The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) shall establish a two-year pilot program known as the “Benefit Bridge Employer Pilot Program” as authorized by the state budget (Am. Sub. H.B. No. 33 of the 135th General Assembly).  To implement this program, the County Department of Job and Family Services (CDJFS) shall award grants to Ohio employers to incentivize employees enrolled in public assistance programs. To be eligible to receive a grant, employers shall have been registered to do business with the Secretary of State for at least two years and shall submit the following: 

• A written intention to engage in the Benefits Bridge Employer Pilot Program;
• A benefit replacement plan for each participating employee (a participating employee shall be a recipient of assistance from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Ohio Works First (OWF), Medicaid, or a publicly funded childcare program. A benefit cliff calculator shall be used to determine the hourly wage required to replace the assistance received through these programs);
• A description of a training program, including a financial literacy course, for each participating employee, will be outlined in the work and compensation plan. The employer shall also certify the amount of one-time training incentives that shall be offered to the employee upon completion of the program, as well as the wage increase that will be given after the completion of the training program;
• The CDJFS will provide the employer with written approval of the employer's plan for the
• employee with relevant wage and salary information of participating employees as well as a timeframe established by the CDJFS.

Within three months of the employee's completion of the training program, the employer shall submit  proof of the employee's completion of the training program and the wage increase received by the employee pursuant to the information previously submitted to the CDJFS.

After the CDJFS certifies that the participating employee is no longer receiving assistance from SNAP, OWF, Medicaid, or a publicly funded childcare program, or will imminently stop receiving assistance through one of these programs, the CDJFS shall release the grant funds.

Over the course of the pilot program's operation, a participating employer shall receive not more than $5,000 per participating employee. The maximum amount that a participating employer may receive in total over the pilot program's operation is $100,000.

ODJFS communicates the funding and liquidation periods through the county finance information system (CFIS).

ODJFS will issue coding for the Benefit Bridge Employer Pilot Program and further information regarding expenditure reporting via a Bureau of County Finance and Technical Assistance (BCFTA) update.

This allocation consists of one hundred per cent general revenue funding (GRF).

For funding details and questions regarding eligibility, allowable activities, and programmatic reporting requirements, please contact the OFA at TANF-FSTA@jfs.ohio.gov For questions regarding financial reporting, please contact your ODJFS Fiscal Supervisor or the CFIS Helpdesk at CFIS_HELP_DESK@jfs.ohio.gov.