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Notice of Ineligibility and Terminations Weekly Email 10/13/20 • Process/Timing Change: To comply with State rule and the State Hearings Process, we need to make a change to when Notices of Termination (NOT) are either mailed or delivered to Participants. Moving forward all NOT's must be mailed or delivered to Participants fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the termination date indicated on the Notice of Ineligibility (NOI). If you have any questions about this please reach out to us. o If the 15th day falls on a weekend, the NOT must be mailed or delivered on the Friday before o If the Participant regains eligibility during the fifteen (15) day period prior to termination, simply invalidate the NOT and move forward o Do not terminate or end date anything in SACWIS until the actual NOI/NOT effective date o Enter an activity log indicating when the NOT was sent or delivered o Enter another activity log if the Participant becomes eligible and the NOT is being invalidated o For Participants turning 21/aging out an NOT at 60 days prior to their 21st birthday is all that needs to be done o The Participant still has 15 days from the day the NOT was mailed or delivered to file an appeal and receive benefits -- this has not changed. The 15 days just occurs before the NOT date now, not after.  If the Participant files an appeal between the time they receive the NOT and the termination effective date, but becomes eligible prior to the termination effective date they should be instructed to withdraw the appeal  If the Participant files an appeal between the time they receive the NOT and termination effective date, but does not become eligible prior to the termination effective date, the same process we have now is still in place  If the Participant is terminated and has filed an appeal, but reenrolls before their hearing, they should be instructed to withdraw the appeal Weekly Email 10/1/20 • I want to clarify some confusion that arose with NOI's and NOT's after our last regional meetings. All NOI's and NOT's must be either hand delivered to the Participant or left in a secure location at their place of residence or mailed to their last known address. If you want to follow up with an email to the Participant, that is fine, but it must be done only after one of the first three official options has been accomplished and documented in SACWIS.

Case Transfers Weekly Email 11/25/20 • It is the transferring agency's responsibility to ensure all aspects of the SACWIS and paper case files are up-to-date and accurate. This includes eligibility documentation. It is best practice for the gaining agency to review the case file to ensure it is complete and to consult with the transferring agency if there are any questions about the Participant or discrepancies in the case file(s). Some issues were discovered during the recent BCAT audits of discrepancies that occurred prior to the case transfer. Those discrepancies will be attributed to the transferring agency's audit results. It is also vitally important to review all eligibility paper work to ensure there are no concerns prior to transferring the case; gaining agencies should be sure to conduct their own audit as well. Weekly Email 11/19/20 • Just a continued reminder to keep eligibility documentation at the top of your priority lists. Documentation must be received and reviewed monthly. Again, please be on the lookout for documentation that may be fraudulent as we are seeing an uptick. Please reach out to schools, employers, etc., to verify if you suspect something is not right with the documentation received.

Enrollments Weekly Email 12/4/20 • Effective immediately, ODJFS is reinstating the use of Provisional Enrollments. A few things to remember about these enrollments: o Provisional enrollments can only be used for Employment or Program to Reduce Barriers eligibility categories o Provisional agreement (found on the Portal) is signed and dated by the young adult and Liaison and, if approved, by ODJFS o Within 30 days of VPA date, young adults must submit documentation showing they met eligibility criteria This documentation showing the young adult has met eligibility must be submitted to ODJFS (Nashawn.lariviere@jfs.ohio.gov ) by the date indicated on the provisional agreement o ODJFS is tracking Provisional Enrollments o If young adult did not meet eligibility criteria, Liaison must issue a Notice of Ineligibility (NOI) with an effective date dated back to enrollment date o If young adult has been enrolled provisionally and their eligibility criteria changes before the provisional period has ended, you must contact/notify ODJFS o Provisional Enrollment can only be used one time per young adult o Ensure that the young adult has not been employed or participating in a program for more than 30 days. If so, they do not qualify for provisional enrollment Weekly Email 11/13/20 • Please remember that we should not be contacting a young adult still in PCSA/IV-E Court/DYS custody without obtaining permission first. Once you have reached out to their worker and received permission to contact the young person, simply enter it into an activity log. Weekly Email 8/20/20 • Applications are looking much better and are coming in quickly, but still having some declined for rework. Please take the time to review all documentation for completeness; signatures, dates, ensuring it is legible, eligibility documentation is "official", etc. Many are being routed to ODJFS without being reviewed by Supervisors first. An extra set of eyes could save a lot of time for everyone involved.

Bridges Plan Weekly Email 12/23/20 • Bridges Plan Goals: Please remember that at the very minimum, Bridges Plan goals should be reviewed and updated every 90 days as part of the formal review process. Reviewing goals should entail a conversation about progress on achieving goals, looking for potential barriers toward goal achievement, reestablishing goals based on achievement or relevance of the goals. If the Participant is having difficulty reaching their goals, please work with them to figure out what any problems might be and then readjust accordingly. It is very important that they are able to reach their goals which should be leading to their success toward self-sufficiency. Weekly Email 10/1/20 • Just a reminder to be sure to add an activity log clearly indicating a copy of the signed Bridges Plan was provided to the Participant. The requirement to send a copy of the signed plan to Participant is seven (7) calendar days after they signed it. o Also, proper coding of activity logs is essential. There are resources on the Portal to help guide you through the proper coding. Refer to Activity Log Coding Guide for notes needed to document visits outside of the home, court hearings, email correspondence and text correspondence. The Case Closure Template, Monthly Home Visit Template, Supervisor Activity Log Template and the Case Transfer Template all provide specific guidance for those activities. Weekly Email 9/9/20 • While we know we want our Participants to drive their Bridge's Plan goals and objectives, it is important to have discussions with them about different areas in their lives that need help. I am bringing this up because it's been noted lately that a few Participants only have one goal or some very vague goals without much attention to the action steps or objectives needed to fulfill that goal. The Bridges Assessment can feed the conversation with the Participants about setting goals; prompting them may help with ideas about additional goals or areas they'd like to work on. Three to four goals are likely sufficient to have at one time, but then as they are attained new ones should be added. Please remember to review to review goals and objectives prior to meeting with Participants and add any progress or revisions to your notes and update the Plan accordingly.

Activity Logs Weekly Email 12/4/20 • Back and forth calls/text/emails that occur within the same day can be documented in 1 activity log, but activities that occur on different days should be entered separately. In other words, you cannot enter two or more days of correspondence in a single activity log; they must be entered on the date they occurred. Weekly Email 10/1/20 • Just a reminder to be sure to add an activity log clearly indicating a copy of the signed Bridges Plan was provided to the Participant. The requirement to send a copy of the signed plan to Participant is seven (7) calendar days after they signed it. o Also, proper coding of activity logs is essential. There are resources on the Portal to help guide you through the proper coding. Refer to Activity Log Coding Guide for notes needed to document visits outside of the home, court hearings, email correspondence and text correspondence. The Case Closure Template, Monthly Home Visit Template, Supervisor Activity Log Template and the Case Transfer Template all provide specific guidance for those activities. Weekly Email 8/26/20 • As a reminder -- verbal signatures is the option of last resort and is part of the COVID Flexibility only. Additionally, if not reviewing these documents in person, then the Liaison/Supervisor needs to call the young adult and review with them. Simply sending a text message asking if they understand them is not sufficient. I understand we are working with a text generation, but reviewing an application for a State program and the document that puts someone in the Care and Placement of the State requires a conversation to ensure understanding. Weekly Email 8/20/20 • Activity logs need to be detailed and must have the creator's signature. Time must be taken to ensure notes are complete and fully detail the event with or on behalf of the Participant. • Supervisor and Monthly Home visit templates must be used. These tools were developed to ensure very important case information, dates and follow up actions are not being missed. Taking the time to complete them fully from month to month is also another great way to become familiar with cases and any updates for hearings, emergency situations, etc. Not to mentioned, they provide others with a window into the case should any additional intervention or technical assistance be needed. Weekly Email 8/7/20 • Some additional Activity Log and Template reminders: o All Activity Logs need to have the creator signature -- they are not complete without it. o The Activity Log Template for Monthly Home Visits needs to be used at least monthly and please ensure the narrative is detailed. See the guide and examples on the Portal for help. o The Case Closure Summary Template needs to be completed for each closure to ensure all case closures are done completely and correctly. The Case Closure Template is also on the Portal.

Housing Weekly Email 12/11/20 • Clarification on FYI Vouchers: Because Bridges is extended foster care, our Participants cannot receive both the FYI voucher and be served in Bridges simultaneously. Right now, our best strategy is still to assist Participants with the voucher process as part of their discharge plan from Bridges. The timeframe to start the process will depend heavily on the availability/timing of receiving the voucher. Best practice dictates that at approximately 90 days prior to termination, contact is made with the local housing authority to determine the availability and timing. This is because, if a voucher is received by a Participant, they have a very short window of time to use the voucher which may include finding an approved landlord and moving. If not used in that window, they risk losing it and cannot get it again; vouchers can only be received one time. o For Participants terminating from Bridges who may wish to reenroll, they will need to be aware prior to termination that they have a choice: They can either apply for an FYI voucher and work with their county's post emancipation services for additional support or reenroll in Bridges without the FYI voucher. The best strategy here is to explain that if they reenroll in Bridges, we will pay rent and provide all of the other services until they turn 21 at which time, they can apply for the FYI voucher and get the most benefit from it. o If by chance a young person wants to enroll in Bridges who already has an FYI voucher, they will need to terminate the voucher with the housing authority prior to enrolling in Bridges. o Another great strategy is to advocate to landlords to become Section 8 certified which would significantly benefit Participants by not having to move upon discharge. Weekly Email 11/13/20 • Please remember that we should not be contacting a young adult still in PCSA/IV-E Court/DYS custody without obtaining permission first. Once you have reached out to their worker and received permission to contact the young person, simply enter it into an activity log. Weekly Email 11/4/20 • Eligibility Clarification: Some applications have been submitted with a weekly pay stub or work schedule indicating the Participant will or did work 20 hours for a given week which is not sufficient to determine eligibility. In order for a Participant to be eligible for Bridges, he or she must show 80 hours over a consecutive 30-day period. Therefore, documentation that supports only 20 hours in a given week is not sufficient because we need to show 80 hours over 30-days. Weekly Email 10/23/20 • A few words on our In-home and Supportive In-home housing types: o When using the Supportive In-home housing type, please ensure that additional supports are actually taking place. Additional supports are typically in the form of life skills (assistance with cooking, shopping, budgeting, homework, cleaning, transportation) and "family" interaction (sharing meals, holidays, special events). When doing visits, check in to be sure these kinds of activities are occurring. o The base rate for these housing types is $300 for In-home and $400 for Supportive In-home. Depending on the services, this rate can be increased slightly. If there are other expenses the Participant and the Provider have agreed to share such as utilities, food, phone/internet, those will be annotated accordingly on the Participant's budget. o Regardless of the In-home type, a Host Home Agreement (found on the Portal) needs to be accomplished. This includes a walkthrough "inspection" of the living situation to ensure it is safe and habitable. • Guidance for Landlords to become Section 8 Certified (Provided on the Portal) o Many of the landlords serving our Participants are already section 8 certified which allows the Participant to remain stably housed in their existing apartment as they transition out of Bridges if they have a Section 8 certificate or FYI voucher. If their landlord is not section 8 certified there is a good chance the Participant will need to move in order to continue to afford the rent post Bridges. o Please provide this information to as many Landlords as possible to help our Participants remain stably housing and avoid the stress of moving. o Remember that FYI vouchers need to be part of the Participant's exit plan and they should be encouraged to apply for these vouchers 3-6 months prior to program exit. We will provide additional information/updates in our December Regional meeting regarding FYI Vouchers. Weekly Email 10/13/20 • If you need a date corrected for a housing, service tier, or a dependent record please send these requests to your ODJFS Policy Developer vs. utilizing the Helpdesk. Doing so will ensure updates happen quickly.

ODJFS Announcements Weekly Email 12/4/20 • Effective immediately, ODJFS is reinstating the use of Provisional Enrollments. A few things to remember about these enrollments: o Provisional enrollments can only be used for Employment or Program to Reduce Barriers eligibility categories o Provisional agreement (found on the Portal) is signed and dated by the young adult and Liaison and, if approved, by ODJFS o Within 30 days of VPA date, young adults must submit documentation showing they met eligibility criteria This documentation showing the young adult has met eligibility must be submitted to ODJFS (Nashawn.lariviere@jfs.ohio.gov ) by the date indicated on the provisional agreement o ODJFS is tracking Provisional Enrollments o If young adult did not meet eligibility criteria, Liaison must issue a Notice of Ineligibility (NOI) with an effective date dated back to enrollment date o If young adult has been enrolled provisionally and their eligibility criteria changes before the provisional period has ended, you must contact/notify ODJFS o Provisional Enrollment can only be used one time per young adult o Ensure that the young adult has not been employed or participating in a program for more than 30 days. If so, they do not qualify for provisional enrollment Weekly Email 10/13/20 • If you need a date corrected for a housing, service tier, or a dependent record please send these requests to your ODJFS Policy Developer vs. utilizing the Helpdesk. Doing so will ensure updates happen quickly. Weekly Email 8/7/20 • Information about the 21y/o age extension. This information should be immediately provided to Participants who have remained in the program due to the age extension. Please reiterate to those Participants that custody termination and case closure will need to occur on August 31, 2020. Agencies should know that additional termination notices are not needed and that the reason selected for closure is “Reached Age 21”. Since we have until the 31st, it is imperative that service teams work these Participants to ensure they are connected to any additional resources needed to continue their success. Please carefully assess each Participant's needs and planfully work them toward termination.

COVID-19 Resources and Guidance Weekly Email 12/11/20 • When eligibility is impacted by COVID, official documentation is required to support that impact such as a layoff, reduction of hours or early school closure with no alternative education being offered. Documentation should be routinely updated. • As COVID numbers rise, we all need to be vigilant about curfews, shutdowns and/or other closures impacting our Participants. Again, all COVID flexibilities are still in place, but we need the documentation to support any negative impacts. Everyone did a great job in the early days of COVID with documentation and supporting Participants through the difficult times. o We are continuing to track COVID health and eligibility issues; please let your Regional Coordinators know of staff and/or Participants experiencing a COVID impact. Weekly Email 12/4/20 • Be extraordinarily safe and vigilant as we navigate through our days. Virtual visits with Participants are certainly a preferred means of contact unless something requires and in person or face-to-face visit. When these need to be done it is expected that you will practice social distancing and wear personal protective equipment (PPE). •If you or a Participant are exposed or test positive for COVID, please follow the Agency Response protocols found on the Portal and let your Regional Coordinator know ASAP. •The COVID flexibility remains in place, but only applies when there is a direct COVID impact to meeting the minimum eligibility requirements. Documentation must be received verifying the COVID impact. Simply taking the young adult’s word for it is not sufficient. Weekly Email 11/25/20 • Reminder that service providers need to closely read and follow Agency Response Guidelines when a staff member or Participant has experienced a COVID impact; either health or eligibility. The guideline can be found on the Portal. Weekly Email 11/19/20 • I am sure you are all aware of the rising COVID-19 numbers leading to state officials to publish additional restrictions and advisories meant to slow the spread of the virus. At this point, all COVID flexibilities granted by ODJFS are still in effect. This means that you all have the ability to conduct face to face visits virtually via a video platform that works for both you and your Participants. Remember to use the following statement for your activity logs when visits are conducted virtually "Relative to COVID-19, this face-to-face visit was conducted via videoconference". Keep in mind that in the case of an emergency, an actual face to face visit may still need to occur. • As of now, there should still be minimal impact to Participant eligibility. However, the same flexibilities still apply if a Participant's eligibility is substantiated to have been negatively impacted COVID. A document provided by their employer, school, program to reduce barriers or a medical professional attesting to the impact is needed. Please be sure to keep your Regional Coordinator up- to-date with this information. Other reminders: o Ensure you have updated contact in SACWIS and are checking in very regularly with Participants experiencing an impact to monitor their well-being o Critical Incident Reports must be completed for Participants testing positive or reporting exposure as well as following the other Agency Response guidelines o If needed, help to secure food and/or other provisions o Assisting Participants in getting personal protective equipment and understanding safety precautions such as social distancing and washing hands o Keep in mind there may be fluctuations in a Participant's financial needs; this should be explored when budgeting

Eligibility Weekly Email 11/4/20 • Eligibility Clarification: Some applications have been submitted with a weekly pay stub or work schedule indicating the Participant will or did work 20 hours for a given week which is not sufficient to determine eligibility. In order for a Participant to be eligible for Bridges, he or she must show 80 hours over a consecutive 30-day period. Therefore, documentation that supports only 20 hours in a given week is not sufficient because we need to show 80 hours over 30-days.

Legal Updates and Reminders Weekly Email 11/25/20 • If Participants change their address, exit or transfer prior to their required court hearing, it is imperative that you alert your legal team Weekly Email 11/3/20 • As a reminder, please ensure all correspondence regarding Participants remains professional and factual. This includes texts, emails and activity logs both directly with the Participants or internally between staff members. Please understand, any of this type of correspondence will need to be produced if a subpoena is issued. It does not matter if you use you use your personal cell phone or an agency cell phone in the course of your work; all information pertaining to a Participant can be requested via subpoena. • If you receive any subpoenas, signed releases of information or any other requests for program or Participant information from an attorney or law firm, send those immediately to your Regional Coordinator and/or ODJFS Policy Developer. You cannot release any Participant information until any request has been vetted by the ODJFS legal team. Weekly Email 11/4/20 •Starting immediately, our legal team will be entering the SACWIS activity logs for you indicating the required paperwork was sent to the court at least 14 days prior to the scheduled hearing. They have received guidance on how to code the activity logs. A few other reminders: o Your legal team also needs to know when Participants transfer or if their address changes o You should also be checking SACWIS to ensure the activity logs have been entered when getting close to 14 days prior to the hearing. If one happens to be missing, please send the legal team a quick email to resolve the issue. o Also, don't forget to reach out to the legal team if a Participant is approaching the time when a Best Interest or Reasonable Efforts hearing needs to happen and you haven't received any correspondence from them regarding the hearing. Weekly Email 10/13/20 • Process/Timing Change: To comply with State rule and the State Hearings Process, we need to make a change to when Notices of Termination (NOT) are either mailed or delivered to Participants. Moving forward all NOT's must be mailed or delivered to Participants fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the termination date indicated on the Notice of Ineligibility (NOI). If you have any questions about this please reach out to us. o If the 15th day falls on a weekend, the NOT must be mailed or delivered on the Friday before o If the Participant regains eligibility during the fifteen (15) day period prior to termination, simply invalidate the NOT and move forward o Do not terminate or end date anything in SACWIS until the actual NOI/NOT effective date done o Enter an activity log indicating when the NOT was sent or delivered o Enter another activity log if the Participant becomes eligible and the NOT is being invalidated o For Participants turning 21/aging out a NOT at 60 days prior to their 21st birthday is all that needs to be done o The Participant still has 15 days from the day the NOT was mailed or delivered to file an appeal and receive benefits -- this has not changed. The 15 days just occurs before the NOT date now, not after.  If the Participant files an appeal between the time they receive the NOT and the termination effective date, but becomes eligible prior to the termination effective date they should be instructed to withdraw the appeal  If the Participant files an appeal between the time they receive the NOT and termination effective date, but does not become eligible prior to the termination effective date, the same process we have now is still in place  If the Participant is terminated and has filed an appeal, but reenrolls before their hearing, they should be instructed to withdraw the appeal

PROGRAMS Child & Adolescent Center of Excellence (COE) The Ohio Children’s Alliance, serving as a subgrantee to Case Western Reserve University, administers a Financial Services Program to reimburse participating Multi-Systemic Therapy (MST) and Functional Family Therapy (FFT) providers. ​ Providers may utilize FSP funding if youth meet the following criteria: Are referred to the provider by a Title IV-E Agency​ Are determined by the Title IV-E Agency as a candidate for Family First Prevention Services , AND Lack Medicaid coverage​. ​ In order for the youth to be eligible, the Title IV-E Agency must: Have the case open as a prevention services case in SACWIS. Complete the case service for evidence-based practice MST/FFT and link it to the case plan with the status set to provided. Email a copy of the SACWIS prevention services referral form to the COE. Keep the case open until MST/FFT services are complete. ​ The Financial Services Program reimbursement rate for Multi-Systemic Therapy and Functional Family Therapy will mirror the prevailing Ohio Medicaid reimbursement rate for those services . See Reimbursement Rates > ​ If you are a certified MST or FFT Provider and wish to access this funding you must complete two simple onboarding steps: Attend a meeting with our Program Coordinator to complete the overview session of the program. You can request the meeting by emailing coe@ohiochildrensalliance.org Sign a Provider Agreement outlining all details of the program. ​ RESOURC ES: See MST & FFT Site Locations Contact Us Interested in Learning More? OhioRISE Prevention Services Clearinghouse Family First Prevention Services Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Center of Excellence