These rules are proposed to be effective April 1, 2004. If no revisions are made to the proposed rules prior to the finalization by JCARR, they will become effective on a permanent basis on April 1, 2004. If changes are necessary, a copy of the revised rules will be forwarded to you at that time.

The following rules were reviewed in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code Section 119.032. Each state agency is required to review its rules a minimum of once every five years. The intent of the law is to ensure that rules are clearly written and that program requirements are accurate, up-to-date, and clearly expressed. To the extent possible, unnecessary paperwork will be eliminated and local agencies will be given increased flexibility. The purpose of a rule review is to determine whether a rule should be continued without amendment, be amended, or be rescinded, taking into consideration each rule's scope and purpose.

Rules reviewed include the following:

5101:4-3-07 and 5101:4-7-14

Background Information

The Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) of 1986 was passed by Congress to establish a system for verifying the immigration status of non-citizen applicants for, or recipients of, certain types of federally funded benefits. In 1987, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) established the SAVE program, an intergovernmental information-sharing initiative designed to aid benefit providers in verifying an applicant's immigration status to carry out the IRCA requirement.

The INS developed, and made accessible to federal, state and local government agencies, an efficient, secure, and cost effective system for verification, the Alien Status Verification Index (ASVI). Currently under the ASVI (Touch-Tone Telephone) system, there are two methods of verifying alien registration status: primary verification is an automated process used to provide alien verification within seconds of inquiry and manual secondary verification when the automated process is unable to provide information and under other specified circumstances.

Because of security safeguards and technological enhancements, the INS, now known as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can no longer support the current access method of the ASVI, the Touch-Tone Telephone system. A new system, the Automated Status Verification System (ASVS), a web-enabled, server-based Customer Processing System (CPS) has been developed to provide faster and better service. A transformation to this new system offers a fully automated means for verifying immigration status and can be accessed through the Personal Computer (Windows-Based) method. There will be a reduction in: response time for manual secondary verification queries, costs associated with filling out the Form G-845, (Document Verification Request), postal service, and costs per query.

The manual secondary verification process will not change and will continue to be available when needed. The Document Verification Request forms (G-845, G-845 S) shall still remain available for additional verification requests submitted. The response times may vary, depending on the workload of the DHS offices, the resources available to process additional verification requests, and the applicant's specific circumstances. Following is the address and phone number for sending Document Verification Request forms:

Department of Homeland Security

1240 East 9th Street

Room 1917

Cleveland, Ohio 44199

Attention: Status Verification Unit

Telephone: (216) 522-2268 or (216) 522-2612

Facsimile: (216) 522-7039

ACCESS

The Web-Based 1 system URL address will be available at the end of December, however agency access to the system will become effective April 1, 2004 for the OWF, PRC, RCA, Medicaid, and Food Stamp programs. Medicaid rules will be addressed in a separate transmittal letter. Further information regarding setting up user information will be forthcoming and will be provided to the CDJFSs' prior to the April 1, 2004 implementation date.

Passwords will be required by users and must be changed every forty-five (45) days. It is an eight (8) character password which can be either capital letters, lower case letters, or number of special characters. A user will have three (3) tries to enter into the system, then a Supervisor must unlock the system. If the system has to be reset, the password would also have to be reset. The CPS Help Desk will be available for assistance to all users from 7:00 AM EST to 9:00 PM EST except for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day.

5101:4-3-07: Citizenship and Alien Status

This rule is being amended to reflect the Department of Homeland Security as the agency administering the SAVE Program and the change to the new web-enabled service-based Custom Processing System.

5101:4-7-14: Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program

This rule is being amended to reflect the Department of Homeland Security as the agency administering the SAVE Program. This rule also reflects the change from the Alien Status Verification Index through the use of a touch tone telephone to the new web-enabled, server based Automated Status Verification System.

Fiscal Impact

There should be no fiscal impact for the county agencies to implement this FSTL. No additional staff will be needed. No additional supplies, equipment or travel is involved.

Training

Training for the ASVS system shall be provided to the counties through a website set up by the contractor of this service, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). This training will be available continuously on the CSC Web-Based 1 website, the same screen where actual queries will be completed. ODJFS will provide a technical Super User who will set up the County Security Coordinators at the county level. The County Security Coordinators will set up the agency supervisors who will set up the General Users who will be the ones who actually perform the inquiries on the Web-Based 1 system.

FSTL Instructions