122:5-2-03. Program and fiscal requirements

(A) Each designated community action agency shall:

(1) Annually apply for C.S.B.G. funds through submission of a program plan and budget which, upon approval by the office of community services, shall become part of a grant agreement between the Ohio development services agency , office of community services, and the designated community action agency. The program shall include activities which provide a range of services and opportunities having a measurable and potentially major impact on the causes of poverty in the community or those areas of the community where poverty is a particularly acute problem, including, but not limited to:

(a) Providing activities designed to assist low-income persons, including youth elderly and handicapped low-income persons, to:

(i) Secure and maintain meaningful employment, training, work experience, and unsubsidized employment;

(ii) Attain an adequate education;

(iii) Make better use of available income;

(iv) Obtain and maintain adequate housing and a suitable living environment;

(v) Obtain emergency assistance through loans or grants to meet immediate and urgent individual and family needs, including the need for health services, nutritious food, housing, and employment-related assistance;

(vi) Remove obstacles and solve personal and family problems that block the achievement of self-sufficiency;

(vii) Achieve greater participation in the affairs of the community;

(viii) Undertake family planning, consistent with personal and family goals and religious and moral convictions; and

(ix) Obtain energy assistance, conservation, and weatherization services.

(b) Providing, on an emergency basis, supplies and services, nutritious foodstuffs, and related services necessary to counteract conditions of starvation and malnutrition among low-income persons;

(c) Coordinating and establishing links between government and other social services programs to assure the effective delivery of services to low-income individuals;

(d) Providing child care services, nutrition and health services, transportation services, alcoholism and narcotic addiction prevention and rehabilitation services, youth development services, and community services to elderly and handicapped persons; and

(e) Encouraging entities in the private sector to participate in efforts to ameliorate poverty in the community.

(2) Prepare and submit periodic program and fiscal reports, as required, to the office of community services at the following address: "Office of Community Services, Ohio Development Services Agency , P.O. Box 1001, Columbus, Ohio, 43216-1001." The required reports shall be submitted according to the instructions and schedule provided by the office of community services. Failure to comply with the reporting requirements may result in either the withholding of funds by the office of community services or the suspension or termination of operations. The office of community services shall provide all required report forms with instructions and forward them to all designated community action agencies. Required program and fiscal reports shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) A monthly "Fiscal and Financial Reimbursement Request";

(b) A quarterly "Progress Review Report"; and

(c) An "Annual Performance Report."

(3) Submit certification by a certified public accountant that the accounting system to be used is generally acceptable and in conformity with all federal and state guidelines.

(B) Persons at or below one hundred twenty-five per cent of the official poverty line, or at an eligibility level designated by the United States congress or the federal U.S. department of health and human services, shall be eligible for all services provided to program participants by designated community action agencies with C.S.B.G. program funds. For purposes of determining income eligibility for all activities funded in whole or part by C.S.B.G. program funds:

(1) "Income" shall have the same meaning as paragraph (CC) of rule 122:5-3-01 of the Administrative Code.

(2) The period to be used in determining annual income must not be more than twelve months nor less than the thirty-day period preceding the request for assistance by the individual applicant;

(3) The income of all members of each family unit residing in the same residence must be included in determining the income eligibility; and

(4) Proof of income eligibility or self-declaration is required of all applicants applying for assistance as follows:

(a) When the applicant applies for any service provided by the C.S.B.G. provider, the applicant must sign a self-declaration statement indicating its annual income and the income of any other members of the family unit;

(b) The C.S.B.G. provider must make a reasonable number of spot checks of family units to verify income given in the self-declaration statements. In making the spot checks, the C.S.B.G. provider should contact appropriate sources, such as employers, local departments of human services, the social security administration, or other appropriate sources to obtain written documentation. This documentation should be attached to the self-declaration statement; and

(c) The self-declaration statement should contain a "Certification and Waiver of Privacy Rights" statement. The applicant shall be informed that the C.S.B.G. provider will check to verify the information on the self-declaration statement, and that by signing the "Certification and Waiver of Privacy Rights" statement the applicant authorizes the release of confidential information for income verification purposes.

Effective: 8/8/2020
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 122.68(E)
Rule Amplifies: 122.68 , 122.69, 122.70
Prior Effective Dates: 10/10/1984 (Emer.), 03/21/1985, 09/02/2016, 04/09/2020 (Emer.)
Effective: 12/28/2020
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 9/2/2021
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 122.68
Rule Amplifies: 122.68
Prior Effective Dates: 10/10/1984 (Emer.), 03/21/1985, 09/02/2016, 04/09/2020 (Emer.), 08/08/2020 (Emer.)