Wisconsin Department
of Children and Families - Division
of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration
Wisconsin Shares Handbook
When a gap between approved activities occurs on the same day and the gap in activities is two (2) hours or less, the gap must be included in the authorized hours if the parent needs care during the gap time.
| Example 1: Hillary works 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday and attends school 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Her child, Lisa, needs to attend child care while Hillary is at work and school. Because the gap from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday is less than two (2) hours, the agency worker must include the gap in Lisa’s authorized hours if Hillary needs child care during that time. |
In a two-parent household, gap time cannot be approved for times when the second parent is available to care for the child.
If the gap is two (2) hours or more, the authorization must include the gap in the authorized hours for the following scenarios:
Home Time: Picking up the child and taking them home between the approved activities would cause the parent and child to be home for less than two (2) hours
Child Insufficient Sleep: The parent picking up the child would cause the child to have fewer than eight (8) hours of potential sleep time between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
Travel Greater than Activities: The number of activity hours for the first and the second activities are less than or equal to the travel time needed (job to child care to home, then home to child care to work)
Disruption of Child Schedule: Picking up the child would interrupt mealtime or nap time
If the gap is more than two (2) hours and does not meet one (1) of these situations, local agencies should consider the circumstances of the case and proceed according to their discretion.
Agency workers must document in case comments (see 12.2) a summary of the justification for the inclusion of gaps between activities or sleep time in the authorized hours.
| Example 2: Dana must travel to a different county to attend school. She has two (2) one-hour classes, with a gap of five (5) hours between them. The time from her house to the provider is 15 minutes, and the time from the provider to her school is one (1) hour and 15 minutes, so 1.5 hours each way. She and her child would be able to be home for two (2) hours during the gap. However, the classes add up to two (2) hours of activity time, and the travel adds up to three (3) hours. The case meets the Travel Greater than Activities situation, and the gap must be included in the authorized hours. |
This section last updated 12/1/2022