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.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (Public Law 116-127) became law on March 18, 2020 and provided states the ability to seek waivers to expand flexibility of programs to ease the administrative burden of issuing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits while under a state of emergency.

On October 1, 2020 the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021, and Other Extensions Act became law and provided States with the option to adjust interview requirements without requiring waiver approval from the United States Department of Agriculture. Ohio is implementing this option. To align procedures among SNAP, Ohio Works First (OWF) and Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) programs, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) has outlined the procedures below.

New Procedures:

Initial Application Interview

Effective January 1-June 30, 2021, a county agency can opt to not conduct an interview at application prior to approving OWF or RCA benefits, provided the following are met:

• The applicant’s identity has been verified; 
• All other verifications required to establish eligibility as outlined in rule 5101:1-2-20 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) have been completed. (i.e. income, social security numbers, age, citizenship, living arrangement, etc.); and 

• A county agency shall obtain documentary verifications (including electronic sources); if documentation is not able to be obtained, the county agency may use a collateral contact. If neither documentation nor collateral contact can be obtained, client statement may be used. Case notes must clearly document the verification used to make an eligibility determination.  
• A county agency is required to contact the applicant if any information on the application is questionable.
• When a county agency is unable to contact the applicant, it shall schedule a telephone interview and send notice of the appointment to the applicant. The scheduled interview establishes a means of contact with the applicant to gather missing information not included in the application. If there is no contact with the applicant at the scheduled appointment time, and the applicant does not request to reschedule, the application shall be denied.

• For all work eligible individuals, an appraisal is conducted and a self-sufficiency contract (SSC) or individual opportunity plan (IOP) must be completed and signed prior to authorization. As outlined in Action Change Transmittal (ACT) No. 271 (03/17/2020), the SSC or IOP may be completed and signed over the telephone through the state of emergency.

• As part of the appraisal process, the county agency must screen for domestic violence and refer any individual who responds affirmatively to a screening question to counseling and supportive services as outlined in rule 5101:1-3-20 of the OAC.

A county will need to inform Program Policy Services if it will implement this option, and for which months, by sending an email to TANF-FSTA@jfs.ohio.gov.

Face-to-Face Interview Method

From January 1 – June 30, 2021, when a county agency is conducting an interview, it is not required to conduct a face-to-face interview when an applicant requests this method. If a face-to-face interview is requested, the county agency can schedule it to be conducted by telephone. The client will be serviced through other available options during the pandemic.

A county will need to inform Program Policy Services if it will implement this option, and for which months, by sending an email to TANF-FSTA@jfs.ohio.gov.

If you have questions regarding any of the information please reach out to Program Policy Services by sending an email to TANF-FSTA@jfs.ohio.gov.