Transcript Slide 1

ERSEA Training 2010-11
BSACAP Head Start Program
1
E ligibility
R ecruitment
S election
E nrollment
A ttendance
2
Eligibility
Family
The term “family” means all persons living in the same
household who are supported by the income of the parent(s) or
guardian(s) of the child enrolling or participating in the
program, and related to the parent(s) or guardian(s) by blood,
marriage, or adoption.
3
Eligibility
Taking the Enrollment Application
 The # in the “family” can never be more than the # in the
“household”. The household # must be = or more than the
number in the family. (In other words, you can’t be part of the family
without being part of the household)

Only list someone as a Secondary Caregiver if he/she is
married to the Primary Caregiver or is the biological parent of
the applying child. In either situation, the person must be living
in the household with the Primary Caregiver to be listed as the
Secondary Caregiver.
4
Eligibility
Taking the Enrollment Application

Do not list the names of the PC, SC, or applying child in the
“Family Size” on the back of the application. (They are counted,
but their names do not need to be listed)

List all other family members in the “Family Size” section and
put each name under “Family Members LIst” on COPA.

Do not list the PC or SC as emergency contacts on the
application. (They are automatically listed as emergency contacts)
5
Eligibility
Taking the Enrollment Application
 When a family chooses “Homeless” or “Other” for Current Housing,
a Family Residency Questionnaire must be completed.

Parental Status on the application must show either Two Parent or
Single Parent. (additional choices can be made as well)

The only income that should be listed in the “Child Monthly Income”
section is Foster or Kinship Care. When this is the case, the
“Exclude Family Income” box should be checked. (never list money
for SSI or TANF in the Child Monthly Income Section)
6
Eligibility
Taking the Enrollment Application
An application cannot be loaded on COPA until an Eligibility
Verification Sheet has been completed.
•
Once this information has been obtained, applications should be loaded on
COPA as soon as possible. The only time you would not immediately load
the application on COPA is when it is for the next school year or when you
are not considering the application for enrollment
(discussed on slide # 48)
7
Eligibility
Eligibility Verification Sheet

Common Mistakes Found:

“Other” age documentation not specified

“Income Documentation Used” section does not show a #

“Income Period” does not relate correctly to income document
used

Total # in family is different than # shown on application

Yes/No boxes for age and income eligibility are not marked
8
Eligibility
Eligibility Verification Sheet

When a child is designated as Homeless (based on Family Residency
Questionnaire),
there should not be any income listed. Income Doc.
Used should show “6” and the Total Annual Income will show a “0”.
Do not list the Family Member, Total Gross Amount, Income
Schedule, or Income Period. (Link to Example)
9
Eligibility
Eligibility Verification Sheet

When a family is designated as “0” income, the Income Doc. Used
should show “12” and the Total Annual Income will show a “0”. Do
not list the Family Member, Total Gross Amount, Income Schedule,
or Income Period. (Link to Example)
10
Eligibility
Eligibility Verification Sheet

When a member of the family receives TANF/SSI, only that amount
should be listed as income. Even if the TANF/SSI is received for the
child, the parent should still be listed as the one receiving it. THIS
IS NOT CHILD INCOME. (Link to Example)
11
Eligibility
Eligibility Verification Sheet

When a child is in Foster/Kinship care, the child should be listed on
the Eligibility Verification as the one receiving the income because
THIS IS CHILD INCOME. The amount received for Foster/Kinship
is the only income that should be listed. (Link to Example)
12
Eligibility
Determining Income and the “0” Income Form

If someone receives a cash payment for services given or entitlement, this
is income.

If something is given as a gift, this is not income.
Link to “0” Income Form
Note: Do not accept a written statement from someone else stating they pay bills for the parent or
contribute child support. The only acceptable written statements are from the parent or an
employer.
Note: There should not be a specific amount of money listed on the “0” Income Form.
13
Eligibility
Determining Income and the “0” Income Form
Which of the following would be counted as income:
14
Eligibility
Source
Counts As Income
•
Salary from employment
YES
•
Alimony
YES
•
Child Support
YES
•
Tax Refunds
NO
•
Lump Sum Inheritance
NO
•
Compensation for Injury
NO
•
Interest
YES
•
Bank Loans
NO
15
Eligibility
Source
Counts As Income
•
Military Pay
YES
•
Unemployment
YES
•
Fringe Benefits (i.e.
NO
employer paid insurance)
•
Food Stamps
NO
•
Social Security
YES
•
Sale of Property (i.e. house)
NO
•
Lottery Winnings
YES
16
Eligibility
Determining Income and the “0” Income Form
The next few slides deal with scenarios for possible “0” income families.
Discuss each scenario with the members at your table.
17
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Jenny tells the interviewer that she has
no income. She says that she lives
with her parents and so she doesn’t
have any bills to pay. Her parents
give her money to buy clothes for her
daughter. Is this a “0” income?
Yes, as long as the money she receives is
given as a gift.
18
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Marie tells the interviewer that she was
working at Wal-Mart a couple of
months ago but she quit and cannot
draw unemployment. She said that
since that time, she has been using
her savings to support her and her
son. Is this “0” income?
Yes, by using the “current situation”
status this would be 0 income.
19
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Jim and Connie tell the interviewer that
they live with Connie’s parents. They
state that her parents pay all their bills
for them as well as buying clothes for
their children. Jim does odd jobs
around the neighborhood to make a
few extra dollars. Is this a “0” income?
No. Jim is working and receiving
income. This should be counted.
20
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Susie Jane comes into the office to
complete an application for her child,
Brad. She tells the interviewer that she
and Brad’s dad recently separated.
She gives the interviewer a note from
Mitch (supposedly Brad’s Father) that
states he gives her $ 300.00 a month
child support. Is this “0” income?
No. Child support is income.
Note: If there is no official court
documentation of child support, then the
statement of child support must be written
by the parent receiving it, not the one
giving it.
21
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Rhonda tells the interviewer that neither
she nor her husband have worked in
over a year. When asked how she
lives and supports her children, she
said that they sold their house for
$85,000 and are living in an
apartment. They are living on the
money from selling the house. Is this
“0” income?
Yes. Money from selling property is not
income.
22
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Lucy and Frank come to fill out an
application for their child in a new
BMW. When asked about income,
Frank states that neither of them have
worked since his father died in 2002
and left them a lump sum of $5 million.
Is this a “0” income family?
As long as they do not own rental property,
business, etc. that generates money for them,
this family does not have any income over the
past 12 months so this could be “0” income.
However, if they are drawing interest on the
inheritance money, the interest would count
and this would not be “0” income.
23
Scenarios of possible “0” income
Phil comes to fill out an application for his
child. When asked about income, he
says that he lost his job 6 months ago
and was not able to draw
unemployment. He states that 2
weeks ago, he had to borrow $1,500
from a loan company until he can
find a job. Is this “0” income?
Yes. Loans do not count as income.
24
Eligibility
Current Situation
In order to determine a family’s income, it may be more appropriate to use the
family’s current situation than to use the previous 12 months or previous calendar
year in order to get a clearer picture of the family’s true condition. If a family’s
income level for the previous month is less than it was for the previous 12 months or
calendar year (based on monthly average), the interviewer should accept the
previous month’s income and multiply by 12 (or appropriate pay period) to determine
the family income. Let’s look at an example of what the Eligibility Verification sheet
should look like in this case.
25
Eligibility
Current Situation
Here is an example that would justify using “current situation”:
If a father was working at a job for 11 months but was fired and
has been drawing unemployment wages for the past month,
income calculation should be based on the previous month’s
income multiplied by the appropriate pay period (12,24,26,52)
to show an estimated annual income. In order to use
“current situation”, the employment situation must have
been for at least 1 month previous to the application date.
26
Eligibility
Determining Income
It is the policy of our Head Start program that after the staff
person has reviewed the income documentation for a family, it
is returned to the family member and no copies are kept for
Head Start reference.
27
Eligibility
Determining Income
The next few slides will be scenarios of different family
situations that you may encounter when figuring out income,
family members, employment, etc. You will discuss each
scenario with the members at your table.
28
Susan has 6 kids and is not married. She works for
McDonalds and makes $12,000 per year. Of those 6
kids, 5 of them have the same father. Only her 9 year
old son Jeff has a different father. Susan draws SSI on
Jeff. If she fills out a Head Start application for one of
the other 5 children, how many would be in the family
and what would her income be?
There would be 7 in the family regardless of the children’s
father because he doesn’t live in the household. The
income would only be the amount that Susan draws in
SSI.
29
Michael and Debbie have 2 kids together. They are still married, but
are separated. Michael lives only 2 doors down in the same
apartment complex as Debbie and the kids. Michael works
construction and makes $50,000 per year. Debbie makes $9,000
per year working at KFC. Debbie states that Michael pays for
everything the kids need such as clothes, entertainment (toys), and
school but does not give the money to Debbie. She estimates that
he spends about $200 per month on the children. How many in
the family and what is the income?
There are 3 in the family, Debbie and the 2 kids. The family income
would be $9,000. The money spent on the children by Michael
would not count as child support for the family because it is not
given in cash to Debbie to spend as she sees fit.
30
Frankie comes to fill out an application for his son, Bruno. He tells
the interviewer that his wife, Bruno’s mom, died a couple of years
ago. He is the adoptive parent of his wife’s other child, Clyde, who
is Bruno’s half-brother and lives with him in the household. Clyde
and Bruno had the same mother, but only Bruno is Frankie’s
biological child. Frankie makes $10,000 per year at his job but he
also gets $100 per month in Social Security benefits from the loss
of his wife paid to him, and an additional $200 per month paid to
him for both children combined. How many in Bruno’s family
and what is the income?
It is a family of 3. The income would be $13,600 ($10,000 from
employment and $3,600 from Social Security benefits)
31
Kelly has a set of twin nephews named Carson and Cedric. Kelly’s
sister (the mother of the children) has been put in jail for drug
trafficking and Kelly has been given temporary custody of the
children. She does not receive money for caring for them. She is a
teacher assistant at the local Head Start program and makes
$12,000 per year. Kelly’s boyfriend lives with her and makes
$10,000 per year. How many would be in this family and what is
the income?
Since Kelly does not receive money for their care, the children are not
considered as Foster/Kinship. The boyfriend is not related to Kelly
so he doesn’t count. The # in the family would be 3 and the
income would be $12,000.
32
Anita and Tim were married on May 1. Anita has one child by a
different husband. She comes to fill out an application for the
child on June 30. Anita makes $20,000 per year working at the
local Health Department. Her husband began working at his
current job in February also making $20,000 per year. How many
are in the family and how should the income be calculated?
Because they are married, this would be a family of 3. Even though
Tim has only been working at his job for around 4 months, if the
interviewer is using “Current Situation” to determine income, then
his monthly income would be multiplied by 12 to get an annual
amount (or by 52, 26, 24 – whichever pay period applies). If the
previous calendar year would show less of an income for Tim, he
could choose to present that instead of his current salary.
33
Charlie lives with his aunt and uncle. His child, Ramone, also lives
with him. Even though the house belongs to his uncle and aunt,
Charlie pays the monthly mortgage payment to the bank. His aunt
and uncle do not work and depend on him to buy groceries and
help pay their bills. Charlie is a gravedigger and makes $40,000 per
year. The only other income in the household is the $200 per
month that the uncle receives for rental of a small house that he
owns. Charlie fills out an application for Ramone. How many
would be in the family and what is the income?
Since Charlie supports his aunt and uncle, the family size would be 4.
Only the income from the Primary and Secondary Caregivers for a
child is counted as income so the income would be $40,000 per
year.
34
John and Mary have 5 kids living with them. They have 1 foster child, 2
biological children, 1 adopted child, and a 17 year old friend of the family
that had nowhere else to go so they have allowed him to live with them for
the past 6 months. They are his legal guardians. They do not receive
money for the 17 year old. John is self-employed and makes $500 per
month. Mary does not earn a paycheck but she cleans her landlord’s
house and he doesn’t require them to pay rent on their house which he
tells the couple would cost around $200 monthly if she decides to stop
cleaning his house. They come to fill out an application on one of their
biological children. How many are in the family and what is the income?
There are 5 in the family. The Foster child is a family of one and would not
count in the other child’s family. The 17 year old is not related to the
parents so he would not count. The income would be $6,000 annually.
Mary does not receive a cash payment for the work she does.
35
Selecting Children From The
Waiting List
36
Eligibility Waiting List (11 records) (click on Child/Family/Eligibility Points value to view details)
Name
Fonzarelli, Biff
Fonzarelli, Arthur
Gump, Forrest
Tripper, Jack
Mann, Aqua
Carano, Gina
Kramer, Cosmo
Reynolds, Burt
Evans, Sara
Christmas, Lloyd
Rodriquez, Slow Poke
HELP?
Eligibility Waiting List (11 records)
(click on Child/Family/Eligibility Points value to view details)
Desired Program Options
PIR
Disability Eligibility Income
ID
Age
Family
Age
Status
Points
Status
Center
Option
Model
Any
Underincome
105138 5
4
view
Bean Town Any Available
no
220
Available
80.73%
Full-day
Bean Town, Center-Based
Any
Underincome
102625 2
3
view
IEP
178
Bean Town
(5 day per
Available
80.73%
week)
Part-day
Overincome
Center-Based
HEAD
106327 3
3
view
Bean Town
no
175
295.83%
(4 day per
START
(Elig)
week)
Any
Underincome
109217 5
4
view
Lake View Any Available
no
145
Available
18.6%
Part-Day
Center-Based
Any
Overincome
109259 3
3
view
Lake View
no
50
(5 day per
Available
25.05%
week)
Full-day
Center-Based
HEAD
Overincome
111794 4
4
view
Lake View
no
48
(4 day per
START
78.81%
week)
Bean Town,
Any
Overincome
101396 4
4
view
Any Available
no
45
Bean Town
Available
121.5%
Full-day
Center-Based
Any
Overincome
104935 5
4
view
Bean Town
no
45
(4 day per
Available
46.41%
week)
Any
Overincome
105947 3
2
view
Bean Town Any Available
no
0
Available
328.25%
Full-day
Center-Based
Any
Overincome
111911 2
2
view
Bean Town
no
0
(4 day per
Available
126.5%
week)
Full-day
Center-Based
Any
Overincome
105945 4
3
view
Bean Town
no
0
(4 day per
Available
79.93%
week)
37
Questions are based on the previous slide:
Q. What does (Elig.) mean in the Income Status for Forrest Gump?
A. This means that a staff member has mistakenly listed additional income
that is not required for a child who has been designated as Foster,
Homeless, or a TANF/SSI recipient. This (Elig) designation should not
appear if income was entered correctly.
Q. According to the list, Gina Carano is 4 years old and Aqua Mann is only
3. However, Gina received less points. Which child should be enrolled
first.
A. The child that receives the most points on the waiting list should always
be enrolled first in all situations except two. The only time a child with
less points could be taken first is if the program must enroll a child with
a disability in order to reach or maintain their 10% requirement or if a
child is returning for a 3rd year. A child returning for a 3rd year would be
placed on the waiting list in order to create a new snapshot when
enrolled on COPA but even though their points may be lower than some
other children’s, we still would automatically take that child back into the
program for that 3rd year regardless of points unless a situation (such as
crossing the over income allowance) would prohibit us from doing so.
38
Questions are based on the previous slide:
Q. When two children have the same number of points, how should you
determine the child to enroll?
A. The child that has the lowest income % should be selected in most
situations, especially if the children in question have “0” points meaning
they are both overincome.
Q. Should Lloyd Christmas be on this waiting list?
A. No. If a child is a PIR age 2, which means they did not turn 3 before
October 1, their application should not be loaded on COPA until they
turn 3 years of age. Lloyd’s application should not have been loaded
because he has not turned 3.
39
Questions are based on the previous slide:
Q. Sara Evans is a PIR age 2. But I can see that her current age is 3.
Can we go ahead and enroll her?
A. If a child is a PIR age 2 and they have a diagnosed disability (IEP), they
can be enrolled on or after their 3rd birthday anytime in the program
year. If the child does not have an IEP, then that child can only be
enrolled on or after their 3rd birthday as a last result and permission to
do so must be given by the Grantee Office.
Q. I noticed that Arthur Fonzarelli’s current age is 2 even though his PIR
age is 3 and today’s date is after October 1. How can this be?
A. It can’t. In this situation, a staff member has taken an application on
him for next year and instead of waiting, he/she has loaded it on COPA.
Any application taken on a child for the upcoming school year should
not be loaded on COPA until the 60 day threshold has been passed that
releases programs from the requirement of enrolling children near the
end of the school year.
40
Why are income eligible 3 year olds
sometimes given more points than
income eligible 4 year olds?
Link to Excel Table
41
Enrollment Slots
(overincome vs underincome)
42
Selection of Children
Enrollment Based on Income
All programs must have at least 90% enrollment of children whose family is
deemed as income eligible or the child is designated as automatically
eligible based on TANF/SSI funds, homelessness, or Foster/Kinship status.
43
Selection of Children
Enrollment Based on Income
Within that 90%, a program can enroll up to 25% of their children that are
between 1-30% over income and they are still in compliance.
So that means that if a program was funded to serve 100 children, they
could have an enrollment of:
•
65 under income
•
25 within the 1-30% over income range
•
10 that are 31% or more over income
44
Selection of Children
Enrollment Based on Income
Even though it is acceptable to enroll children that are not income eligible, keep in
mind that you still must follow your waiting list points at all times. You cannot skip
over children on the waiting list.
You are not required to seek permission from the Grantee Office to enroll children
that are between 1-30% over income.
You are required to get permission from the Grantee Office to enroll children that are
above 30% over income after your initial enrollment at the beginning of the school
year.
45
Selection of Children
Accepting Children at the Beginning of the Year
A Head Start program is required to have accepted their full enrollment of children
before the first day of school. That means that if your program has 100 slots, there
should have been 100 letters of acceptance sent to parents and 100 children
showing on your COPA Eligible/Accepted List prior to the day school begins. No
more, no less.
When you have accepted your full enrollment of children on COPA prior to the first
day of school, you must contact either Evelyn or Tracy to notify us that your list can
be printed and filed to verify that your program was in compliance.
46
Selection of Children
Accepting Children at the Beginning of the Year
As soon as you notify us that your Accepted List is ready, we will monitor and print it
for our files. We will then let you know that you can go ahead and begin enrolling.
You do not enroll any child until it is confirmed that they have arrived.
47
Selection of Children
Accepting Children at the Beginning of the Year
Beginning this year, all programs must set a cut-off date to stop accepting applications
or at least loading applications on COPA. You must give some prior notice to the
parents that their child is accepted into the program so that means you must know
exactly which children you are accepting at least a few days before school begins.
All programs must now stop considering new applications for enrollment at least 2
weeks prior to their first day of school. This rule applies to programs that have enough
applications to begin the year. At the two week threshold, if a program still does not
have enough children, this rule will not apply and you will continue to seek applications.
48
Selection of Children
Accepting Children at the Beginning of the Year
When you are at the two week threshold, do not load any other
applications on COPA until after your first day of school.
49
Tracking Enrollment Slots
50
• A program must maintain full
enrollment throughout the program
year until there are less than 60
calendar days left in the school year.
At that point, a program should not
enroll any more children.
51
Prior to the 60 day point, when a child withdraws from your
program, you have 30 days to replace this child. Here are
some things to keep in mind when replacing children:
– It is the goal of Head Start to serve the neediest children whenever
possible. When you have a vacancy during the year and you have
income eligible (or 0-30% over income) children on your waiting list,
you should fill this slot as soon as possible without delay.
– When a vacancy occurs and the only children on your waiting list are
31% or more over income, you should not immediately fill the slot.
The slot should remain vacant for about 20 days in case there are
under income families who come in and fill out an application.
– In order to enroll a child on COPA, you must wait until the child has
arrived at the school. The only time that you can enroll a child before
he arrives in the classroom is when your program is on the verge of
under enrollment due to school closings. In this case, if the parent
verbally assures you the child will attend, you can go ahead and enroll.
– On COPA, children should be enrolled and terminated on the actual
day the activity takes place. Do not back up and perform an
enrollment or termination.
52
Each program must have a suitable
tracking system that allows them to
monitor their enrollment as well as
vacant slots.
Enrollment Tracking Sheet
53
Verification and
Reverification
54
Main Title
Verification and
reverification of
child information
and the transfer of
information
between programs
• Once the application and Eligibility Verification form have
been completed by one of our programs, they are
acceptable for a 12 month period for any of the programs. If
either is over 12 months old, they are no longer valid.
• Do not get new information for children whose info will be
less than 12 months old when you are considering them for
enrollment.
• If a child withdraws from the program and then the parent
wants to send him back to the same program or one of the
other BSACAP programs, if his information (app., elig
verification) is older than 12 months, it must be reverified
with new information being changed on COPA.
56
• If a child was enrolled in your program on the last day of
school during the previous year, you will automatically
accept them for a 2nd year as long as they are age eligible.
You will not reverify income on these children.
• If a child was enrolled in your program in the previous year
but withdrew prior to the last day of school, they are not
automatically given an enrollment slot during the next
school year. If the parent wants to enroll them again, the
child is put on the waiting list and selected only if he/she
has the most points. If the child’s app. & eligibility
information is more than 12 months old, it must be
reverified.
• A child wanting to enroll for a 3rd year must have a new
application and Eligibility Verification form completed. He
must also be placed back on the COPA waiting list and
accepted again to create a new snapshot.
57
• When a child withdraws from the program, he is
“Terminated” on COPA and remains on the
Terminated/Ineligible list until the parent tells you he is
ready to return.
If a child is not ready to enroll at the present time, he
should not be on the COPA waiting list.
58
• When a child leaves one of our programs (Program A) and
wishes to enroll in another of our programs (Program B),
there are specific steps that must be followed according to
Policies & Procedures – section Program Design & Mngt,
policy “Relocation of Child Records”:
– The first thing that must be done is that Program B must have the
parent to fill out and sign a Release of Information form and submit it
to the agency of prior enrollment, Program A.
– After receiving the request, Program A is responsible for preparing the
records and documenting what is being sent with a Record Relocation
Check Sheet. This should be completed as soon as possible but within
no more than 10 working days of the notice.
– Once Program B has been notified that the records are ready for
exchange, the programs can decide who will make the pick up. But the
ultimate responsibility for obtaining the records rests with the
enrolling agency, Program B.
– The child should not be enrolled until the program receives the records
and can verify that all necessary information is present.
59
Change of Status Form
When certain information for a child changes, it is very
important to document the change within the child’s folder.
The “Change of Status” form should be used to do this.
The Change of Status Form has been revised for the upcoming year
Link to Change of Status form
60
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
Should each child’s folder contain an “Eligibility Points
Information” sheet?
Yes. When a child is enrolled, the Eligibility Points Information
sheet (points page) should be printed from COPA and placed in
their folder. If the child withdraws and then reenrolls, another
Eligibility Points Information sheet will be printed and also
inserted into the child’s folder. If a child returns for a second year
without withdrawing, do not print this sheet for a second time.
If a family’s income status changes during the middle of the
school year, should I update their income under the “Family
Income”tab?
No. The only time that you would change the amount of income
for a family is when you are reverifying a child’s information or
when the family fills out an application for another child.
61
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
If a child has a disability, should we automatically enroll that
child?
No. A disability will give that child additional points on the
waiting list but it does not make the child automatically eligible.
The local school district must serve all children with disabilities 3
years or older but this does not mean that they will be given a
Head Start enrollment slot.
What day of the month should my program print and file a copy
of the COPA waiting list?
1st of each month
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Q.
A.
Q.
A.
Q.
A.
If someone has custody of a child but they do not collect
Foster/Kinship Care money, can that child still be viewed as Foster and
be considered automatically eligible for Head Start?
No. If a guardian is not receiving money for the care of the child, we
do not list them as Foster/Kinship.
When using pay stubs to verify income, how many would a parent
need to provide?
Enough for one consecutive month.
If a family’s income status changes during the school year, should it be
changed on COPA.
No. Once a child is enrolled, income changes should not be updated.
The only reason to change the income for a family on COPA is when
an application for the child’s sibling is entered.
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Q.
A.
When using a tax return to verify a family’s income that lists one
total amount for both parents, should I list all of this money on
COPA for just the Primary Caregiver?
No. You need to ask the parent to give you an estimate of how
the money should be split and put those amounts on COPA. The
reason this is important is because if both parents are listed as
employed, it doesn’t make sense to see that one of them does
not have income.
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