In accordance with Amended Substitute House Bill
110 of the 134th General Assembly (6/2021), the kinship caregiver program (KCP)
assists kinship caregivers with providing and maintaining a home for a child in
place of a child's parents by providing reasonable and necessary relief of
child caring functions through family stabilization and caregiving services.
(A) Who administers and designs
KCP?
KCP shall be incorporated into a county
agency's prevention, retention and contingency (PRC) plan and designed by
the county agency and the public children services agency (PCSA) to be
consistent with the provisions of Section 307.81 of Amended Substitute House
Bill 110 of the 134th General Assembly, Chapter 5108. of the Revised Code, and
this rule.
(B) What temporary assistance for needy
families (TANF) purpose does KCP meet?
KCP shall be designed to reasonably achieve the
purpose of helping needy families so that children may be cared for in their
own homes or in the homes of relatives. Therefore, an application and
determination of TANF eligibility is required for every assistance
group.
The benefits and/or services provided in KCP may
not be "assistance" as defined in 45 C.F.R. 260.31(a) (10/1999); and
are limited to benefits and/or services that are excluded from the definition
of assistance pursuant to 45 C.F.R. 260.31(b) (10/1999).
(C) Who is a kinship
caregiver?
"Kinship caregiver" means any of the
following who is eighteen years of age or older and is caring for a child in
place of the child's parents:
(1) The following
individuals related by blood or adoption to the child:
(a) Grandparents, including grandparents with the prefix
"great," "great-great," or
"great-great-great";
(b) Siblings;
(c) Aunts, uncles, nephews, and nieces, including such relatives
with the prefix "great," "great-great," "grand,"
or "great-grand";
(d) First cousins and first cousins once removed.
(2) Stepparents and
stepsiblings of the child;
(3) Spouses and former
spouses of individuals named in paragraph (C)(1) or (C)(2) of this
rule;
(4) A legal guardian of
the child;
(5) A legal custodian of
the child.
(D) What are the TANF eligibility requirements for
KCP?
(1) For the stabilization
service, the assistance group shall include only a minor child residing with a
kinship caregiver.
(2) For the caregiving
service, the assistance group shall include at least a minor child residing
with a kinship caregiver and the kinship caregiver.
(3) Each member of the
assistance group shall:
(a) Have or have applied for a social security
number;
(b) Be a United States citizen or non-citizen national or
qualified alien as those terms are defined in rule 5101:1-2-30 of the
Administrative Code;
(c) Not owe any of the cost of fraudulent TANF assistance paid to
the individual; and
(d) Have been afforded the opportunity to register to vote (when
applicable).
(4) The assistance group
shall have gross income of less than two hundred per cent of the federal
poverty level. Income received during the past thirty days shall be used as an
indicator of the income that is and will be available to the assistance group.
However, the county agency shall not use past income as an indicator of income
anticipated for the certification period if changes in income have occurred or
can be anticipated. If income fluctuates to the extent that a thirty day period
alone cannot provide an accurate indication of anticipated income, the county
agency and the assistance group may use a longer period of past time if it will
provide an accurate indication of anticipated fluctuations in future
income.
(5) A redetermination of
TANF eligibility for KCP shall be required no less than every twelve months
from determination of initial eligibility.
(E) What are the required elements of the stabilization
service?
Stabilization services shall be designed to
transition the child into and maintain the child in the home of the kinship
caregiver. Examples of stabilization benefits include, but are not limited to
child care services not to exceed four months; or incidentals incurred when
taking on the responsibility of caring for a child unexpectedly (i.e. purchases
for basic needs such as but not limited to cribs/beds etc.).
(F) What are the required elements of the caregiving
service?
(1) The benefits or
services shall be limited to reimbursement to the kinship caregiver for, or
direct payment to, a third-party individual or entity to administer to the
needs of a minor child. The caregiving service may be provided at a licensed or
unlicensed provider or may take place in the home of the kinship caregiver. The
care may include care designed to provide temporary relief of child caring
functions.
(2) The minor child for
who caregiving services are being provided shall be:
(a) Under age thirteen at the time of application and may remain
eligible until they turn thirteen; or
(b) Be under age eighteen at the time of application if the child
meets the definition of special needs pursuant to rule 5101:2-16-01 of the
Administrative Code, and may remain eligible until they turn
eighteen.
(3) The kinship caregiver
or other member of the assistance group shall be participating in one of the
following approved activities:
(a) Paid employment on a full-time or part-time
basis.
(b) A training or education activity that prepares the caretaker
for paid employment.
(c) Participating in one or more work activities as a condition
of eligibility for either Ohio works first (OWF) or the supplemental nutrition
assistance program (SNAP).
(4) The assistance group
shall inform the county agency within ten days if no member of the assistance
group is participating in an approved activity or if the child is no longer
residing with the kinship caregiver.
(G) How must adverse action be taken
against an applicant or recipient of KCP?
In accordance with rules 5101:6-2-02 and
5101:6-2-04 of the Administrative Code, a county agency shall provide an
assistance group written notice of a denial or its intent to withhold, reduce,
suspend, or terminate KCP services.
