As Introduced

136th General Assembly

Regular Session S. B. No. 67

2025-2026

A BILL

To amend sections 5107.05, 5107.10, and 5107.20 of the Revised Code regarding the pass-through of support payments under the Ohio Works First program.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section 1. That sections 5107.05, 5107.10, and 5107.20 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 5107.05. The director of job and family services shall adopt rules to implement this chapter. The rules shall be consistent with Title IV-A, Title IV-D, federal regulations, state law, the Title IV-A state plan submitted to the United States secretary of health and human services under section 5101.80 of the Revised Code, amendments to the plan, and waivers granted by the United States secretary. Rules governing eligibility, program participation, and other applicant and participant requirements shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. Rules governing financial and other administrative requirements applicable to the department of job and family services and county departments of job and family services shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code.

(A) The rules shall specify, establish, or govern all of the following:

(1) A payment standard for Ohio works first based on federal and state appropriations that is increased in accordance with section 5107.04 of the Revised Code;

(2) For the purpose of section 5107.04 of the Revised Code, the method of determining the amount of cash assistance an assistance group receives under Ohio works first;

(3) Requirements for initial and continued eligibility for Ohio works first, including requirements regarding income, citizenship, age, residence, and assistance group composition;

(4) For the purpose of section 5107.12 of the Revised Code, application and verification procedures, including the minimum information an application must contain;

(5) The extent to which a participant of Ohio works first must notify, pursuant to section 5107.12 of the Revised Code, a county department of job and family services of additional income not previously reported to the county department;

(6) For the purpose of section 5107.16 of the Revised Code, both of the following:

(a) Standards for the determination of good cause for failure or refusal to comply in full with a provision of a self-sufficiency contract;

(b) The compliance activities a member of an assistance group must complete for the member to be considered to have ceased to fail or refuse to comply in full with a provision of a self-sufficiency contract.

(7) The department of job and family services providing written notice of a sanction under section 5107.161 of the Revised Code;

(8) For the purpose of division (B) of section 5107.17 of the Revised Code, the circumstances under which the adult member of an assistance group or an assistance group's minor head of household whose failure or refusal, without good cause, to comply in full with a provision of a self-sufficiency contract causes a sanction under section 5107.16 of the Revised Code must enter into a new, or amend an existing, self-sufficiency contract before the assistance group may resume participation in Ohio works first following the sanction;

(9) Requirements for the collection and distribution of support payments owed participants of Ohio works first pursuant to section 5107.20 of the Revised Code;

(10) For the purpose of section 5107.22 of the Revised Code, what constitutes cooperating in establishing a minor child's paternity or establishing, modifying, or enforcing a child support order and good cause for failure or refusal to cooperate;

(11) The requirements governing the LEAP program, including the definitions of "equivalent of a high school diploma" and "good cause," and the incentives provided under the LEAP program;

(12) If the director implements section 5107.301 of the Revised Code, the requirements governing the award provided under that section, including the form that the award is to take and requirements an individual must satisfy to receive the award;

(13) Circumstances under which a county department of job and family services may exempt a minor head of household or adult from participating in a work activity or developmental activity for all or some of the weekly hours otherwise required by section 5107.43 of the Revised Code.

(14) The maximum amount of time the department will subsidize positions created by state agencies and political subdivisions under division (C) of section 5107.52 of the Revised Code;

(15) The implementation of sections 5107.71 to 5107.717 of the Revised Code by county departments of job and family services;

(16) A domestic violence screening process to be used for the purpose of division (A) of section 5107.71 of the Revised Code;

(17) The minimum frequency with which county departments of job and family services must redetermine a member of an assistance group's need for a waiver issued under section 5107.714 of the Revised Code;

(18) Requirements for work activities, developmental activities, and alternative work activities for Ohio works first participants.

(B) The rules adopted under division (A)(2) of this section shall be consistent with section 5107.20 of the Revised Code.

The rules adopted under division (A)(3) of this section regarding income shall specify what is countable income, gross earned income, and gross unearned income for the purpose of section 5107.10 of the Revised Code. The rules also shall specify the amount of an assistance group's gross earned income that is to be disregarded for the purpose of division (D)(3) of section 5107.10 of the Revised Code. The rules shall be consistent with section 5107.20 of the Revised Code.

The rules adopted under division (A)(10) of this section shall be consistent with 42 U.S.C. 654(29).

The rules adopted under division (A)(13) of this section shall specify that the circumstances include that a school or place of work is closed due to a holiday or weather or other emergency and that an employer grants the minor head of household or adult leave for illness or earned vacation.

(C) The rules may provide that a county department of job and family services is not required to take action under section 5107.76 of the Revised Code to recover an erroneous payment under circumstances the rules specify.

Sec. 5107.10. (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Countable income," "gross earned income," and "gross unearned income" have the meanings established in rules adopted under section 5107.05 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Federal poverty guidelines" has the same meaning as in section 5101.46 of the Revised Code, except that references to a person's family in the definition shall be deemed to be references to the person's assistance group.

(3) "Gross income" means gross earned income and gross unearned income.

(4) "Strike" means continuous concerted action in failing to report to duty; willful absence from one's position; or stoppage of work in whole from the full, faithful, and proper performance of the duties of employment, for the purpose of inducing, influencing, or coercing a change in wages, hours, terms, and other conditions of employment. "Strike" does not include a stoppage of work by employees in good faith because of dangerous or unhealthful working conditions at the place of employment that are abnormal to the place of employment.

(B) Under the Ohio works first program, an assistance group shall receive, except as otherwise provided by this chapter, time-limited cash assistance. In the case of an assistance group that includes a minor head of household or adult, assistance shall be provided in accordance with the self-sufficiency contract entered into under section 5107.14 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) To be eligible to participate in Ohio works first, an assistance group must meet all of the following requirements:

(a) The assistance group, except as provided in division (E) of this section, must include at least one of the following:

(i) A minor child who, except as provided in section 5107.24 of the Revised Code, resides with a parent, or specified relative caring for the child, or, to the extent permitted by Title IV-A and federal regulations adopted until Title IV-A, resides with a guardian or custodian caring for the child;

(ii) A parent residing with and caring for the parent's minor child who receives supplemental security income under Title XVI of the "Social Security Act," 86 Stat. 1475 (1972), 42 U.S.C.A. 1383, as amended, or federal, state, or local adoption assistance;

(iii) A specified relative residing with and caring for a minor child who is related to the specified relative in a manner that makes the specified relative a specified relative and receives supplemental security income or federal, state, or local foster care assistance, kinship guardianship assistance, kinship support program payments, or adoption assistance;

(iv) A pregnant woman.

(b) The assistance group must meet the income requirements established by division (D) of this section.

(d) The assistance group must satisfy the requirements for Ohio works first established by this chapter and section 5101.83 of the Revised Code.

(e) The assistance group must meet requirements for Ohio works first established by rules adopted under section 5107.05 of the Revised Code.

(2) In addition to meeting the requirements specified in division (C)(1) of this section, a member of an assistance group who is required by section 5116.10 of the Revised Code to participate in the comprehensive case management and employment program must participate in that program to be eligible to participate in Ohio works first.

(D)(1) Except as provided in division (D)(4) of this section, to determine whether an assistance group is initially eligible to participate in Ohio works first, a county department of job and family services shall do the following:

(a) Determine whether the assistance group's gross income exceeds fifty per cent of the federal poverty guidelines. In making this determination, the county department shall disregard amounts that federal statutes or regulations and sections 5101.17, 5107.20, and 5117.10 of the Revised Code require be disregarded. The assistance group is ineligible to participate in Ohio works first if the assistance group's gross income, less the amounts disregarded, exceeds fifty per cent of the federal poverty guidelines.

(b) If the assistance group's gross income, less the amounts disregarded pursuant to division (D)(1)(a) of this section, does not exceed fifty per cent of the federal poverty guidelines, determine whether the assistance group's countable income is less than the payment standard. The assistance group is ineligible to participate in Ohio works first if the assistance group's countable income equals or exceeds the payment standard.

(2) For the purpose of determining whether an assistance group meets the income requirement established by division (D)(1)(a) of this section, the annual revision that the United States department of health and human services makes to the federal poverty guidelines shall go into effect on the first day of July of the year for which the revision is made.

(3) To determine whether an assistance group participating in Ohio works first continues to be eligible to participate, a county department of job and family services shall determine whether the assistance group's countable income continues to be less than the payment standard. In making this determination, the county department shall disregard an amount specified in rules adopted under section 5107.05 of the Revised Code and fifty per cent of the remainder of the assistance group's gross earned income. No Except as provided in section 5107.20 of the Revised Code, no amounts shall be disregarded from the assistance group's gross unearned income. The assistance group ceases to be eligible to participate in Ohio works first if its countable income, less the amounts disregarded, equals or exceeds the payment standard.

(4) If an assistance group reapplies to participate in Ohio works first not more than four months after ceasing to participate, a county department of job and family services shall use the income requirement established by division (D)(3) of this section to determine eligibility for resumed participation rather than the income requirement established by division (D)(1) of this section.

(E)(1) An assistance group may continue to participate in Ohio works first even though a public children services agency removes the assistance group's minor children from the assistance group's home due to abuse, neglect, or dependency if the agency does both of the following:

(a) Notifies the county department of job and family services at the time the agency removes the children that it believes the children will be able to return to the assistance group within six months;

(b) Informs the county department at the end of each of the first five months after the agency removes the children that the parent, guardian, custodian, or specified relative of the children is cooperating with the case plans prepared for the children under section 2151.412 of the Revised Code and that the agency is making reasonable efforts to return the children to the assistance group.

(2) An assistance group may continue to participate in Ohio works first pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section for not more than six payment months. This division does not affect the eligibility of an assistance group that includes a pregnant woman.

Sec. 5107.20. (A) As used in this section, "support" means child support, spousal support, and support for a spouse or a former spouse.

(B) Participation in Ohio works first constitutes an assignment to the department of job and family services of any rights members of an assistance group have to support from any other person. The rights to support assigned to the department pursuant to this section constitute an obligation of the person who is responsible for providing the support to the state for the amount of cash assistance provided to the assistance group.

(C) The office of child support in the department of job and family services shall collect and distribute support payments owed to Ohio works first participants, whether assigned to the department or unassigned, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 654 B and 657 and regulations adopted under those statutes, state statutes, and rules adopted under section 5107.05 of the Revised Code.

(D) Upon implementation of centralized collection and disbursement under Chapter 3121. of the Revised Code, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. 654 B and 657 and regulations adopted under those statutes, the department shall deposit support payments it receives on behalf of Ohio works first participants pursuant to this section into the state treasury to the credit of the child support collections fund or the child support administrative fund, both of which are hereby created. Money credited to the funds shall be used as follows:

(1) The following portion of the amount of support collected on behalf of an assistance group during a month shall be paid to the assistance group:

(a) If the assistance group includes one minor child, one hundred dollars;

(b) If the assistance group includes two or more minor children, two hundred dollars.

(2) All of the remaining amount shall be used to make cash assistance payments under Ohio works first.

(E) The amount of support paid to an assistance group pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section shall be disregarded and not included as countable income when both of the following are determined:

(1) The amount of cash assistance the assistance group is to receive under Ohio works first;

(2) Whether the assistance group is initially eligible to participate in Ohio works first and continues to be eligible to participate.

Section 2. That existing sections 5107.05, 5107.10, and 5107.20 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3. Sections 1 and 2 of this act take effect eighteen months after the effective date of this section.