means any person other than a child in care, employee, caretaker, volunteer, or household member.

(ac) Child care assistance, also known as child care subsidy, is administered by the office, in accordance with the Social Services Law, to help eligible families in meeting the cost of child care services.

(ad) Non-school hours shall mean any time a specific child is not physically required to be present in school as part of the regular school day, including during virtual and/or remote learning.