Ohio Administrative Code
Title 5101:1 - Division of Public Assistance
Chapter 5101:1-3 - Ohio Works First
Section 5101:1-3-03 - Ohio works first: residence and living arrangement requirement
Universal Citation: OH Admin Code 5101:1-3-03
Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A) What is the residence requirement for the Ohio works first (OWF) program?
(1) Residence in the state of Ohio is a
requirement and is met when
a person meets one of the following:
(a)
Living voluntarily with the intention of making his or her home in Ohio;
or
(b) Living in Ohio and not
receiving assistance from another state, and entered Ohio
with a job commitment or seeking employment in Ohio, whether or not currently
employed.
(2) A child is
a resident of the state in which the parent, legal guardian, custodian or
specified relative caring for the child is a resident.
(3) Absence from the state for more than
thirty days constitutes evidence of intent to establish residence elsewhere,
unless a written statement has been submitted to indicate intent to return to
Ohio.
(a) The written statement shall be
retained in the case record.
(b)
The county agency shall consider the written statement as acceptable proof of
intent to return to Ohio when the statement includes the reason for the absence
and the expected date of return.
(c) A statement is not considered acceptable
proof of intent to return to Ohio when the applicant or recipient contradicts
the statement by giving up Ohio living arrangements, applying for public
assistance in another state, or securing long-term housing arrangements in
another state.
(4) An
individual who resides in a county home, city infirmary, jail, or other public
institution does not meet the residence requirement for OWF. Rule
5101:1-23-10
of the Administrative Code addresses individuals under house arrest.
(5) A child born to an inmate participating
in the prison nursery program pursuant to section
5120.65 of
the Revised Code meets the OWF residence requirement.
(B) What is the living arrangement requirement for children?
(1) To be eligible
for OWF, a child's home must be with a parent, specified relative, custodian or
legal guardian.
(2) A child born to
an inmate participating in the prison nursery program pursuant to section
5120.65 of
the Revised Code meets the OWF living arrangement requirement.
(3) A parent is an individual who has the
legal duty to support the child. A legal parent includes the following
individuals as long as their parental rights are not legally terminated:
(a) The biological mother and father of the
child.
(b) Any person who is
adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction or a local child support
enforcement agency to be the parent of the child and under legal duty to
support the child.
(c) An
individual who has legally adopted the child. Adoption severs the legal
relationship between parent and child, but it does not sever the biological
relationship.
(d) An individual who
has an acknowledgment of paternity affidavit filed with the division of child
support that has become final and enforceable.
(4) Specified relatives are limited to those
individuals defined in section
5107.02
of the Revised Code.
(5) Legal
guardians and custodians are defined in section
5107.02
of the Revised Code.
(6) While
another individual or agency may hold legal custody of a child, a parent,
specified relative or legal guardian may receive benefits for the minor
child(ren) who physically resides with that individual, even if the child(ren)
is temporarily absent, as set forth in rule
5101:1-3-04
of the Administrative Code.
(7) In
Ohio, a legal marriage is:
(a) One which
meets the requirements of Chapter 3101. of the Revised Code; or
(b) A marriage which meets the requirements
of Chapter 3101. of the Revised Code, between individuals required to be
recognized as married pursuant to the United States supreme court decision
Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S., 135 S. Ct. 2584 (2015); or
(c) Common-law marriages that occurred in
this state prior to October 10, 1991, when they became prohibited in the state
of Ohio.
(C) What is the living arrangement requirement for minor parents?
(1) In accordance with section
5107.24
of the Revised Code, unmarried minor parents, unmarried pregnant minors, or the
child of an unmarried minor parent must reside in a place of residence
maintained by a parent, legal guardian, custodian or specified relative of the
pregnant minor or minor parent as the parent's, guardian's, custodian's or
specified relative's own home to meet the living arrangement requirement for
OWF. The individual is exempt from this requirement if any of the following
apply:
(a) The minor parent or pregnant minor
does not have a parent, guardian, custodian, or specified relative living or
whose whereabouts are known.
(b) No
parent, guardian, custodian, or specified relative of the minor parent or
pregnant minor will allow the pregnant minor, minor parent, or minor parent's
child to live in the parent's, guardian's, custodian's, or specified relative's
home.
(c) The Ohio department of
job and family services (ODJFS), the county agency, or a public children
services agency determines that the physical or emotional health or safety of
the pregnant minor, minor parent, or minor parent's child would be in jeopardy
if the pregnant minor, minor parent, or minor parent's child lived in the same
home as the parent, guardian, custodian, or specified relative.
(d) ODJFS, a county agency, or a public
children services agency otherwise determines that it is in the best interest
of the pregnant minor, minor parent, or minor parent's child to waive the
requirement of paragraph (C) (1) of this rule.
(2) An unmarried pregnant minor, unmarried
minor parent, or child of an unmarried minor parent exempt from the requirement
to live with a parent, specified relative, custodial or legal guardian, must
reside in an adult-supervised living arrangement to be eligible to participate
in OWF.
(3) The county agency shall
be responsible for either directly assisting the unmarried minor parent in
locating an acceptable adult-supervised living arrangement or entering into an
agreement with another agency (e.g., public children services agency) to serve
as their designee.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Ohio may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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