Children's information

Last Reviewed Date
September 23, 2023

This section shows how to gather and verify information for each child who needs child care. It also illustrates how to include children who do not need care in family size.

What information should I capture?

Income eligibility varies based on household size. To ensure correct household size, applicants should include both their children who need child care, as well as their children who do not need care as part of their application. OCC recommends very clearly asking about both children who need care and those who do not.

For each child who needs care, ask for information such as name, date of birth, relationship, and citizenship/immigration status.

For children who do not need care, only ask how many live in the home.


Verifying identity, age, and citizenship for children who need child care

Where possible, OCC recommends Lead Agencies use existing administrative data already on file to verify age, identity, and citizenship status/qualified non-citizen status rather than requiring submission of new documents. To verify whether a child seeking child care assistance is a citizen or qualified non-citizen, OCC recommends Lead Agencies use the procedures outlined in "Interim Guidance on Verification of Citizenship, Qualified Alien Status and Eligibility Under Title IV of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. OCC recommends Lead Agencies use documents submitted to verify age and identity to also verify citizenship/qualified non-citizen status. For example screens, see Documentation Upload. Only when age and identity documents and information on file are insufficient to verify citizenship/qualified non-citizen status should Lead Agencies request additional information from the applicant. 

Lead Agencies are not required to verify the identity, age, and citizenship of any child not needing care.


Verifying an applicant's relationship to each child who needs child care

Applicants may not be able to easily provide a birth certificate or other legal document to prove their relationship to a child. This is especially true for parents acting in loco parentis. They may need to go through legal proceedings or wait many weeks to get a legal document proving relationship. This causes significant administrative burden.

Thus, OCC recommends allowing additional ways to verify relationship. When someone cannot provide a legal document, allow them to provide alternatives such as medical, school, or child care records. When someone cannot provide any documentation, allow them to self-certify their relationship. For example screens, see Documentation Upload.


Example application screens

Step A: Capture information about each child who needs care

Step B: Review children already added. Add any other children who need care.

Clicking “Add another child” asks for the same information as Step A

Clicking “That’s all children needing care” progresses the application to Step C

Step C: Capture information about children who do not need care