Background

On February 28, 2022, Governor Mike DeWine signed Substitute House Bill 4 of the 134th General Assembly (HB 4) which included changes to the qualifications required for home assessors, under Ohio Revised Code 3107.014 (ORC 3107.014), that become effective on May 30, 2022.

Changes to Assessor Qualifications

Under HB 4, the assessor qualifications in ORC 3107.014 are expanded to add the following:

A current or former Public Children Services Agency (PCSA) caseworker or caseworker supervisor (regardless of whether they have performed duties of an assessor while employed with a PCSA).

An individual with at least a bachelor’s degree in the following fields along with at least one year of experience working with families and children:

• Social Work
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Guidance and Counseling
• Education
• Religious Education
• Business Administration
• Criminal Justice
• Public Administration
• Child Care Administration
• Nursing
• Family Studies
• Any other Human Services field related to working with children and families

Revisions to Verification of Assessor Qualifications Form (JFS 01680)

As a result of the expansion of qualification criteria for those who may be considered a qualified assessor, under ORC 3107.014, effective May 30, 2022, the JFS 01680 has been revised to reflect the changes in assessor qualifications.  The revised version of the JFS 01680 (Rev. 05/2022) will be available on JFS Forms Central on May 1, 2022, in advance of the May 30, 2022 effective date of the change in legislation.

The JFS 01680 Verification of Assessor Qualifications Form is used by agencies and courts that employ or contract with assessors to provide specific foster care and adoption services.  Specifically, the JFS 01680 form is completed to document an assessor’s compliance with Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rule 5101:2-48-06, entitled "Assessor roles and responsibilities for foster care and adoption," which references the qualifications of an assessor under ORC 3107.014.

In addition, there were multiple revisions throughout the document for an assessor to indicate availability for contract and an added statement when signing the form consenting to having the assessor’s information entered in Ohio State Automated Child Welfare Information System (OH SACWIS) as part of the Assessor Registry.

The following is an explanation of the changes in the various sections of the JFS 01680 Verification of Assessor Qualifications Form:

Section I now includes a field for an assessor to document their personal contact information, availability for contract services, and counties of availability. Spaces were removed for multiple agencies, as assessors will use now use one form for each agency of employment or contract.  The assessor may have multiple forms, if they are employed and/or contract with multiple agencies to conduct assessor activities. Therefore, there are two new checkboxes for an assessor to identify if they are currently under contract with an ODJFS Designated Vendor, and/or if they have previously completed a JFS 01680 for employment or contract with an agency as an assessor.

Section II is now entitled Qualification of Assessor and provides multiple checkboxes for an assessor to indicate their qualifications, which align with the expanded assessor qualifications under ORC 3107.014.

Section III is now entitled Assessor Training and has been revised to remove duplicate fields under the Post Tier-Ongoing Six Hour Requirement section.

Section V includes a statement that the assessor’s signature on the form acknowledges that their information will be entered into Ohio State Automated Child Welfare Information System (OH SACWIS) as part of the Assessor Registry and will be viewable by other OH SACWIS users.  There is also a checkbox the assessor can select to indicate their consent to be contacted for contract, as an assessor, by other OH SACWIS users or agencies.

Section VI has been updated to include “Signature of Assessor’s Employer” in the title. A checkbox has been added for the employer to indicate their notification to the OH SACWIS Assessor Registry of the assessor’s employment/contract date, and as well as the date when the assessor’s employment/contract is terminated. This section also includes a statement that the employer’s signature on the form acknowledges that they have verified and entered the assessor’s information into the OH SACWIS Assessor Registry.

Lastly, the form includes instructions that a separate JFS 1680 is to be completed by the assessor for each agency where they are employed or have a contract, along with the instructions and e-mail address for submission of the form to the OH SACWIS Assessor Registry.

INSTRUCTIONS: The following chart identifies what materials should be removed from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and what materials are to be added to the FCASM.