Ohio Administrative Code rule 5101:2-47-11(H) was amended on September 1, 2003, establishing a contemporaneous payment system for purchased foster care services. These changes were the result of the Child Welfare Shareholders recommendations and mean that the foster care maintenance reimbursement will be based on rates negotiated by the Title IV-E Agency.

To that end, in a contemporaneous payment system, purchased foster care maintenance reimbursement is the lesser of:

(1)The uniform statewide maximum amounts published annually in a "Family, Children and Adult Services Procedure Letter;" or

(2)The agreed upon foster care placement amount paid by the Title IV-E Agency. The agreed upon foster care placement amount must be equal to the amount the private agency reimburses its foster parents for the maintenance of the children; and

(3)The agreed upon amount paid by the Title IV-E Agency for other direct services which include: special diets, clothing, graduation expenses, liability insurance with respect to the child and reasonable travel expense for home visits provided these expenses are not included in the agreed upon foster care placement amount.

Pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code 5101:2-47-11(G), administration reimbursement to the Title IV-E agency will continue to be based on the lesser of:

(1)The Title IV-E administration reimbursement ceiling amount established by the JFS 02910 "Purchased Family Foster Care Cost Report" multiplied by the number of care days; or

(2)The amount paid by the Title IV-E agency for administration.

As in the past, the Office for Children and Families will continue to post the calculated Title IV-E Foster Care reimbursement ceiling on its website. The website address is http://www.state.oh.us/odjfs/ocf/publications.stm.

For questions about this letter, please contact the OCF Helpdesk: by phone at: 1-866-886-3537, Option 4, or by email at: HELP-DESK-OCF@odjfs.state.oh.us.