Ohio Administrative Code › Title 5101:2 - Division of Social Services › Chapter 5101:2-16 - Publicly Funded Child Care › Section 5101:2-16-08 - County agency responsibilities for the administration and determination of eligibility for publicly funded child care

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) How shall the county agency, in
			 accordance with Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code, manage the publicly funded
			 child care program?
(1) The county agency
			 shall accept any gift, grant, or other funds from public or private sources
			 offered unconditionally or under conditions which are, in the judgment of the
			 Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS), proper and consistent with
			 Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code and deposit such funds in the county public
			 assistance fund established by section
			 5101.161 of the Revised
			 Code.
(2) The county agency shall
			 submit a plan to ODJFS for approval that assures the application process is as
			 accessible to the public as possible and complies with section
			 5104.33 of the Revised Code. The
			 county agency shall submit any revisions of the plan to ODJFS. The plan shall:
(a) Assure that alternative methods for
			 application are available to families through telephone, fax, agency computer,
			 the ODJFS child care web site and other means that are convenient and
			 accessible for families. These shall include but are not limited to the
			 following:
(i) To the extent permitted by
			 federal law, the county agency may contract with child care providers, resource
			 and referral organizations, or an outside entity to make all or any part of the
			 eligibility determinations.
(ii) To
			 the extent permitted by federal law, the county agency may contract with child
			 care providers, resource and referral organizations, or an outside entity to
			 collect information for use by the county agency in determining eligibility for
			 child care benefits.
(iii) The
			 county agency may use and accept electronic records and electronic signatures
			 as specified in Chapter 1306. of the Revised Code.
(b) Station county agency employees at
			 various sites in the county for the purpose of assisting applicants in
			 completing the application process and for eligibility determinations at those
			 locations.
(c) Extend county agency
			 hours and assigning county agency employees to hours of employment outside the
			 normal working hours of the county agency to collect information relevant to
			 applications for publicly funded child care and to make eligibility
			 determinations.
(d) Provide
			 training and technical assistance to individuals or agencies so they may assist
			 families in completing the application process and, where applicable, in making
			 eligibility determinations.
(3) The county agency shall provide
			 caretakers with complete written explanations of the following:
(a) Instructions on how to apply for publicly
			 funded child care.
(b) Factors used
			 in determining eligibility including family income, family size, ages of family
			 members and the caretaker's hours of employment, training or
			 education.
(c) The caretaker's
			 responsibility for reporting changes of information that may affect
			 eligibility.
(d) The consequences
			 to the caretaker for failure to accurately and completely report information or
			 changes, including:
(i) A repayment of child
			 care benefits pursuant to rule
			 5101:2-16-07 of the
			 Administrative Code.
(ii)
			 Termination or denial of child care benefits.
(iii) Penalty of fine and/or imprisonment if
			 a court action renders a finding that the caretaker fraudulently received child
			 care benefits for which the caretaker was not eligible.
(4) The county agency shall report
			 to ODJFS any known or suspected violations of Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code
			 or the rules promulgated pursuant to that chapter regarding licensed child care
			 centers, licensed family child care homes, Ohio department of education
			 licensed preschool or school-age child programs, or approved child day
			 camps.
(5) The county agency shall
			 cooperate and participate in all reviews including but not limited to, fiscal,
			 programming, records, and other monitoring activities regarding publicly funded
			 child care.
(6) The county agency
			 shall comply with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 which requires
			 each state to provide voter registration services at designated government
			 agencies that provide public assistance.
(a)
			 The county agency shall distribute voter registration applications with
			 applications for publicly funded child care, defined in rule
			 5101:2-16-02 of the
			 Administrative Code.
(b) The county
			 agency shall follow procedures outlined in rule
			 5101:1-2-15 of the
			 Administrative Code for the acceptance of voter registration
			 applications.
(7) The
			 county agency shall cooperate with ODJFS for the recruitment of providers to
			 meet the need for publicly funded child care in the county.