This letter is to inform you of a new county collaboration that will be recognized as a project area for the purpose of determining food assistance eligibility effective December 1, 2012.

House Bill 225 of the 129th General Assembly-which was signed by the Governor on December 21, 2011- permits the board of county commissioners of Hocking, Ross and Vinton counties to form a joint county department of job and family services. The new department of job and family services includes three joint county agencies that will work together under a common agreement to process and manage administrative workloads as one project area.

Current food assistance policy designates a project area as a county except for the Collabor8 pilot project. With the amendment of Ohio Administrative Code rule 5101:4-1-16 Hocking, Ross and Vinton counties will be recognized as a new project area.

The following is a brief description of the changes made to the rule:

CHAPTER 1000

5101:4-1-16, "Food assistance: project area."

This rule establishes approved county collaborations as project areas. This rule is being amended to add the collaboration between Hocking, Ross and Vinton counties. As a result, if a recipient moves within the counties in this collaboration, the food assistance group does not have to close, and the individual does not have to reapply.

CRIS-E: A table change will designate Hocking, Ross and Vinton counties as a project area so a case will not have to close if an individual moves within these three counties.

Instructions

The following chart identifies the material that should be removed from the Food Assistance Certification Handbook and the material that should be added.