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. In
addition to the state-declared state of emergency, on March 13, 2020, President
Trump declared a national state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 administrative burden of issuing
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits while under a state
of emergency.
As part of this effort, the Ohio Department of Job and Family
Services (ODJFS) submitted waiver requests to the United States Department of
Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Services (FNS), including extending
certification periods and suspending the interim reporting requirements. FNS
approved these waivers with prescribed alternative procedures.
New Procedure:
Effective immediately, the following changes apply:
Extending Certification Periods:
All assistance groups scheduled to expire in March 2020, who
have not already been recertified for April 1, 2020, will have their
certification periods extended through September 2020.
- If the recertification process has not been
completed in Ohio Benefits as of the date ODJFS runs the batch process, and
benefits are set to expire, the proposed expiration of benefits will be
rescinded and the assistance group will be notified that their certification
date will be extended. No further recertification actions will be required by
the household or county agency until September 2020.
- If an assistance group has completed the
recertification process in March 2020 and benefits have been approved beginning
in April, the certification period will remain and will not be extended to
September 2020.
All assistance groups scheduled to expire in April 2020 will have
their certification periods extended through October 2020.
- Assistance groups will be notified that
their certification date will be extended and they do not have to reapply and
participate in the interview until October 2020.
All assistance groups scheduled to expire in May 2020 will have
their certification periods extended through November 2020.
- ODJFS will notice assistance groups that
their certification date will be extended.
Extending Interim Report Due Date:
For assistance groups that have an interim report due in March
2020 but fail to return it or it is returned but is not processed in
Ohio Benefit as of the date ODJFS runs the batch process, their cases will
remain open and a new interim report due date will be established after May
2020.
- Assistance groups who returned their
interim report in March (and it was processed in Ohio Benefits) will not be
required to complete a second interim report after May; their interim report
requirement has been met.
Assistance groups with interim reports due in April or May 2020
will have their due dates extended after May 2020.
- Interim reports will not be sent to
assistance groups during these months.
ODJFS will notify the affected assistance groups of the new
interim reporting due date.