In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated. Terms Defined. “Absence” means the failure of a child to attend or appear at the child care program. “Administrative disqualification hearing” means a hearing held by an administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings to determine if an intentional program violation (IPV) has occurred for which disqualification is a sanction. “Administrative law judge” means an administrative law judge of the Office of Administrative Hearings. “Adult” means an individual who is 18 years old or older. “Adverse action” means the denial, termination, suspension, or reduction of: Services to a customer; or Payment to a provider. “Appellant” means a customer, recipient, or other individual who is: Authorized by regulation to request an appeal under this chapter; or The subject of an intentional program violation proceeding. “Approved activity” means a pursuit in which a customer is participating that is approved by the CCS Program for a TCA family, or by an individual who is: Enrolled in public school; Enrolled in training; Engaged in volunteer work; Participating in a job search activity; Working; or Performing community service. “Babysitting” means care that is provided in the babysitter's home for unrelated children for less than 20 hours a month, for which State law exempts the babysitter from being licensed. “Birth certificate” means an official record, issued by an authorized governmental unit, of an individual’s full name, gender, parentage, and date, place, and time of birth. “Case management” means the process of determining or redetermining eligibility for customers, including collecting verifications. “Child” means an individual who is younger than 13 years old who is not disabled, or an individual younger than 19 years old who is disabled. “Child care” means care in a setting that is approved, licensed, or license-exempt under Maryland law by an individual other than the parent, stepparent, guardian, or caretaker for less than a 24-hour day and for which compensation is paid. “Child care center” means a facility providing child care that is: Licensed pursuant to COMAR 13A.16; Operated under a letter of compliance issued pursuant to COMAR 13A.17; Licensed by any branch of the military under applicable military child care regulations; Operated by a public school; or Licensed by the Maryland Department of Health as a youth camp as defined by Health-General Article, §14-401, Annotated Code of Maryland. “Child Care Subsidy (CCS) Program” means the system of providing financial assistance for child care to an eligible family, under which the contractor pays to the provider all or part of the payment on behalf of the family. “Child Care Subsidy (CCS) Branch” means the unit within the Division that regulates and administers Maryland's CCS voucher system for eligible families. “Child with a disability” means a child who has been diagnosed as being physically or mentally incapable of self-care appropriate to the age of the child, as verified by the State, based on a determination by a physician, a licensed or certified psychologist, or a licensed social worker. “Contractor” means the entity designated by the Division to: Take applications for CCS Program services; Issue child care subsidy vouchers to eligible customers; Process payments to child care providers and handle tasks related to provider payment processing; and Handle all aspects of case management, including hearings and appeals, consumer education, and overpayments. “Copayment” means that portion of the financial cost of child care services assigned by the contractor to a family and paid on a unit basis by the family to the provider. “Customer” means an individual or family that: Applies for initial or continuing CCS Program services; or Currently receives CCS Program services. “Division” means the Division of Early Childhood Development, which is housed within the Maryland State Department of Education. “Enrollment status” means the attendance schedule, either full-time or part-time, of the child receiving CCS services. Family. “Family” means the family unit consisting of: One or more adults and children, related by blood, marriage, adoption, or legal guardianship, and residing in the same household; or Adults with physical custody of a child, related or unrelated, who are residing in the same household. “Family” includes unrelated adults with children in common who reside together, whether either has other children residing in the household. “Family” does not include: Unrelated adults with no children in common residing together; or Related adults, other than spouses, residing together. Family Child Care Home. “Family child care home” means a residence, other than the home of the child for whom CCS is requested, in which family child care is provided. “Family child care home” includes a: Family child care home registered to operate pursuant to COMAR 13A.15 or applicable military child care regulations; or Large family child care home registered to operate pursuant to COMAR 13A.18. “Family Investment Program (FIP)” means an assistance program of the Maryland Department of Human Services for families with children encompassing services, work experience, or temporary cash assistance (TCA). “Family Investment Program (FIP) participant” means an individual who is enrolled in TCA. “Family size” means the number of individuals residing in the same household as a family as defined in §B(21) of this regulation. “Good cause” means circumstances in which the customer’s cooperation with the child support requirement may not be in the best interest of the child. Gross Income. “Gross income” means the sum of earnings, prior to adjustments such as, but not limited to, pretax benefits and rental property depreciation, that are received by an individual for compensation of services rendered on a regular or recurrent basis. “Gross income” includes, but is not limited to: Wages, salary, and, as specified at Regulation .03F(8)(a) of this chapter, income from self-employment; Commissions, tips, and bonuses; Dividends and interest; Social Security benefits, including disability and survivors benefits; Pensions and annuities; Estate income; Military entitlements, bonuses, and allowances; Rental income; Unemployment and Workers' Compensation; and Alimony and child support. “Gross income” does not include: Temporary Cash Assistance payments; Supplemental Security Income payments; $5,000 of a family's annual gross income per child for an adult with physical custody of a child as defined at §B(40) of this regulation; $5,000 of a family's annual gross income per child when the minor parent attends public school full-time; Money received from sales of property, such as stocks, bonds, a house, or a car, unless the individual was engaged in the business of selling the property, in which case the net proceeds would be counted as income from self-employment; Withdrawals of bank deposits; Money borrowed; Tax refunds; Gifts; Lump sum inheritances or insurance payments; Subsidized adoption, subsidized guardianship, and foster care payments; Value of food stamps or supplemental assistance under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the special food service program for children under the National School Lunch Act as amended; Earnings of a child younger than 15 years old or a child younger than 18 years old who is attending a public school; Loans and grants, such as scholarships, obtained and used under conditions that preclude their use for current living costs; A grant or loan to an undergraduate student for educational purposes made or insured under a program administered by the Commissioner of Education under the Higher Education Act; Any stipends, compensation, or expenses received for volunteer service from programs existing or pending under the Domestic Volunteer Service Act of 1973 sponsored by ACTION; Any payment received under the Community Service Trust Act of 1973; Earnings received by a youth in a program under the Workforce Investment Act; Energy grants and allowances received from P.L. 96-126 through the Maryland Energy Assistance Program; Any payment received under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970; Child support payments made by a noncustodial parent for a child not residing in the customer’s household; $2,500 of child support state and federal tax intercepts and arrearage payments; Veterans Administration payments to children with birth defects born to female Vietnam veterans; Educational assistance income used for an educational activity that is approved by the Maryland Higher Education Commission or is part of the FIP Independence Plan; Payments made to correct underpayments to recipients; and Census earnings made by temporary census workers. “Identified as responsible for child abuse or neglect” means being determined by a local department of social services to be responsible for indicated child abuse or neglect, under circumstances specified in the Family Law Article, §5-714, Annotated Code of Maryland, or awaiting the local department’s appeal hearing after the determination. “Infant” means a child younger than 24 months old. “Informal child care” means child care that: Does not require the child care provider to be licensed or regulated under Maryland law; and Is limited to: Relative care; In-home care; and Babysitting. “In-home care” means care: Provided to the customer's children in the customer's home by a nonrelative; and Exempt from licensing if all children being cared for live in the residence in which care is provided. “Intentional program violation” means an intentional false or misleading statement or misrepresentation, concealment, or withholding of facts for the purposes of establishing or maintaining the customer’s, recipient’s, or provider's eligibility for CCS payments or for increasing or preventing a reduction of the amount of assistance. “Intimate partner” means a person eligible to seek relief from domestic violence as specified in Family Law Article, §4-501(m)(1), (2), (6), or (7), Annotated Code of Maryland. “Local jurisdiction” means: One of Maryland’s 23 counties; or Baltimore City. “Maryland EXCELS” means the State’s tiered quality rating and improvement system for early care and education programs. “MSDE” means the Maryland State Department of Education. “Non-traditional hours” means: One hour or more between 7:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., Monday through Friday; or Any period of one hour or more on a Saturday or a Sunday. “Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)” means the administrative unit of Maryland government which is responsible for processing requests for hearings, for scheduling and conducting hearings, and for rendering decisions pursuant to State Government Article, §9-1601 et seq., Annotated Code of Maryland. “Overpayment” means the amount of payment received by a recipient or service provider to which the recipient or service provider was not entitled as determined by applicable CCS regulations. “Parent” means the biological or adoptive parent or the legal guardian or custodian of a child, who applies for the child to receive CCS Program services. “Physical custody of a child” means custody of a minor child by an adult other than the child’s parent in whose household the child resides, as evidenced by: A court order; Written authorization from a parent, if the parent is not residing in the same household; or Other documentation acceptable to the contractor. “Program freeze” means that the list of available providers has been exhausted or there are insufficient funds to provide a child care subsidy to all eligible families. “Provider” means: A family child care home; A child care center; or An individual approved by the CCS Branch to provide informal child care. “Public assistance” means Supplemental Security Income (SSI) received pursuant to Title XVI of the Social Security Act or cash benefits received through any program administered by the Family Investment Administration or successor administration. “Qualified alien” means a citizen of a foreign country who does not hold dual U.S. citizenship, is not a naturalized U.S. citizen, and: Has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the U.S.; Has been granted asylum in the U.S.; Is a refugee in the U.S.; Has been granted conditional entry into the U.S.; Has been temporarily paroled into the U.S. for limited reasons; Is under a suspended deportation order from the U.S.; or Has been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a parent or family member in the U.S. and who has: Been approved, or has petitioned, for status as a child of a U.S. citizen; Been classified as the child of a lawfully admitted alien; or Had a deportation order suspended with an adjustment of status. “Reasonable accommodation” means a modification made by a child care service provider, at no additional cost to the parent, in order to meet the physical, social, mental, and emotional needs of a child with a disability in accordance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act. “Recipient” means an individual who receives or has received assistance or that individual's authorized representative. “Relative care” means care that: Is provided in the relative's or customer's home by a relative; Is exempt from licensing under Family Law Article, §§5-550—5-557, Annotated Code of Maryland; and Excludes as eligible for payment the parents, stepparents, legal guardians, or members of the TCA or CCS assistance unit. “Resident” means an individual who lives in Maryland and has no intention of leaving during the time in which CCS is to be provided. “Self-employment” means generating one's income directly from customers, clients, or other organizations as opposed to being an employee of a business or another individual. “Service period” means the 2-week period for which child care providers can provide service and receive payment. “Subsidy” means that portion of the financial cost of child care services paid in authorized unit rates by the contractor to providers. “Successfully passed” means, when used in connection with: A criminal background check, that an individual: Has not received a conviction, a probation before judgment disposition, a not criminally responsible disposition, or a pending charge for the commission or attempted commission of a crime listed at Regulation .06D(6)(b)(i)—(xi) of this chapter; or If having received a conviction, a probation before judgment disposition, a not criminally responsible disposition, or a pending charge for the commission or attempted commission of a crime not listed at Regulation .06D(6)(b)(i)—(xi) of this chapter, has been assessed by the contractor as suitable to serve as an informal child care provider; or A review of records of abuse and neglect of children or adults, that an individual has been assessed by the contractor as being suitable to serve as an informal child care provider. “Temporary Cash Assistance (TCA)” means a form of cash assistance provided to families who are technically and financially eligible. “Tiered reimbursement” means weekly payments that: Exceed the payment rates specified in Regulation .11B—D of this chapter; Are paid to a child care center or a family child care provider that is participating in Maryland EXCELS at certain quality rating levels; and Vary based on the payment rate for the age of the child and the type of child care. Training. “Training” means any type of instructional program, except for post-college graduate programs, that is approved by the Division. “Training” includes an accredited undergraduate college, an accredited vocational program, or a publicly funded training program. “Transitioning off of public assistance” means the immediate 12-month period following the loss of a customer's eligibility for FIP assistance. “Underpayment” means a payment received by a provider that is less than the allowable amount owed the provider as determined by this chapter. “Unit” means the length of time per day a child is in child care, as follows: “One unit” means 3 hours or less per day; “Two units” means more than 3 hours per day, but less than 6 hours per day; or “Three units” means 6 hours or more per day. “Voluntary closure” means the period of time a child care provider is closed that: Includes not more than 2 consecutive weeks annually; and For child care centers and family child care homes, excludes: Christmas Day; New Year's Day; Memorial Day; Independence Day; Labor Day; and Thanksgiving Day. “Voucher” means a certificate given to a customer by the contractor for use in purchasing child care from a provider. “Waiver” means the document signed by an individual intentionally relinquishing the right to an administrative disqualification hearing.