Regards support payments under the Ohio Works First program

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
S. B. No. 67

2025-2026

Senators Liston, Romanchuk

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.

(c)
No member of the assistance group may be involved in a strike.

(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.