(A)Which rules
apply to penalties?
(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 shall administer the work activity programs in accordance with the
requirements contained in this rule and not in accordance with sections
5107.14, 5107.16, 5107.41 and 5107.70 of the Revised Code.
(B)What is a
penalty?
A penalty is a negative action that occurs in certain situations
that are not subject to the three tier sanction policy set forth in rule
5101:1-3-15 of the Administrative Code but continue to be subject to existing
statutory and administrative rule penalties even if the requirement is included
as part of the assistance group's self sufficiency contract. The individual who
is under penalty remains a work eligible individual as defined in paragraph (B)
of rule 5101:1-3-12 of the Administrative Code. The following list of penalties
is not all inclusive.
(1)What penalties
result in the denial or termination of Ohio works first (OWF)?
(a)Failure or
refusal to sign the self sufficiency contract or individual opportunity plan by
a work eligible individual as set forth in rule 5101:1-3-11 of the
Administrative Code.
(b)Failure without
good cause to attend an appraisal or assessment interview, or complete an
appraisal or assessment, by a work eligible individual required to do so in
accordance with paragraph (B)(2) of rule 5101:1-2-01 of the Administrative
Code.
(c)Failure or
refusal to cooperate in the application and reapplication process (including
failure to appear for scheduled appointments) and provide required
verifications necessary to determine eligibility as described in rules
5101:1-2-01 and 5101:1-2-10 of the Administrative Code.
(d)Failure or
refusal to accept unconditionally available income as described in rule
5101:1-23-20 of the Administrative Code.
(2)What penalties
result in a reduction of the OWF grant and/or the removal of an individual?
(a)Failure to cooperate
in the enumeration process as described in rule 5101:1-3-09 of the
Administrative Code results in the removal of the individual(s) for whom
enumeration verification has not been provided for the OWF benefits.
(b)A teen parent
who is not exempt from learning, earning and parenting (LEAP) participation as
provided in rule 5101:1-23-50 of the Administrative Code, and who meets the
following conditions is not eligible to participate in OWF:
(i)The teen is
under the age of eighteen;
(ii)The teen has a
child and his or her child is at least twelve weeks of age;
(iii)The teen has
not successfully completed high school or its equivalent; and
(iv)The teen is
not attending school, or an alternate education or training program defined by
the county agency.
(c)A LEAP
attendance failure as set forth in section 5107.30 of the Revised Code and rule
5101:1-23-50 of the Administrative Code results in a reduction of the OWF
grant.
(d)A learnfare
failure as set forth in section 5107.28 of the Revised Code results in a
reduction of the OWF grant.
(e)An individual
who is a fugitive felon as defined in section 5101.26 of the Revised Code is
not eligible to be included in the OWF grant. An individual who is fleeing to
avoid prosecution or custody for a crime, or an attempt to commit a crime, that
would be classified as a felony (or in the state of New Jersey, a high
misdemeanor) as defined in section 5101.26 of the Revised Code is not eligible
to be included in the OWF grant.
(f)An individual
who is violating a condition of probation, a community control sanction,
parole, or a post-release control sanction imposed under federal or state law
for a felony is not eligible to be included in the OWF grant.
The county agency shall utilize the following procedure when it
has information that an individual may be ineligible under paragraphs (B)(2)(e)
and (B)(2)(f) of this rule:
(i)The county
agency shall contact the appropriate law enforcement agency to give the law
enforcement agency thirty days to determine if the individual is fleeing and to
arrest or extradite the individual.
(ii)When the law
enforcement agency arrests or extradites the individual within thirty days, the
county agency shall take appropriate action to remove the individual from the
assistance group if he or she is no longer a member of the household.
(iii)When the law
enforcement agency has not been able to arrest or extradite the individual by
the end of the thirty days, the county agency shall take appropriate action to
impose ineligibility under this rule for as long as the law enforcement agency
continues to take appropriate action to arrest or extradite the individual and
provides written documentation.
(iv)When the law
enforcement agency indicates it will not attempt to arrest or extradite the
individual within thirty days or that the individual is not fleeing, the county
agency shall not impose ineligibility under this rule.
(3)What
time-limited penalties result in the denial or termination of OWF?
(a)Termination of
employment without just cause as described in section 5107.26 of the Revised
Code results in the imposition of a six month period of ineligibility for OWF.
(i)For OWF
participants, the six month period begins the month after the month in which
employment is terminated.
(ii)For
transitional child care participants, the six month period begins the month in
which the employment is terminated. This penalty only applies to transitional
child care assistance groups that were in receipt of OWF cash assistance on the
day prior to the day that the assistance group began receiving the transitional
child care benefits. There is no penalty if the individual who terminated
employment without just cause is not an OWF transitional child care
participant.
(b)Receipt of
fraudulent assistance as set forth in section 5101.83 of the Revised Code and
rule 5101:1-23-75 of the Administrative Code results in ineligibility for the
assistance group until the fraudulent assistance is repaid.
(c)Refusal to
cooperate with a quality assessment (QA) review results in termination of OWF
for the assistance group. "Refusal to cooperate with a quality assessment
review" means that the assistance group is able to cooperate but refused
to take the actions that it can take to assist in verifying the assistance
group's eligibility. The OWF assistance group is ineligible for OWF for a
period of three calendar months or until the assistance group cooperates with
the QA review, whichever is earlier.
When the QA reviewer determines that the QA review cannot be
completed because the OWF assistance group member responsible for cooperating
with the QA review refuses to cooperate as defined in this paragraph, the QA
reviewer will notify the CDJFS in writing of the
individual's refusal to cooperate. In accordance with the provisions set forth
in rule 5101:6-2-04 of the Administrative Code, the CDJFS must send prior
notice of adverse action to the assistance group prior to imposing the penalty.
OWF assistance must be terminated as of the next recurring month following the
expiration of the adverse action period, unless a hearing is timely requested
pursuant to the provisions set forth in division 5101:6 of the Administrative
Code.
(4)What penalty is
time-limited and results in the reduction of OWF and the removal of the
individual?
Fraudulent misrepresentation of residence resulting in a federal
or state court conviction results in a ten year period of ineligibility for OWF
for the individual convicted.
(a)The individual
must have been convicted in federal or state court of having made a fraudulent
statement or misrepresentation with respect to the place of residence in order
to receive assistance simultaneously from two or more states.
(b)The ten year
period begins on the date the individual is convicted in federal or state court
provided that the conviction date is on or after August 22, 1996.
(c)The provision
shall not apply with respect to a conviction of an individual for any month
beginning after the president of the United States grants a pardon with respect
to the conduct which was the subject of the conviction.
(C)What provisions
apply to assistance group movement in penalty situations?
(1)The following
provisions apply to the penalties listed in paragraph (B)(3) of this rule:
(a)An individual
who causes the penalty carries the penalty into another assistance group which
becomes ineligible due to the penalty until the period of ineligibility ends.
The remaining members of the new assistance group are not affected by that
penalty, unless they were members of the original assistance group at the time
of the penalty. The individual who is under penalty remains a work eligible
individual as defined in paragraph (B) of rule 5101:1-3-12 of the
Administrative Code.
(b)A minor child
who ceases to reside with the penalized assistance group is eligible for OWF
provided all eligibility requirements are met.
(c)The period of
ineligibility shall be served by all remaining assistance group members in
situations where the individual who caused the period of ineligibility leaves
the household. This provision is not applicable to the penalty set forth in
paragraph (B)(3)(c) of this rule.
(d)Individuals in
a two parent assistance group who separate carry the penalty with them into the
next assistance group.
(e)All individuals
in the OWF assistance group or those individuals who would have been required
to be included in the OWF assistance group in accordance with rule 5101:1-23-10
of the Administrative Code at the time of the failure are not eligible to
receive OWF until the penalty has been served.
(f)Individuals
who enter the home after the date of ineligibility are not eligible to receive
OWF regardless of whether they would otherwise meet the eligibility
requirements.
Effective: 2/1/2022
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 12/1/2025
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 01/04/2022
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5107.05, 5107.16
Rule Amplifies: 5107.05
Prior Effective Dates: 10/01/1997 (Emer.), 12/30/1997,
07/01/1998, 01/01/1999, 10/01/1999, 07/01/2000, 10/01/2000, 08/29/2003 (Emer.),
03/01/2005, 09/29/2006 (Emer.), 12/29/2006, 10/01/2008, 05/01/2010, 09/01/2015,
12/01/2020