Under the new welfare law, you have an obligation to try to find your own child care so that you can participate in work-related activities. If you are unable to find appropriate day care or a babysitter with a safe and healthy environment in which to care for your child, you should ask BEGIN/Job Center to refer you to an approved provider or program. If the providers or programs are not accessible, suitable, adequate, or appropriate for your child, you should not be forced to participate in work-related activities.

TAKE THE FOLLOWING STEPS:

1 Go to your BEGIN/JOB CENTER appointment. A worker will give you a "Child Care Provider Form" and ask you to return with the form completed. Do not tell your worker that you do not have a babysitter for your child(ren), until you have attempted to find a babysitter and complete the form.

2 Contact accessible and suitable friends, neighbors, and relatives who might be able to babysit for you. Make a list of all the friends, neighbors, and relatives that you have contacted. For each individual listed, state the reasons why each person was not appropriate and/or unavailable.

3 Return to BEGIN/JOB CENTER on your scheduled return date, hand your list with detailed explanations over to the worker, and ask her to return it to you after she has made a copy of it. Ask the worker for assistance in finding child care. S/he must give you at least two choices of eligible child care providers. One of the referrals must be to either a registered or licensed provider, e.g. a day care center.

4 Visit the day care center(s), family day care providers, and private babysitters that the worker has referred you to. Put your name on waiting lists and get confirmation that you have done so. If there is an open slot and the center/provider is appropriate, accessible, suitable for your child, and a reasonable distance from your home and/or worksite then you must accept that slot.

5 If the workers' referrals are not acceptable to you, you must provide a written statement why each program or caretaker is not appropriate, accessible, suitable, and/or a reasonable distance from your home or worksite.

REASONS WHY A CHILD CARE PROVIDER
MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE AND/OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR CHILD(REN):

The provider does not accept children your child's age. The provider is not able to address the special needs of a particular child (a child with asthma, for example, may be considered a "special needs" child.) The provider is not available for the hours and days you need. The provider is not located within a reasonable distance from home and/or workplace. The provider's apartment or child care space: o Has peeling paint o Does not have a smoke detector o Is poorly ventilated o Does not have protective caps on electrical outlets o Has no working telephone The physical or mental condition of the provider would be detrimental to your child's health, welfare and/or safety.

If you manage to successfully establish that appropriate child care was unavailable, you should be given a temporary exemption from the work requirements. However, you are obligated to continuously search for appropriate child care. You will have to go through this process continuously in order to avoid a sanction.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE SANCTIONED:

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