Background: On March 9, 2020 Governor Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency for the entire state of Ohio (Executive Order 2020-01D) to protect the well-being of the citizens of Ohio from COVID-19.  In order to protect the lives, safety and health of Ohio’s citizens, various orders have been issued from the Governor and the Ohio Department of Health to limit social interaction. These orders include: prohibiting mass gatherings (100 or more people in a single room); closing schools; prohibiting visitors in hospitals and jails; closing restaurants and bars; encouraging businesses to allow employees to work from home as well as asking parents to keep children out of day care settings.

As part of this effort and continued compliance with Ohio Administrative Code rules 5101:1-2-01 and 5101:1-3-11, which require self-sufficiency contracts (SSC) or individual opportunity plans (IOP) to be signed, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has established the following procedure for accepting verbal signatures over the telephone for an SSC or IOP.

New Procedure:While under the state of emergency declared through executive order 2020-01D, a county agency may opt to accept a verbal signature over the telephone for an SSC or IOP. During the telephone appraisal the county agency must read to the client the contents of the SSC or IOP, including the rights, responsibilities and assigned activities. Following the appraisal and verbal signature, a copy of the SSC or IOP must be mailed to the client. 

The county agency must record the following information in the case journal notes to document the verbal signature: “On [insert date] [Insert client name] provided a verbal signature to the SSC or IOP. This verbal signature is in accordance with Action Change Transmittal Letter No. 271.  A copy of the SSC or IOP has been mailed to the client.”