Ohio Admin. Code 5101:1-2-20 - Ohio works first, and refugee cash assistance: verification and reporting requirements
(A) What is verification?
(1) "Verification" is a document or statement
from a third party or collateral contact that confirms statements made by the
assistance group regarding need and/or a specific eligibility factor.
(2) Verification establishes that the factors
of eligibility are met and the assistance group is eligible to receive benefits
under the program. Verification is not an eligibility requirement in its own
right, but a method for assuring that an eligibility requirement is
met.
(3) A telephone contact may be
made by the county agency to secure verification.
Written consent from the assistance group is necessary unless an exception described in rule 5101:1-1-03 of the Administrative Code is met. The following information shall be included:
(a) The name and telephone
number of the person who gave the information;
(b) The name of the agency or business
contacted, when appropriate;
(c)
The date of the contact; and
(d) An
accurate summary of the information.
(B) What is required to be verified?
(1) All eligibility factors required to
establish initial and continuing eligibility and items subject to change shall
be verified at the time of application, reapplication and when a change in
circumstances occurs in the assistance group. A change in circumstances
includes the discovery of a discrepancy in income and a change in income
amounts.
(2) All income of a member
of the assistance group and any person whose income affects the assistance
group must be verified.
(C) What happens when verifications are not
received?
(1) It is the assistance group's
responsibility to provide the information necessary to establish
eligibility.
(2) When the
assistance group is aware of the requirements of verification but refuses to
provide both consent and necessary verification, the county agency shall deny
or terminate assistance as eligibility cannot be established.
(3) Assistance may not be terminated when the
assistance group refuses to cooperate in validating past eligibility because
past eligibility has no bearing upon present need and eligibility.
(4) The assistance group may not be compelled
to cooperate in giving testimony or records that may prove guilt of a crime
because of protections of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United
States.
(D) When is
verification not required?
(1) When the
assistance group's own statement on the application establishes that the
assistance group is ineligible for cash assistance, verification is not
required. The county agency shall confirm the statement on the application to
assure it was an accurate statement and not a mistake in completing the
form.
(2) Verification of earned or
unearned income is not necessary when the assistance group either alleges no
income or employment in the current period and there is no reason to question
the statement, or the assistance group reports earnings sufficiently high to
make them clearly ineligible for benefits.
(3) Verification is not required when some
other factor of eligibility, such as age or citizenship, is clearly not
met.
(E) What are the
county agency's responsibilities?
The county agency shall:
(1)
Explain what verifications and information are necessary to establish
eligibility for cash assistance programs. Explain where and how to obtain the
required verifications.
(2) Assist
in securing all the required verifications necessary to establish eligibility
when the assistance group requests such assistance because of an inability to
provide them without the agency's help.
(3) Obtain the verifications when the
assistance group is not financially able or is not competent to secure them.
This shall not be interpreted as noncooperation, nor shall it be used to deny
assistance.
(4) The JFS 07341
"Applicant/Recipient Authorization for Release of Information"
(rev. 4/2004) shall be obtained each time
verification of an eligibility factor is required.
(a) Verification of information from public
records does not require written consent.
(b) Verification need be obtained only once
when the eligibility factor is not subject to change.
(F) How is verification handled
between reapplications?
(1) The county agency
shall pursue clarification and verification of the assistance group's
circumstances by issuing the JFS 04219 "Request for Contact Important Notice"
(rev. 11/2016) or the statewide automated
eligibility system generated equivalent, that clearly advises the assistance
group of the verification it shall provide or the actions it shall take to
clarify its circumstances.
(a) The JFS 04219
or the statewide automated eligibility system generated equivalent shall afford
the assistance group at least ten days to respond and to clarify its
circumstances, either by telephone or by correspondence, as the county agency
directs. It shall further state the consequences when the assistance group
fails to respond to the county agency.
(b) When the assistance group does not
respond to the county agency, or does respond but refuses to provide sufficient
information to clarify its circumstances, the county agency shall terminate the
cash assistance case.
(c) When the
assistance group responds to the county agency and provides sufficient
information, the county agency shall act on the new circumstances and adjust
the budget accordingly.
(G) What happens when verification is not
available or there is a discrepancy?
(1) When
verification is not available through no fault of the assistance group, the
determination is based on the best possible evidence.
(2) Where information from another source
contradicts statements made by the assistance group, the assistance group shall
be afforded a reasonable opportunity to resolve the discrepancy prior to an
eligibility determination.
(3) In
situations that there is no available verification, the county agency shall not
deny or terminate the case but shall accept a signed affidavit, a third-party
statement, notarized statement, or the statement on the application as
verification when the information is consistent with other facts and
statements.
(4) When the statement
provided is incomplete and/or inconsistent and the assistance group is unable
to clarify the statement, the county agency shall deny or terminate the case as
eligibility cannot be established.
(5) The county agency shall exhaust all
possibilities for verification before accepting these statements. The use of a
statement shall be on a case-by-case basis. This approach shall not be used for
the sole purpose of meeting the promptness requirement of rule
5101:1-2-01
of the Administrative Code.
(6)
Homeless and migrant assistance groups may not have easy access to required
verifications that may exist. In order to ensure that these assistance groups
do not experience a lengthy delay in receiving Ohio works first (OWF) or
refugee cash assistance (RCA) benefits, the following procedures shall be
followed:
(a) Once the homeless or migrant
assistance group has submitted verification of identity, the county agency
shall approve the application for assistance when the assistance group appears
to meet eligibility criteria based on statements on the application or a signed
affidavit, and the best evidence available.
(b) The county agency shall attempt to obtain
verification of all other eligibility factors by the next reapplication. When
the verifications cannot be obtained by the next reapplication, the county
agency shall continue the attempt and document in the case record.
(7) The methods used for
verification shall be thoroughly documented in the case record. All documents
submitted to the county agency shall be photocopied and retained in the case
record.
(H) What are the
assistance group's change reporting requirements and the time frames?
(1) The following changes shall be reported
within ten calendar days of the date that the change occurs for OWF, or RCA
assistance groups:
(a) Change in the source of
earned and unearned income. This includes new employment, loss of employment,
changing of jobs and initial receipt of unearned income;
(b) Change in the amount of gross monthly
income of more than fifty dollars;
(c) Changes in the legal obligation to pay
child support;
(d) Change in the
assistance group composition;
(e)
An assistance group member becomes pregnant, or a pregnancy ends when there are
no other children;
(f) Change in
residence;
(g) Withdrawal from
school for individuals subject to the learning, earning and parenting program
requirements;
(h) Change in
address, job or other information related to an absent parent;
(i) Change in living arrangement for a minor
parent;
(j) An assistance group
member violates a condition of his probation or parole or becomes a fugitive
felon.
(2) The county
agency shall use the time frame provisions described in paragraph (M) of rule
5101:1-2-01
of the Administrative Code when calculating the ten day reporting time
period.
Notes
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5101.02, 5101.49, 5107.05
Rule Amplifies: 5101.02, 5107.05
Prior Effective Dates: 10/01/1975, 09/01/1982, 08/01/1986 (Emer.), 10/03/1986, 10/01/1987 (Emer.), 12/24/1987, 04/01/1988 (Emer.), 06/30/1988, 10/01/1988 (Emer.), 12/20/1988, 03/01/1989 (Emer.), 05/28/1989, 10/01/1991 (Emer.), 12/20/1991, 05/01/1997, 07/01/1998, 07/01/2000, 07/01/2001, 11/01/2002, 12/01/2006, 04/01/2010, 07/01/2015, 10/01/2016, 09/01/2018
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