TWIST Child Care Conversion

1. TWIST Child Care Conversion Questions and Answers

2. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Is there any notification in TWIST if there is a problem with a customer or provider? How will staff know? • Answer: Staff should record relevant information regarding customers in Counselor Notes. You will not be able to select a provider not authorized to provide care.

3. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If a Choices customer is sanctioned, do we close the referral, but not the Program Detail?  • Answer: Yes, since it is possible the customer may return and continue participation.

4. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: How long should a Program Detail be left open waiting for a customer to return? • Answer: Left open because: the customer is waiting to decide on a referral or left open because the staff initiated a penalty for non participation or left open because the parent temporarily does not need financial aid for child care, etc.? At this time, the guideline is to use good judgment regarding the continued eligibility of the customer established in the Program Detail

5. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If a referral is ended are the cards automatically inactivated? • Answer: If all referrals end and you close the program detail, then Yes. If one of several referrals end, then No.

6. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If staff create a new referral, will the parent be issued a new card?  • Answer: No.

7. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Are the discounts we allow (7 family members, blended, part-time) calculated in the Parent Share of Cost automatically or does staff have to manually figure them? When would staff use the “Copy System Calculation” button on PSoC tab? • Answer: We issued guidance for determining and recording Parent Share of Cost.

8. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If a Choices customer is receiving care so she can meet participation, what is the Reason for Care? • Answer: If the customer is working, then work, if the customer is in school, then Training/Education.

9. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If a Choices customer is working and we enter the information in Service Tracking, will this populate Employment History for childcare reference? • Answer: We will suggest this as an enhancement

10. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: What is the Reminder Date on Counselor notes? • Answer: It was a feature that CCSD had. It doesn’t currently alert staff to do anything in TWIST; however, you could run ad hoc reports on it if you have entered any alerts in TWIST. As an enhancement, state staff are looking at ways to alert staff when there are reminder dates for customers, but they are not sure how this will be done.  

11. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Is the only way I KNOW a referral “took” is that it saved? • Answer: Yes

12. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Should the 2450 automatically populate with the parent share of cost, or will staff have to write it in? • Answer: The Parent Share of Cost will automatically populate in the 2450.

13. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Will staff still need to enter a Support Services amount in TWIST for customers receiving TANF, or can that stop since you can see the child care PD? • Answer: Continue to enter Support Services in TWIST as before.

14. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Will the case note in TWIST authorizing care for each child still be required in case notes? (And discontinuing care?) • Answer: Continue to enter Counselor Notes in TWIST as before.

15. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If the customer is in recoupment will a DFPS referral still be able to be done, since the customer’s recoupment should not affect DFPS care? • Answer: Yes. The same applies to Choices and TANF Applicant care.

16. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: If a customer (self referral) has 3 kids in care and needs to add one, but enrollments are closed, how do we add that child to the wait list? • Answer: In this situation, it allowable to provide care for the child since the customer already receives financial aid for child care. You would not be able to add a new customer while enrollments are closed.

17. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Questions:If a 16 year old has a child, but the DFPS referral is through the foster mom, so the 16 year old does not have a referral for child care of her own. How can the 16 year old get a CCAA card so she can pick up her own child? (TWIST doesn’t allow you to issue a card to anyone under 18.) • Answer: Staff should create a separate Program Detail for the 16 year old parent and her child.

18. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: We had some discussion about whose income you enter for child care.  If a 17 year old is in the house and has a full time job, is his income included in the income calculation, or just any assistance he receives?  • Answer: This is the definition of family for Child Care: • Family -- The unit composed of a child eligible to receive child care services, the parents of that child, and household dependents. • Household dependent -- An individual living in the household who is one of the following: • (A) An adult considered as a dependent of the parent for income tax purposes; • (B) A child of a teen parent; or • (C) A child or other minor living in the household who is the responsibility of the parent. • The 17 year old is probably a dependent of the parent for income tax purposes. You would count that person’s income. The same would apply to the 18 year old if the 18 year old is a dependent of the parent for income tax purposes.

19. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question:If we give a customer TANF Applicant care because they come in with a 2588 the care is funded with Choices care currently in CCSD.  If they come in because they were denied TANF because they are working we give TANF Applicant care (funding).  In TWIST should staff choose Referred by: Choices if they are providing care to an Applicant who came in for an orientation? • Answer: Guidelines for selecting the correct option for "Referred By":You will have a referral form sent by HHSC for 1-Choices, 2-TANF Applicant, 4-Snap E&T. • Office staff will identify if the financial aid for child care is for 3-Transitional, 5-WIA Adult, 6-WIA Youth, 7-WIA Dislocated Worker, 8-Special Projects. • Self referred are parents that walk in the door or call that are not referred from another agency or program.

20. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: How are credit hours for a customer going to school tracked in TWIST? • Answer: You can update the Education tab in Intake Common and you can record the information in Counselor Notes. Since a customer can receive child care because she is in education/training, but only until she reaches 65 hours, staff should create Counselor Notes with a subject that reflects this.

21. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Where do you enter the cost a family pays to provide medical care for a child with a disability? • Answer: You can add that information on the Program Detail, the Family tab, on the Household Dependent Detail.

22. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Where do you enter disability income? • Answer: Enter disability income information on the Income tab in Intake Common.

23. TWIST Child Care Q&A • Question: Will the referrals closed due to an error on the part of staff be deleted at some point? • Answer: No. There may be a future enhancement that does this.