Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
The Ohio works now (OWN) program provides additional food assistance
benefits to supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) assistance groups
with minor children and employed parents to help offset the cost of being
employed. The OWN food assistance benefit is part of the temporary assistance
for needy families program (TANF) and therefore is subject to the requirements
of Title IV-A of the "Social Security Act," 110 Stat. 2113 (1996),
42 U.S.C.
601.
(A) Who will receive the OWN food assistance
benefit?
(1) Participation in the OWN program
is determined automatically on a monthly basis based on data in the
Ohio benefits integrated eligibility system.
(2) For members of a SNAP assistance group to
receive the OWN benefit, data in the Ohio benefits
integrated eligibility system must indicate the assistance group:
(a) Includes a minor child as defined in rule
5101:1-1-01 of the
Administrative Code and the biological or adoptive parents of the minor child
residing in the same household; or a pregnant woman with no other children
; and
(b) At
least one parent must be working thirty hours per week, with the exception of a
single parent with a child under age six who is required to work twenty hours
per week. Two-parent households are required to work a combined fifty-five
hours per week with one parent working at least thirty hours per
week.
(c) Meets federal TANF
requirements under Title IV-A of the "Social Security Act," 110 Stat. 2113
(1996), 42 U.S.C.
601, including citizenship.
(B) Who will not receive
the OWN food assistance benefit?
(1) Any SNAP
assistance group that includes a member that is also receiving Ohio works first
(OWF) benefits in the month, including OWF benefits received pending a state
hearing pursuant to rule
5101:6-4-01 of the
Administrative Code;
(2) A member
of a SNAP assistance group that is receiving SNAP pending a state hearing on
the issue of termination of benefits pursuant to rule
5101:6-4-01 of the
Administrative Code; and
(3) Any
SNAP assistance group that no longer meets the criteria described in paragraph
(A)(2) of this rule.
(C)
How are OWN food assistance benefits issued?
(1) OWN food assistance benefits will be
issued to eligible assistance groups on their existing SNAP electronic benefit
transfer (EBT) card.
(2) OWN food
assistance benefits shall be used pursuant to rule
5101:4-1-04 of the
Administrative Code.
(D)
Are OWN benefits subject to OWF and SNAP requirements?
(1) A family in receipt of OWN food
assistance benefits is not subject to OWF requirements, including, but not
limited to:
(a) Assigning child support or
cooperating with child support enforcement as described in rule
5101:1-3-10 of the
Administrative Code.
(b)
Participating in work activities as described in rule
5101:1-3-12 of the
Administrative Code.
(c) Counting
any month of receipt toward the time-limited receipt of TANF assistance as
described in rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(2)
OWN food assistance benefits shall not be used in the calculation of
participation hours for the SNAP employment and training program as described
in rule
5101:4-3-31 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) The OWN
food assistance benefit shall not be considered in the SNAP income eligibility
determination and allotment amount.
(E) How are the amount and duration of the
OWN benefit determined?
(1) The amount of OWN
food assistance benefits to be issued will be determined by the Ohio department
of job and family services (ODJFS) and will be the same amount for each
eligible SNAP assistance group. The monthly amount of OWN food assistance will
be described in an ODJFS cash assistance action change transmittal letter that
will be distributed to all county agencies.
(2) No more than one OWN food assistance
benefit may be issued to a SNAP assistance group per month.
(3) In order to confine OWN expenditures to
appropriated state funds, the director of ODJFS, or his designee, may issue an
order at any time suspending the program or reducing the benefit amount. The
order will be distributed to all county agencies on the same day and will
remain in effect until rescinded.
(F) What is the county agency's
responsibility in the case of erroneous payments or fraud?
(1) Each county agency shall take action to
recover fraudulent assistance as defined by rule
5101:1-23-75 of the
Administrative Code.
Cash, check, money order and credit or debit cards are acceptable forms
of repayment; however, when a county agency does not have the capability to
accept credit or debit cards it does not have to accept this form of
repayment.
(2) OWN food
assistance benefits shall not be used to repay a claim of erroneous payment or
overpayment for any public assistance program.
