This letter transmits rule amendments to Chapter 5101:2-16 rules due to the implementation of Am. Sub. H.B. 176 and 283. If any changes are made to these rules as a result of a public hearing or the JCARR hearing, you will be notified of the changes by an amended CCMTL. Otherwise, these rules will become effective June 10, 2000.

1.Rule 5101:2-16-35 entitled "Application and eligibility determination" is amended as follows: 1) to provide families a twelve month eligibility period, unless the family ceases to be eligible for child care benefits; 2) to require a CDHS to follow procedures established by ODHS making alternative means available to families for eligibility determinations and redeterminations; 3) to require that families with children enrolled in a Head Start collaborative model remain eligible for child care for the remainder of the current Head Start year, regardless of income or participation in paid employment; 4) to require the eligibility determiner to issue notice of a change in child care benefits to the family within ten days from the date the change of circumstance was reported by the caretaker parent; and 5) the composition of a family for determining eligibility for child care benefits may include children residing in a relative's home with the adult relative serving as the caretaker parent.

2.Rule 5101:2-16-39 entitled "Family fee requirement" is amended as follows: 1) to require that the family's monthly copayment shall not exceed ten per cent of the family's monthly income; 2) to require that the family's copayment be in effect for the family's entire twelve month eligibility period unless: i) a caretaker parent requests that the copayment be reduced due to changes in family income, family size, or both, and the eligibility determiner approves the reduction, ii) an incorrect copayment was assessed by the eligibility determiner as a result of agency error, recipient error, or recipient fraud, resulting in corrective action to reduce or increase the family copayment, or iii) the family ceases to be eligible for publicly funded child care benefits; 3) to require the eligibility determiner to issue notice of a change in child care benefits to the family within ten days from the date the change of circumstance was reported by the caretaker parent; and 4) to require the family to pay the monthly copayment or the monthly cost of care, whichever is less, for any month that the family uses child care services.

A new copayment table is included as part of the rule. The new copayment table reduces the maximum fee from three children in care to two children in care. All families with more than two children in care will only be required to pay a copayment for two children.

3.Rule 5101:2-16-41 entitled "Reimbursement ceilings for child care providers" is amended as follows: 1) to allow a CDHS to reimburse a border state child care provider for publicly funded child care services; 2) to require a CDHS to pay eligible type B home providers with limited certification, a reimbursement rate that is the greater of the rate that was in effect for the home on October 1, 1997, or seventy-five per cent of the reimbursement ceiling for type B home providers with professional certification; 3) to include the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA) as an accredited provider; 4) to require a CDHS to reimburse, at a minimum, ten absentee days per child per provider during each six-month period that care is provided to a child. At the option of the CDHS, it may reimburse a greater number of absentee days per child per provider during each six-month period that care is provided to a child; and 5) to require the CDHS to mandate that each provider report any absence that exceeds five consecutive days in order to verify enrollment of the child with the provider.

4.Rule 5101:2-16-44 entitled "Purchased Services Contract Requirement" is amended to allow a CDHS to contract with a border state child care provider for the purchase of child care services. A border state child care provider is defined as a child care provider that is located in a state bordering Ohio and that is licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by that state to provide child care. A border state child care provider may provide publicly funded child care only to a recipient who resides in an Ohio county that borders the state in which the provider is located.

5.Form ODJFS 1224 "Purchase of Child Care Services Contract" is amended as follows: 1) to allow a CDHS to contract with a border state child care provider; and 2) to require each provider to report to the CDHS any absence that exceeds five consecutive days in order to verify enrollment of the child with the provider.

The obsolete rules and form shall be removed from the child care manual and replaced with the amended rules and form of the corresponding number. If you have any questions regarding these matters, please contact County Technical Support at (614) 466-7762.