(A)
What is an assignment of support?
In accordance with section
5107.20 of the Revised Code,
participation in Ohio works first (OWF) constitutes an assignment to the Ohio
department of job and family services (ODJFS) of any rights that members of an
assistance group have to support from any other person, not exceeding the total
amount of assistance paid to the assistance group that accrue or have accrued
as of and including the date that the OWF cash assistance is terminated. This
assignment excludes medical support assigned pursuant to section
5160.38 of the Revised Code. The
rights to support assigned to ODJFS pursuant to this rule constitutes an
obligation to ODJFS for the amount of cash assistance paid to the assistance
group. The child support enforcement agency (CSEA) is responsible for the
collection and distribution of support payments owed to OWF participants
whether assigned to ODJFS or unassigned.
(1) The assignment of support rights
includes:
(a) The rights to support that the
assistance group has on its own behalf or on the behalf of any other member of
the assistance group applying for or in receipt of OWF. This includes ongoing
monthly child support, spousal support and support for a spouse or former
spouse, whether included or not in the child support order.
(b) The assignment gives ODJFS the right to
claim any support collected for the assistance group not exceeding the total
amount of cash assistance paid to the assistance group. For child support
enforcement collection purposes, the total amount of "cash assistance" paid to
the assistance group has the same meaning described in
paragraph (B) of rule
5101:1-1-01 of the
Administrative Code. This includes all forms of cash assistance as defined in
rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code, including support services paid to families who are
unemployed, unless such payments meet the definition of nonrecurrent short-term
benefits. As provided in rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code, nonrecurrent, short-term benefits and support services
provided to employed families are not considered to be cash assistance
, and are not subject to reimbursement.
(2) The assignment of support
rights is effective the first of the month following the date of approval for
OWF cash assistance and continues until the assistance group is no longer
participating in OWF cash assistance. The ODJFS shall notify the CSEA when the
effective date of the assignment is determined. This notification shall be
transmitted to the CSEA within two working days of authorization of OWF cash
assistance.
(3) In the following
situations, the assignment is interrupted for a specific month, and child
support for that month is treated in accordance with the provisions set forth
in rule
5101:12-80-14 of the
Administrative Code. However, the interruption in the assignment ends beginning
with the first day of the month that cash assistance resumes.
(a) When an assistance group received OWF
cash assistance in the form of a warrant, check, voucher, electronic funds
transfer or electronic payment card for a month, but returned the uncashed
check, warrant or voucher to the county agency, or returned the full amount of
the benefit paid to the assistance group, the assistance group is not
considered to have received cash assistance in accordance with rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code, and child support for that same month is treated in
accordance with rule
5101:12-80-14.1 of the
Administrative Code.
(b) When an
assistance group's OWF is reduced to zero dollars to repay an OWF overpayment,
the assistance group is not considered to have received cash assistance in
accordance with rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code, and child support for that same month is treated in
accordance with rule
5101:12-80-14.1 of the
Administrative Code.
(c) When an
erroneous OWF payment occurs because the assistance group was not eligible to
receive assistance for a month, and the assistance group repays that erroneous
payment in full, the assistance group is not considered to have received cash
assistance in the month for which the overpayment occurred as described in rule
5101:1-23-01 of the
Administrative Code, and child support for that same month is treated in
accordance with rule
5101:12-80-14.1 of the
Administrative Code.
(4)
When an individual is added to an existing assistance group, the assignment of
support rights is effective the first day of the month following the date the
county agency adds the individual to the assistance group.
(5) Any direct payments received by an
assistance group prior to the effective date of the support assignment are
budgeted as unearned income in accordance with rule
5101:1-23-20 of the
Administrative Code.
(6) Once the
assignment of support is effective, any direct payment (including voluntary
payments) by the absent parent shall be evaluated in accordance with paragraph
(N) of rule
5101:1-23-70 of the
Administrative Code in determining when an erroneous payment has occurred, and
if so, whether the payment is a cash assistance (IV-A) or a child support
enforcement (IV-D) overpayment.
(B) What is the "county agency/CSEA
interface"?
(1) The "county agency/CSEA
interface" refers to the cross-program relationship between the IV-A and IV-D
programs.
(2) The county agency
shall make use of the interview in the application or reapplication process to
gain timely, complete and accurate information concerning absent parent(s)
attached to the assistance group.
(3) Referrals are sent automatically through
the interface. A referral from the county agency to the CSEA is not required
when the assistance group contains only a pregnant woman with no eligible
child.
(4) At the point of
authorization for cash assistance, the county agency shall send copies of
relevant information collected during the application process, such as birth
certificates, court orders and paternity acknowledgments to the CSEA.
(5) The county agency shall collect all
relevant information so that the CSEA will not routinely be required to
schedule an interview with the assistance group to establish and develop the
IV-D case record.
(6) The county
agency is responsible for reporting relevant changes to the CSEA, including
information concerning new members added to an existing assistance group. Most
routine changes are automatically transmitted through the two statewide
automated systems. However, copies of relevant documentation received by the
county agency are to be sent within two working days of receipt to the
CSEA.
(7) The county agency shall
not delay the processing of an application because of the assistance group's
failure to provide information needed solely by the CSEA.
(8) Even when an application for cash
assistance is denied, when an applicant has requested child support services,
the county agency shall send a referral to the CSEA.
(C) What is cooperation with child support
and who shall cooperate with child support?
(1) Cooperation with child support includes
establishing the child's paternity, and establishing, modifying and enforcing a
support order for the child. Cooperation with child support is required unless
there is good cause for the failure or refusal to cooperate as determined by
the CSEA.
(2) All applicant and
recipient adults and minor heads of household shall sign a self sufficiency
contract that includes a requirement to ensure that caretaker members of the
assistance group cooperate with child support.
(3) Caretakers, as defined in section
5107.22 of the Revised Code, who
are members of the OWF assistance group, shall cooperate with child support. In
a three-generation assistance group that includes a grandparent, a minor parent
and a minor child of the minor parent, there are two caretakers:
(a) The grandparent shall cooperate with
child support for his or her minor child(ren), including the minor parent;
and
(b) The minor parent shall
cooperate with child support for his or her minor child(ren).
(4) When a caretaker signs the JFS
07092, "Notice to Individuals Applying for or Participating in Ohio Works First
(OWF) Regarding Cooperation with the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA)"
(rev. 03/2009) indicating that the
individual wants to claim good cause for refusal to cooperate in securing
support, the county agency shall forward the JFS 07092 to the CSEA. When the
request for good cause for refusal to cooperate with child support is
documented on the JFS 03803, "Ohio Works First (OWF) & Food Assistance:
Domestic Violence Waiver Request and Verification," the county agency shall
also have the individual sign the JFS 07092. The CSEA is responsible for
determining good cause and cooperation in accordance with rule
5101:12-10-32 of the
Administrative Code.
This determination includes waiving the cooperation with child support
requirement when the CSEA determines that the individual has been subjected to
domestic violence as defined in section
5107.02 of the Revised Code, and
requiring cooperation would not be in the best interest of the child, or would make it more difficult for the individual
or child to escape domestic violence.
(5) The county agency shall not deny, delay,
or discontinue cash assistance pending a determination by the CSEA concerning
good cause for refusal to cooperate.
(D) What are the consequences when an
individual fails to cooperate with the child support requirement?
(1) Adults or minor heads of households who
fail to cooperate with the child support requirement in the self sufficiency
contract without good cause as determined by the CSEA, are subject to the
imposition of the three-tier sanction in accordance with section
5107.16 of the Revised
Code.
(2) Assistance groups that do
not contain a member required to sign a self sufficiency contract as defined in
rule
5101:1-3-11 of the
Administrative Code, are not subject to the sanction set forth in section
5107.16 of the Revised Code for
noncooperation with the CSEA.
(3)
When a request for a state hearing on the issue of cooperation has been made,
both the county agency and the CSEA shall participate in the hearing.
Notes
Ohio Admin. Code
5101:1-3-10
Effective:
11/1/2023
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates:
7/14/2023 and
11/01/2028
Promulgated
Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5107.05
Rule
Amplifies: 5107.71, 5107.711, 5107.712, 5107.713, 5107.05, 5107.14, 5107.16,
5107.20, 5107.22, 5107.714, 5107.715, 5107.716, 5107.717, 5107.02
Prior Effective Dates: 11/01/1976, 05/14/1977, 12/31/1977,
10/26/1978, 05/01/1979, 09/21/1979, 05/01/1982, 10/09/1983, 03/01/1984 (Temp.),
06/01/1984, 04/01/1986, 04/01/1989, 07/01/1989 (Emer.), 09/23/1989, 04/01/1990,
09/01/1992, 05/01/1993, 10/01/1996 (Emer.), 12/15/1996, 05/01/1997, 12/30/1997,
07/01/1998, 10/01/1999, 10/01/2004, 01/01/2008, 05/01/2010, 03/01/2013,
11/01/2018