FCASPL 363 (COVID-19 Pandemic Guidance)
Family, Children and Adult Services Procedure Letter No. 363
December 2, 2020
TO: All Family, Children, and Adult Services Manual Holders
FROM: Kimberly Hall, Director
SUBJECT: COVID-19 Pandemic Guidance

This Procedure Letter provides updates to the extension of foster home recertifications and adoption approval dates per House Bill 404.

Foster Care Recertification and Adoption Update Timeframes

House Bill 197 of the 133rd Ohio General Assembly included language to allow extension of foster home recertification and adoption updates through December 1, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance regarding this flexibility and extension of time is summarized in FCASPL 359.

House Bill 404 of the 133rd Ohio General Assembly includes language to allow ODJFS to further extend all foster home recertifications and adoption updates due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Pursuant to House Bill 404, ODJFS will be extending all foster care recertifications and adoption updates scheduled to expire by April 1, 2021. ODJFS and the SACWIS team will continue implementing data fixes to extend affected foster care and adoption spans due to expire between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021 until July 1, 2021.

Please ensure that all foster care recertifications and adoption updates due between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021 are completed in SACWIS by July 1, 2021. Those certifications and updates beginning April 2, 2021 must be completed in SACWIS by the actual expiration date with no extension. Agencies are to be flexible in allowing live synchronous and online training options to support the continued education of their foster families. If families are unable to complete training hours due to the reasons documented in the agency’s good cause policy but can complete other recertification requirements, the recommending agency may recertify the home in accordance with that policy. The family would then be required to complete the hours in their next certification period, in addition to the training hours required for that span.

If families meet the agency’s good cause policy or have been able to complete training and other requirements for recertification and/or update, agencies are highly encouraged to complete them as they are able. This will assist in avoiding workload issues due to many families having the same expiration date every two years.

If there are any questions about this extension, please reach out to the Office of Families and Children Help Desk at 1-866-886-3537, option 4.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart depicts what materials should be deleted from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and what materials are to be inserted in the FCASM.

LOCATION REMOVE AND FILE AS OBSOLETE INSERT/REPLACEMENT
PROCEDURE LETTERS   FCASPL No. 363