Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
The Ohio kinship and adoption navigator program
(OhioKAN) is a program designed to provide a resource for kinship and
post-adoptive families to assist them in learning about, finding, and using
programs and services to meet the needs of the children and youth they are
raising as well as the needs of the caregivers. The OhioKAN program is to
provide information and referral services and assistance obtaining support
services including, but not limited to:
(1)
Publicly funded
child care;
(2)
Respite care services, as defined in rule
5101:2-1-01 of the
Administrative Code;
(3)
Training related to caring for special needs children;
and
(4)
Legal services.
(B)
The following
definitions are applicable to this rule and supersede any conflicting
definitions contained in rule
5101:2-1-01 of the
Administrative Code:
(1)
"Adoptive parent" means a person who has adopted a
person legally available for adoption.
(2)
"Child" means any
person under eighteen years of age or under nineteen years of age and who is a
full-time student in a secondary school or in the equivalent level of
vocational or technical training, or a person with a mental or physical
disability who is under twenty-one years of age.
(3)
"Formal kinship
caregiver" means a kinship caregiver who:
(a)
Has been licensed
by the state of Ohio as a foster caregiver;
(b)
Has been assessed
and approved as a relative or nonrelative substitute caregiver by a public
children services agency (PCSA) or private child placing agency (PCPA) in
accordance with rule
5101:2-42-18 of the
Administrative Code; or
(c)
Is caring for a child who is residing in the home on a
safety plan as defined in rule
5101:2-1-01 of the
Administrative Code.
(4)
"Informal kinship
caregiver" means a private caregiver arrangement made between the parent and
kinship caregiver where no child welfare agency is involved. Informal kinship
caregivers may include caregivers who have temporary or legal custody or
guardianship, caregivers who have a power of attorney or caretaker
authorization affidavit, and caregivers of a child whose parent(s) retain legal
custody of the child.
(5)
"Kinship caregiver" has the same meaning as in section
5101.85 of the Revised Code,
which is any of the following who is eighteen years of age or older and is
caring for a child in place of the child's parents:
(a)
Individuals
related by blood or adoption to the child including:
(i)
Grandparents,
including grandparents with the prefix "great", "great-great", or
"great-great-great";
(ii)
Siblings;
(iii)
Aunts, uncles,
nephews, and nieces, including such relatives with the prefix "great",
"great-great", "grand", or "great-grand"; and
(iv)
First cousins
and first cousins once removed.
(b)
Stepparents and
stepsiblings of the child.
(c)
Spouses and
former spouses of individuals named in paragraphs (B)(5)(a)(i) to (B)(5)(a)(iv)
and (B)(5)(b) of this rule.
(d)
A legal guardian
of the child.
(e)
A legal custodian of the child.
(f)
Any nonrelative
adult that has a familiar and long-standing relationship or bond with the child
or family, which relationship or bond will ensure the child's social
ties.
(6)
"Kinship family" means the kinship caregiver(s) and
kinship child(ren) residing in the same home.
(7)
"Navigator" means
an OhioKAN representative assigned to provide information and referral
services, and additional services as determined necessary, to eligible kinship
and adoptive families in Ohio.
(8)
"Post-adoptive
family" means the adoptive parent(s) and adopted child(ren) residing in the
same home.
(C)
Any kinship caregiver or kinship family, including
formal and informal, or adoptive parent, or post-adoptive family may be
eligible to receive services from the OhioKAN program, except when a biological
parent with legal custody who has primary caregiving responsibilities for the
child, and who is not a "child" pursuant to the definition in paragraph (B)(2)
of this rule resides in the home.
(D)
A kinship or
post-adoptive family may be referred to the OhioKAN program by any entity,
agency, or organization who identifies that the family may benefit from
services.
(E)
A kinship caregiver or adoptive parent may request
services directly from the OhioKAN program by contacting an OhioKAN
representative, by completing a web inquiry on the website at
www.OhioKAN.jfs.ohio.gov, or by calling OhioKAN at 1-844-OhioKAN
(1-844-644-6526).
(F)
Upon inquiry by a kinship caregiver or adoptive parent,
or upon referral by another entity, the OhioKAN representative who receives the
inquiry or referral is to:
(1)
Contact the kinship caregiver or adoptive parent,
collect intake information, and enter it into the statewide automated child
welfare information system (SACWIS.)
(2)
Complete an
initial screening to determine the reason for the inquiry.
(3)
Provide immediate
intervention and flag for follow-up when the kinship caregiver or adoptive
parent indicates that the child is at risk of self-harm or of harming others,
or that there is an imminent risk of disruption of the kinship or adoptive
child.
(4)
Complete a brief needs assessment, in accordance with
the OhioKAN procedure manual, to identify additional needs and
resources.
(G)
When the completion of the brief needs assessment
indicates that the kinship caregiver or adoptive parent needs information and
referral services, the OhioKAN navigator or representative is to:
(1)
Provide the
appropriate information and referral to the kinship caregiver or adoptive
parent; and
(2)
Follow up with the kinship caregiver or adoptive parent
to determine if the needs have been met.
(H)
When the
completion of the brief needs assessment indicates that the kinship caregiver
or adoptive parent has needs that are urgent or complex, the OhioKAN navigator
may complete a comprehensive needs assessment with the kinship caregiver or
adoptive parent in accordance with the OhioKAN procedure
manual.
(I)
Following the identification of the family's needs and
resources, the OhioKAN navigator may complete an initial support plan with the
kinship caregiver or adoptive parent.
(J)
When a support
plan is completed, it is to address the following:
(1)
The identified
needs of the kinship family or post-adoptive family.
(2)
The minimum
contact the OhioKAN navigator will have with the kinship or post-adoptive
family.
(3)
The referrals and the services that will be provided to
the kinship family or post-adoptive family.
(K)
The navigator is
to review the support plan within the time frames identified in the OhioKAN
procedure manual to ensure that the appropriate services are being provided and
to identify additional needs. Reviews may be conducted during face-to-face
visits or phone contacts. The reviews may be conducted as desk reviews
depending on the circumstances of the case and the family's involvement with
other agencies.
(L)
The OhioKAN service episode is to be closed in SACWIS
when:
(1)
A
review of the services provided, in accordance with the OhioKAN procedure
manual, indicates that the family's needs have been met;
(2)
The kinship
caregiver, kinship family, adoptive parent, or post-adoptive family is no
longer eligible;
(3)
The kinship caregiver or adoptive parent requests
closure of the service episode; or
(4)
The kinship
caregiver or adoptive parent is not participating in the service
episode.
(M)
The kinship caregiver or adoptive parent should
actively participate in the OhioKAN program by:
(1)
Providing OhioKAN
with documentation or verification that is requested to facilitate eligibility
or service provision;
(2)
Providing OhioKAN with any change in contact
information or residence;
(3)
Participating in the development of the support plan
and follow up reviews;
(4)
Providing OhioKAN with any information that might
affect their eligibility, including, but not limited to, changes in household
composition, placement of eligible children, or emergent issues that may affect
service provision.
(N)
The OhioKAN
navigator responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
(1)
Reviewing the
inquiry and completing the screening and assessment documents;
(2)
Completing the
support plan and reviewing and updating it as required;
(3)
Providing
services and referrals that are necessary or required;
(4)
Documenting all
contact and service activities in SACWIS;
(5)
Reporting any
suspected child abuse or neglect to the local public children services agency;
and
(6)
Conducting minimum contact requirements with the
kinship caregiver, adoptive parent, kinship family, or post-adoptive family as
specified in the OhioKAN procedure manual.
(O)
Recipients and
potential recipients of OhioKAN program services have a right to file a
complaint with the OhioKAN program. The complaint review process includes the
following components:
(1)
Complaints may be submitted verbally or in writing and
should include the following information:
(a)
The name and
contact information of the individual making the complaint;
(b)
The name of all
individuals involved in the complaint; and
(c)
The circumstances
surrounding the complaint.
(2)
Complaints should
be addressed first at the site level with the site supervisor and an OhioKAN
regional coach. If the individual who submitted the complaint is dissatisfied
with the proposed resolution of the complaint, the complaint is to be elevated
to the next administrative level.
(3)
All complaints
are to be reviewed within thirty calendar days from the date of the submission
of the complaint. Upon the conclusion of the review, the OhioKAN representative
reviewing the complaint is to provide the resolution in writing to the
individual who submitted the complaint.
(4)
All complaints
and resolutions are to be communicated to the appropriate OhioKAN regional
director.
(P)
The OhioKAN program will operate to the extent that
general revenue funds have been appropriated by the general assembly for that
purpose.
