Section 119.032 of the Ohio Revised Code requires a review of all state agency rules within a five-year period. The purpose of this review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended or be rescinded, taking into consideration the rule's purpose and scope. In addition, the intent of the review is to ensure that rules are clear and concise as written, that program requirements are accurate and up-to-date, that unnecessary paperwork is eliminated, and that, when possible, local agencies are given more flexibility. If any changes are made to the rules contained in this transmittal letter during the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review's review period, the corrected rules will be sent out in a future Cash Assistance Manual Transmittal Letter.

This letter transmits changes with an effective date of September 1, 2010. This cover letter includes a summary statement of the policy changes.

CHAPTER 4000

5101:1-2-40, "Refugee Resettlement Program Definitions"

This is a new rule with the definitions for the Refugee Resettlement Program rules, which are located in rules 5101:1-2-40.1 through 5101:1-2-40.5. This rule replaces the previous Refugee Cash Assistance rule, which has been moved to rule 5101:1-2-40.1. The rule includes Iraqi and Afghan special immigrant visa holders and alien children who are issued Interim Assistance Letters by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), pursuant to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, as eligible populations.

5101:1-2-40.1, "Refugee Cash Assistance"

We have rescinded the former version of this rule and created this rule written in plain language for better readability. Eligibility requirements have not changed from the previous rule. The acronym "CDJFS" has been changed to "county agency" to align with cash and food assistance rules. Form JFS 07349, "Refugee Employment and Case Management Referral," is no longer required. The policy regarding which Refugee Cash Assistance (RCA) recipients are exempt from participation in employment services and employability services has been revised to make it less restrictive and more consistent with national standards. The rule ties good cause reasons for failure to participate in employment and employability services to rule 5101:1-3-11 of the Administrative Code, which governs the Ohio Works First program. The rule also describes the RCA sanction policy, which has not changed from the previous rule.

5101:1-2-40.2, "Refugee Social Services Program: Eligibility and County Agency Responsibilities"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new. The policy regarding mandatory versus voluntary participation has changed to align more closely with Federal regulations that state only RCA recipients who do not meet a defined exemption are required to participate in the Refugee Social Services Program (RSSP). The rule was rewritten in plain language to clarify who is eligible for services, the eligibility period, application standards, and procedures when a refugee fails to comply with RSSP requirements. The rule removes the JFS 01457, "Application for Refugee Social Services Only" and gives county agencies flexibility in the application process. The rule also ties good cause reasons for failure to participate in employment and employability services to rule 5101:1-3-11 of the Administrative Code. The rule requires counties receiving an RSSP allocation to develop a plan describing the RSSP program services within the county and to submit it to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). The county RSSP plan will allow ODJFS to more accurately prepare its annual refugee plan to the ORR.

5101:1-2-40.3, "Refugee Social Services Program: Services"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new. It has been rewritten to define criteria for appropriate employment services, employability services and employment. It defines required RSSP services and narrows the types of RSSP services county agencies may provide without prior approval to more closely align with federal goals of the Refugee Resettlement Program, which are employment related. Form JFS 07349, "Refugee Employment and Case Management Referral," is no longer required.

5101:1-2-40.4, "Refugee Social Services Program: Family Self-Sufficiency Plan and Individual Employability Plan Requirements"

This rule has been rescinded and filed as new. Elements of the previous rule were incorporated into new rules, 5101:1-2-40.2, "Refugee Social Services Program: Eligibility and County Agency Responsibilities," and 5101:1-2-40.3, "Refugee Social Services Program Services." The rule was rewritten to plain language and explains the requirements for the family self-sufficiency and individual employability plans for both mandatory and voluntary RSSP participants. There are no significant changes to the policy related to the plans.

5101:1-2-40.5, "Targeted Assistance Program"

The previous rule has been rescinded and a new rule has been created. Elements of the previous rule were incorporated into new rules, 5101:1-2-40.2 through 5101:1-2-40.4. The new rule defines the requirements for the Targeted Assistance Program (TAP).

APPENDIX - JFS FORMS

JFS 01457 "Application for Refugee Social Services Only" (Rev. 07/2005)

The JFS 01457 "Application for Refugee Social Services Only" (Rev. 07/2005) is being removed from the RSSP rules to give county agencies flexibility with the application process for RSSP. This form is obsolete.

JFS 07349 "Refugee Employment Registration and Case Management Referral" (Rev. 03/2002)

The JFS 07349, "Refugee Employment Registration and Case Management Referral," has been removed from the RCA and RSSP rules, giving county agencies more flexibility in the process through which they refer and track RSSP participation. This form is obsolete.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart identifies the material that should be removed from the Cash Assistance Manual and the material that should be added.