Family, Children and Adult Services Procedure Letter No. 129 dated December 18, 2007, stated, "In light of the short notice, PCSAs will be able to submit requests for retroactive payments."Although not required, a county agency may request retroactive Title IV-E Adoption Assistance (AA) or State Adoption Maintenance Subsidy (SAMS) for the January 2008 adoption subsidy payment. In order to process a retroactive AA or SAMS claim, the subsidy agreement must have been signed by both the adoptive parent(s) and the county PCSA representative by the close of business on 12-31-07. If a county agency wishes to request retroactive AA or SAMS payments for January 2008, the following procedures shall apply:

For County agencies that are NOT live in the Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System (SACWIS) for AA or SAMS payments and wish to request retroactive AA or SAMS payments for January 2008:

• For AA subsidy payments where the subsidy agreement has been increased and signed by the agency and adoptive parents by 12-31-07, the county must update event 0338 (FCM/AA Payment Authorization) within Host-Family and Children Services Information System (FACSIS) or SACWIS Interim Solution (SIS) to reflect the desired aggregate monthly payment amount (e.g., increase the original amount of $250.00 to the revised amount of $300.00). The cut-off date for updating the 0338 event for the retroactive payment to be generated with the February 2008 subsidy in FACSIS is January 22, 2008 and in SIS is January 18, 2008.
• Complete Form JFS 01659 "Title IV-E Auxiliary Payment Authorization" using "Benefit Type" H (adoption assistance payments) and "Transaction Code" 3 (underpayment). The "Effective Dates" for "From" and "To" should span the month for which underpayment is being requested (e.g. 1/1/08 to 1/31/08). Report the amount of the underpayment (the difference of the original AA subsidy payment and the increased AA subsidy payment) in Column four (4).
• Send the completed JFS 01659s to: SAGE, 3043 Sanitarium Rd., Akron, Ohio, 44312-4600.
• For SAMS subsidy payments where the subsidy agreement has been increased and signed by the agency and adoptive parents, increase the subsidy payment for February 2008 to the amount agreed upon plus the amount of the increase that would have been paid in January 2008. The county must report the total amount of the February 2008 payment on the JFS 02820, financial code 852 and classification code 50 which maps to line code 2-6620 and funding source 0000. The full amount of the February 2008 SAMS payment, plus the included underpayment amount for January 2008, will be reimbursed through the normal JFS 02820 payment process.

For County agencies that are live in the SACWIS for AA or SAMS payments and wish to request retroactive AA or SAMS payments for January 2008:

• For AA subsidy payments where the subsidy agreement has been increased and signed by the agency and adoptive parent by 12-31-07, the county agency shall increase the AA subsidy payment amount in SACWIS for the February 2008 subsidy payment by January 21, 2008. The amount of the increase shall include the February 2008 AA subsidy agreement amount, plus the amount of increase that would have been submitted for the January 2008 AA subsidy payment. For example, if the original subsidy amount was $250 and the total subsidy amount has been increased to $300, a review record must be entered into SACWIS with a Review Date of 2/1/2008 and a Subsidy Amount of $350 in order to capture the $50 increase for February as well as the $50 underpayment for January 2008. When making this one time adjustment in SACWIS for the retroactive increase, there is no requirement to amend the adoption subsidy agreement with the adoptive parents for the January 2008 increase amount. The adoption subsidy agreement may remain at the agreed upon amount.
• For SAMS subsidy payments where the subsidy agreement has been increased and signed by the agency and adoptive parents by 12-31-07, the county agency shall increase the SAMS subsidy payment amount in SACWIS for the February 2008 subsidy payment by January 21, 2008. The amount of the increase shall include the February 2008 SAMS subsidy agreement amount, plus the amount of increase that would have been submitted for the January 2008 SAMS subsidy payment. For example, if the original subsidy amount was $250 and the total subsidy amount has been increased to $300, a review record must be entered into SACWIS with a Review Date of 2/1/2008 and a Subsidy Amount of $350 in order to capture the $50 increase for February as well as the $50 underpayment for January 2008. When making this one time adjustment in SACWIS for the retroactive increase, there is no requirement to amend the adoption subsidy agreement with the adoptive parents for the January 2008 increase amount. The adoption subsidy agreement may remain at the agreed upon amount.
• For both subsidy payment processes above, the county agency must change the amount of the AA and SAMS payments in SACWIS back to the agreed upon amount as identified on the adoption subsidy agreement between the county agency and the parents for the March 2008 subsidy payment. These changes must be made in SACWIS by February 19, 2008. The review record that is entered into SACWIS, should have a Review Date of 03/01/2008. Because the February 2008 adoption subsidy payment will not equal the adoption subsidy agreement amount, documentation of this letter should be kept on file for this one time retroactive payment increase, for audit purposes.

The above processes for SACWIS AA or SAMS payments may have an initial impact to the county financially. If the January 2008 AA or SAMS payment was less than $300, and the total AA or SAMS payment amount for February 2008, which includes the retroactive January 2008 increase, exceeds $300, the county agency will be required to pay the match in the amount of the adoption subsidy payment that exceeds $300. Therefore, ODJFS initiated the following procedure to reimburse county agencies that have expended match in the amount that ODJFS would have paid for the January 2008 AA or SAMS increase.

• If the amount of the February AA or SAMS payment plus the increase for the retroactive January 2008 AA or SAMS payment caused the county agency to provide match for an amount for which ODJFS is responsible, the county agency shall create a detailed invoice for reimbursement of these expenditures.
• The invoice shall include the name of the adopted child, the January 2008 adoption subsidy payment amount, the February 2008 adoption subsidy payment amount and the amount of match the county paid on behalf of ODJFS for the retroactive January 2008 adoption subsidy increase. All payment amounts and match amounts shall be summed at the bottom of the invoice.
• The invoice shall also contain a statement certifying the match amount expended by the county agency, on behalf of ODJFS for the January 2008 retroactive increase, is true and accurate. The invoice must also be signed by a county agency official with signature authority. Upon receipt of the invoice, ODJFS will issue a subsidy payment to the county in the amount of match the county paid on our behalf.

Invoices shall be mailed by March 31, 2008 to: ODJFS/OCF, Attention Abbey Bonawitz, P.O. Box 182709, Columbus, Ohio, 43218-2709.

County agencies who have questions pertaining to this procedure letter may contact Dan Shook at 614-752-0619 or via email at Shookd@odjfs.state.oh.us.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart depicts what materials should be deleted from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and what materials are to be inserted in the FCASM.