Background: On February 19, 2016 the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) posted Ohio Administrative Code rule 5101:2-16-41 to clearance for comment. The rule was amended to clarify policy of a publicly funded child care payment for services during the hours a child is covered under another funded program. This clarification in paragraph (E) ensures consistent statewide application of the state's policy that if a state or federal program (i.e. Head Start or Early Childhood Education) is providing payment for a specific child the publicly funded child care program will not pay for the same time period. This rule was original filed on April 11, 2016, had a public hearing on May 16, 2016 and was on the June 6, 2016 Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review agenda. No testimony was submitted or provided at either hearing. This rule will be effective June 26, 2016.

Update: As a result of the request from several Head Start and Early Head Start providers and stakeholders this policy clarification will not be enforced by the ODJFS until September 3, 2016. This will provide participating providers and their partners time to evaluate their budgets, revise where necessary and to implement any changes in accordance with the rule clarification.

In addition, the ODJFS has reached out to the Office for Early Childhood Development for the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to ensure any necessary technical assistance is provided. ACF and the ODJFS are committed to providing technical assistance toward continued effective programming.