Ohio Administrative Code
Title 5101:9 - ODJFS Practices
Chapter 5101:9-9 - Federal Tax Return Information Safeguarding Procedures
Section 5101:9-9-16 - Negotiated service level agreement (SLA N)

(A) The negotiated service level agreement (SLA N) is a document of understanding between the Ohio department of job and family services (ODJFS) office of information services (OIS) and the county agency. A county that elects and is eligible for a SLA N is substantially different from other county agencies. Elected SLA N is available only to agencies having greater than five hundred filled, verifiable, full-time equivalent (FTE) employees and public children services agencies (PCSAs) that have never been on the ODJFS network.

While the SLA N allows for a high degree of flexibility, the universal provisions detailed in the SLA and rule 5101:9-9-15 of the Administrative Code apply to the SLA N.

(B) The intent of the SLA N is to address the flexibility required by county agencies while maintaining the integrity of the SLA program.

(C) The goal of the SLA N is to define the information technology (IT) expectations of ODJFS and the county agency and determine the appropriate level of service relative to service response, system availability, quantity of work processed, delineation of duties, and service support.

(D) Through SLA N, any ODJFS benefits, that is combinations of hardware, software, infrastructure, services, and network administration, may be negotiated as agreed upon by ODJFS and the county agency. Other county agency requirements may be negotiated as agreed upon by ODJFS and the county agency. Any state benefit is dependent on sufficient funding in the ODJFS OIS budget for the appropriate fiscal year.

(E) A county agency that elects a SLA N exercises considerable control of its county-based IT environment and the management of the county agency network.

(F) The SLA N supporting documentation identifies the scope of services performed either by ODJFS or the county agency and what is required to maintain the IT environment.

(G) In the event of a disagreement between ODJFS and the county agency regarding provisions of the executed SLA N, the initial attempt at resolution will begin at the county agency technical point of contact (TPOC) and OIS liaison level. If resolution is not possible at that level, the deputy director of OIS and the director of the county agency, or their designees, will work to resolve such issues utilizing the methodology contained in the SLA N.

(H) The most current version of the SLA N is available on the OIS website.