This letter transmits amendments to two child care eligibility and payment rules and implements policies that: limit the number of providers a caretaker can use, limit full-time authorizations, extend the full-week payment category for type B providers to sixty hours, change payment policies for in-home aides and add two additional holidays for which providers can be paid rates for non-traditional hours.

These changes are being made following a review of the publicly funded child care program with the intent to identify ways to streamline policies, reduce administrative costs and increase program efficiencies.

The effective date of these changes is May 1, 2011.

5101:2-16-35.1 entitled "Caretaker Eligibility Requirements for Publicly Funded Child Care" is a new rule containing eligibility requirements for caretakers, including limitations per child of two providers and one full-time authorization per week.

To implement this rule, county staff who determine eligibility for new cases after May 1 shall authorize a child to no more than two providers in a week and shall allow only one full-time authorization in a week. The limits of full-time, part-time and hourly authorizations are described in paragraphs (E)(1) through (E)(4) and are summarized in the following chart:

Redeterminations completed after May 1 shall have authorizations that follow the requirements of this rule.

County staff shall review existing authorizations no later than June 3 to identify caretakers who are authorized to more than two providers in a week and will notify these caretakers that they must choose two providers for their child's care. The county will adjust the authorizations according to the change in providers made by the caretaker. These correct authorizations shall be effective by July 3.

Paragraphs (F) and (L) that describe the use of the swipe card cannot be implemented at this time and will be effective when the Ohio Electronic Child Care (ECC) system is effective. Also, the 4/2011 revision date of the JFS 01138 in paragraph (A) is not effective and some language in this rule is similar to language in rule 5101:2-16-35. These items will be corrected in a future rule amendment.

5101:2-16-41 entitled "Payment Rates for Providers of Publicly Funded Child Care" is being revised to specify dates for the use of summer school age payment rates, to clarify language for payments to in-home aides, to define up to sixty hours as a full-time week for all providers and to add two holidays to the list of days for non-traditional hours.

Effective May 1, county staff shall pay certified type B providers a full-time rate for authorized hours of care up to sixty hours in a week. In-home aides shall be allowed to care for the children of only one caretaker and may not claim absent days. Providers who care for children on two additional holidays, Independence Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, shall be paid for non-traditional hours.

The revised language for absent days in paragraph (E) cannot be implemented at this time and will be delayed until the ECC system is effective. The reference to the swipe card in paragraph (O) will be effective with ECC.

The electronic versions of the child care manuals are located at: http://emanuals.jfs.ohio.gov. These manuals contain all child care rules, transmittal letters, procedure letters and forms.

Please contact the Help Desk for the Office of Families and Children at 1-866-886-3537, option 4 if you have any questions.

INSTRUCTIONS: The following chart identifies the material that needs to be removed from and inserted into the Child Care Manual (CCM).