Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) Which section
of the Revised Code applies to federal work participation rates?
(1) Section
5107.05 of the Revised Code
authorizes the director of job and family services to adopt rules as necessary
to comply with Title IV-A, Title IV-D, federal regulations, state law, and the
state plan.
(2) The county agency
will administer the work activity programs in accordance with the requirements
contained in this rule and not in accordance with sections
5107.40,
5107.42 and
5107.44 of the Revised
Code.
(B) What are the
federal work participation rates?
(1) Each
federal fiscal year each county agency must achieve the minimum federal work
participation rates pursuant to
45 C.F.R.
261.21 (2/2008) and
45 C.F.R.
261.23 (2/2008). The minimum federal work
participation rates are ninety per cent for two-parent assistance groups and
fifty per cent for all- family assistance groups.
(2) For purposes of calculating federal work
participation rates, the definitions described in this rule are applicable. In
order to meet the definitions of two-parent assistance groups or all-family
assistance groups as described in paragraphs (C) and (D) of this rule, the
work-eligible individuals shall be included in the assistance group. Learning,
earning and parenting (LEAP) participation by a minor head of household, as
defined in section 5107.02 of the Revised Code and
rule 5101:1-1-01 of the
Administrative Code, is included in the two-parent or the all-family assistance
group definitions for federal work participation calculation
purposes.
(C) What is a
two-parent assistance group?
(1) Definition
A two-parent assistance group includes at least one minor child and two
natural or adoptive parents of the same minor child who are work-eligible
individuals and living in the home. This includes a two-parent assistance group
that is deemed to include a minor child when the only minor child is in receipt
of supplemental security income (SSI) benefits, or is a child for whom federal,
state, or local adoption assistance, foster care maintenance payments, kinship
support payments as described in rule
5101:2-42-18.2 of the
Administrative Code, or federal or state kinship guardianship assistance
program (KGAP) payments as described in rules
5101:2-56-02 and
5101:2-55-03 of the
Administrative Code are made.
(2) Exception
When an assistance group contains two work-eligible parents of the same
minor child, and one of the parents is disabled, the assistance group shall be
excluded from the two-parent work participation requirements. Disability of a
parent shall be deemed to exist when at least one parent has a physical or
mental illness or impairment. The disability shall be supported by competent
medical documentation and must be of such a debilitating nature as to reduce
substantially or eliminate the parent's ability to work. The disability must be
expected to last for a period of at least thirty days. A finding of eligibility
for retirement, survivor's, and disability insurance (RSDI) or SSI benefits
based on disability or blindness is acceptable proof of a disability for OWF
purposes.
(D) What
are all-family assistance groups?
All-family assistance groups include two-parent assistance groups as
defined in paragraph (C) of this rule, and assistance groups described in
paragraphs (D)(1) to (D)(6) of this rule.
(1) An assistance group containing a minor
child and a work-eligible individual.
(2) An assistance group containing a minor
child and a specified relative in need as described in rule
5101:1-23-10 of the
Administrative Code.
(3) An
assistance group as identified in paragraph (C)(2) of this rule shall be
included in the all-family assistance group definitions.
(4) An assistance group containing only a
pregnant woman .
(5) When the
only minor child is in receipt of SSI benefits, or is a child for whom federal,
state or local foster care maintenance, adoption assistance payments, kinship
support payments as described in rule
5101:2-42-18.2 of the
Administrative Code, or federal or state kinship guardianship assistance
program (KGAP) payments as described in rules
5101:2-56-02 and
5101:2-55-03 of the
Administrative Code are made, the assistance group is deemed to include that
minor child for purposes of determining eligibility to participate in
OWF.
(6) An assistance group
containing a minor child, a work-eligible individual and a parent who is a
recipient of SSI benefits.
(E) What are child-only assistance groups?
Child-only assistance groups are excluded from the federal work
participation rate calculation. A child-only assistance group is an assistance
group containing a minor child residing with a parent, legal guardian, legal
custodian, or other specified relative whose needs are not included in the
assistance group and who does not meet the definition of a work-eligible
individual pursuant to paragraph (B) of rule
5101:1-3-12 of the
Administrative Code. This includes situations when the minor child resides with
both parents, and both parents are recipients of SSI; and when the parent of
the minor child is a child for whom federal, state or local foster care
maintenance, or adoption assistance payments are made.
(F) What are countable federal work
activities?
Activities in paragraph (F)(1) of this rule are core activities and
will meet all the hours of participation for the federal work participation
rate. Non-core activities in paragraph (F)(2) of this rule will meet the hours
of participation for the federal work participation rate only after the
required hours of participation have been completed in a core activity.
(1) The following are the core work
activities:
(a) Unsubsidized
employment;
(b) Subsidized private
sector employment;
(c) Subsidized
public sector employment;
(d) Work
experience program (WEP);
(e)
On-the-job training (OJT);
(f) Job
search and job readiness assistance;
(g) Community service;
(h) Vocational educational training;
and
(i) Providing child care
services to an individual who is participating in a community service
program.
(2) The
following are the non-core work activities:
(a) Job skills training directly related to
employment;
(b) Education directly
related to employment, in the case of a recipient who has not received a high
school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency; and
(c) Satisfactory attendance at secondary
school or in a course of study leading to a certificate of general equivalence,
in the case of a recipient who has not completed secondary school or received
such a certificate.
(G) What are the federal work participation
requirements ?
For purposes of meeting the federal work participation rates:
(1) The work-eligible individuals in two
parent assistance groups containing at least two work-eligible individuals and
not receiving federally funded child care shall participate at least an average
total of thirty-five hours per week (one hundred fifty-two hours monthly),
thirty hours of which shall be in a core activity.
(2) The work-eligible individuals in
two-parent assistance groups containing at least two work-eligible individuals
and an adult in the family is not disabled or is not caring for a child with a
disability and receiving federally funded child care shall participate at least
an average total of fifty-five hours per week (two hundred thirty-eight hours
monthly), fifty hours of which shall be in a core activity.
(3) The work-eligible individuals in all
family assistance groups shall participate at least an average total of thirty
hours per week (one hundred thirty hours monthly), twenty hours of which shall
be in a core activity.
(4) A
work-eligible individual who is the single custodial parent or specified
relative of a child under six years of age meets the federal work participation
rate by participating at least an average total of twenty hours per week in
core activities (eighty-seven hours monthly).
(5) In order to meet the federal work
participation rate at least one of the parents in a two-parent assistance group
shall participate sufficient hours to meet the allfamily rate as described in
paragraph (G)(3) of this rule.
(6)
Single custodial parent disregarded.
For any fiscal year, a county agency may, at its option, not require a
work-eligible individual who is a single custodial parent caring for a child
under the age of twelve months to engage in work activities, and may disregard
such an individual in determining the participation rates as described in
paragraph (B) of this rule. For purposes of the federal work participation
rate, this disregard can only be applied to the work eligible individual for
not more than a total of twelve months, even if the single custodial parent
continues to care for a child under the age of twelve
months.
(H) When
are federal work participation hours deemed to have been met?
(1) A recipient who is married or a head of
household and has not attained twenty years of age is deemed to be
participating the required number of hours for a month in a fiscal year when
the recipient:
(a) Maintains satisfactory
attendance at secondary school or the equivalent during the month; or
(b) Participates in education directly
related to employment for an average of at least twenty hours per week during
the month.
(2) For a
married recipient, such participation counts as the greater of twenty hours or
the actual hours of participation.
(3) When both parents in the family are under
twenty years old, the federal work requirements specified in paragraph (G)(2)
of this rule are met when both meet the conditions of paragraph
(H)(1)(a) or (H)(1)(b) of this rule.
