This rule sets forth the process the county agency shall use when determining eligibility for a dependent child in a shared parenting arrangement.

(A)What are shared parenting arrangements?

(1)Shared parenting arrangements include:

(a)Formal, court ordered arrangements;

(b)Informal arrangements agreed upon mutually by both parents; or

(c)A combination of both formal, court ordered arrangements and informal arrangements.

(2)The county agency shall evaluate actual circumstances when the parents follow an informal arrangement that is different than the shared parenting court order or when there is no formal, court ordered arrangement.

(B)Can both parents receive food assistance for the same child in the same month?

(1)Both parents cannot receive food assistance for the same child in the same month despite a shared parenting order permitting the child to reside with each parent for part of the month.

(2)Since shared parenting arrangements are not the same in each case, a child's food assistance eligibility shall be determined on a case-by-case basis.

(C)How does the county agency determine which assistance group should include the child?

(1)If only one parent applies for the child and the child resides with him or her for part of the month, then the child shall be included in the parent's assistance group.

(2)When both parents apply for the child:

(a)The child shall be included in the assistance group with the parent where he or she resides the majority (more than fifty per cent) of the time.

(b)If the child resides with each parent an equal amount of time, then the county agency shall determine who provides the majority (more than fifty per cent) of the child's meals:

(i)If one parent provides the majority of the child's meals, then the county agency shall include the child with the parent who provides the majority of the meals.

(ii)If both parents provide fifty per cent of the child's meals, then the parents are to agree which parent's assistance group should include the child.

(iii)If both parents provide fifty per cent of the child's meals but the parents cannot agree which assistance group should include the child, then the county agency shall include the child with the parent who applied first.

(D)How does the county agency verify shared parenting arrangements?

The county agency shall use the procedures set forth in rule 5101:4-2-09 of the Administrative Code to verify shared parenting arrangements. The county agency shall use the best available information to determine eligibility. The county agency shall ensure that all supporting documents are located in the assistance group's case file, as well as document the decision made on the case in running record comments in the client registry information system-enhanced (CRIS-E).

(E)How often should the shared parenting arrangement be evaluated?

The child shall remain in the parent's assistance group through the assigned certification period once the county agency determines the child should be included in that assistance group based on the process outlined in paragraph (C) of this rule. Eligibility shall only be re-evaluated when there is a:

(1)Change reported in assistance group composition;

(2)Change reported in the shared parenting arrangement; or

(3)Recertification.