Ohio Administrative Code|Rule 5101:2-42-19 | Requirements for the provision of independent living services to youth in custody.

                                                
(A) Independent living services shall be
		  provided to each youth in the custody of a public children services agency
		  (PCSA) or private child placing agency (PCPA) who has attained the age of
		  fourteen to prepare them for the transition from agency custody to
		  self-sufficiency.
(B) If a PCSA is providing independent
		  living services to an eligible unmarried minor female who is pregnant or has a
		  child and is part of an "Ohio Works First" (OWF) assistance group,
		  the PCSA shall inform the local county department of job and family services
		  (CDJFS) of the PCSA's involvement with the family in order to ensure
		  coordination of services.
(C) The PCSA or PCPA shall conduct a life skills assessment on
		  each youth in agency custody, who has reached age fourteen. The assessment
		  shall be completed no later than sixty days after the youth's fourteenth
		  birthday or sixty days after the youth enters agency custody, if the youth is
		  fourteen or older. A life skills assessment shall establish the need for
		  independent living services identified in paragraph (D) of this rule. The life
		  skills assessment shall be completed with documented input from the youth, the
		  youth's caregiver, and the youth's case manager.
(D) The PCSA or PCPA shall determine
		  which independent living services are and are not applicable, based on the
		  assessment required by paragraph (C) of this rule and shall include, but not be
		  limited to the following:
(1) Academic support
			 including:
(a) Academic counseling.
(b) Preparation for a GED.
(c) Assistance in applying for or studying for a GED
				exam.
(d) Tutoring.
(e) Help with homework.
(f) Study skills training.
(g) Literacy training.
(h) Help accessing educational resources.
(2) Post secondary
			 educational support including:
(a) Classes for test preparation.
(b) Counseling about college.
(c) Information about financial aid and
				scholarships.
(d) Help completing college or loan applications.
(e) Tutoring while in college.
(3) Career preparation
			 including:
(a) Vocational and career assessment, career exploration and
				planning, guidance in setting and assessing vocational and career interests and
				skills and help in matching interests and abilities with vocational
				goals.
(b) Job seeking and job placement support, identifying potential
				employers, writing resumes, completing job applications, developing interview
				skills, job shadowing, receiving job referrals, using career resource
				libraries, understanding employee benefits coverage, and securing work
				permits.
(c) Retention support and job coaching.
(d) Learning how to work with employers and other
				employees.
(e) Understanding workplace values such as timeliness and
				appearance.
(f) Understanding authority and customer
				relationships.
(4) Employment programs
			 or vocational training including:
(a) Participation in an apprenticeship, internship, or summer
				employment program.
(b) Participation in vocational or trade programs and the receipt
				of training in occupational classes for such skills as cosmetology, auto
				mechanics, building trades, nursing, computer science, and other current or
				emerging employment sectors.
(5) Budget and financial
			 management including:
(a) Living within a budget.
(b) Opening and using a checking or savings account.
(c) Balancing a checkbook.
(d) Developing consumer awareness and smart shopping
				skills.
(e) Accessing information about credit, loans and
				taxes.
(f) Filling out tax forms.
(6) Housing, education
			 and home management training including:
(a) Assistance or training in locating and maintaining housing,
				filling out a rental application and acquiring a lease, handling security
				deposits and utilities, understanding practice for keeping a healthy and safe
				home, understanding tenants rights and responsibilities, and handling landlord
				complaints.
(b) Lessons in food preparation, laundry, housekeeping, living
				cooperatively, meal planning, grocery shopping, basic maintenance and repairs,
				and driving instruction.
(7) Health education and
			 risk prevention including:
(a) Hygiene, nutrition, fitness and exercise, and first aid
				information.
(b) Medical and dental care benefits, health care resources and
				insurance, prenatal care and maintaining personal medical records.
(c) Sex education, abstinence education, and HIV prevention,
				education and information about sexual development and sexuality, pregnancy
				prevention and family planning and sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS;
				substance abuse prevention and intervention, including education and
				information about the effects and consequences of substance use (alcohol,
				drugs, tobacco) and substance avoidance and intervention.
(8) Family support and
			 healthy marriage education including education and information about safe and
			 stable families, healthy marriages, spousal communication, parenting,
			 responsible fatherhood, childcare skills, teen parenting and domestic and
			 family violence prevention.
(9) Mentoring including
			 being matched with a screened and trained adult for a one-on-one relationship
			 that involves the two meeting on a regular basis. Mentoring can be short-term,
			 but may also support the development of a long-term relationship.
(10) Supervision services
			 for a youth placed in a supervised independent living arrangement including a
			 youth who is living independently under a supervised arrangement paid for or
			 provided by the county agency.
(11) Room and board
			 financial assistance for rent deposits, utilities, and other household start-up
			 expenses. The PCSA may only use up to thirty per cent of the Chafee federal
			 independent living allocation for room and board pursuant to rule 5101:9-6-35
			 of the Administrative Code. The PCSA or PCPA shall not use the Chafee
			 allocation or TANF independent living funds for room and board pursuant to
			 rules 5101:9-6-35 and 5101:9-6-08.6 of the Administrative Code
			 for:
(a) Youth under the age of eighteen.
(b) Young adults that have reached their twenty first
				birthday.
(E) The PCSA or PCPA shall develop a
		  written independent living plan within thirty days of the completion of the
		  assessment required by paragraph (C) of this rule, to help the youth achieve
		  self-sufficiency. The plan shall be based upon the assessment, the
		  developmental age of the child and include input from the youth, the
		  youth's case manager, the caregiver, and significant others in the
		  youth's life. The independent living plan shall document the strengths,
		  limitations, and resources of the youth and outline the services to be
		  provided. A copy of the plan and any subsequent updates shall be provided to
		  the youth and caregiver within thirty days of the development of the plan or
		  the update as applicable.
(F) The PCSA or PCPA shall include in the
		  independent living plan the contact information containing the names, addresses
		  and phone numbers of significant others, such as former foster parents,
		  friends, mentors, child's attorney, guardian ad litem (GAL) or court
		  appointed special advocates (CASA) and extended family members as provided by
		  the youth. The PCSA or PCPA shall use this information to work with the youth
		  to develop and achieve meaningful, permanent connections with at least one
		  caring adult. 
(G) The PCSA or PCPA shall amend the case plan and submit
		  it to the court within seven days following the completion of the initial
		  independent living plan pursuant to rules 5101:2-38-05 and 5101:2-38-07 of the
		  Administrative Code.
(H)  The PCSA or PCPA shall review the
		  independent living plan with the youth and substitute caregiver at least every
		  ninety days until the agency's custody is terminated. Each review shall
		  include:
(1) Progress on current
			 independent living goals and the opportunity to add new independent living
			 goals, as necessary.
(2) Review of
			 youth's contacts including the development of meaningful, permanent
			 connections.
(3) Details regarding
			 youth's access to and participation in age or developmentally appropriate
			 activities, positive youth development and experiential learning similar to
			 non-custodial youth.
(I) The PCSA or PCPA shall provide independent living
		  services training opportunities to caregivers caring for
		  adolescents.
(J)  For each child in the custody of the PCSA or PCPA who
		  has attained the age of fourteen, the PCSA or PCPA shall request a credit
		  report from each of the three major credit reporting agencies (CRA) each year
		  until the child is discharged from substitute care. This may be completed
		  simultaneously or separately throughout the year.
(1) A request shall be
			 submitted to at least one CRA by the first semi-annual review (SAR) held after
			 the child attains the age of fourteen.
(2) The PCSA or PCPA
			 shall ensure each child in agency custody who has attained the age of fourteen
			 or older until emancipation, annually receives all copies of their consumer
			 credit report. The PCSA or PCPA shall assist the youth in interpreting the
			 credit reports.
(3) The PCSA or PCPA
			 shall assist youth in the resolution of any inaccuracies reported on any of the
			 credit reports by working with the Ohio attorney general's
			 office.
(K) A PCSA shall ensure the following information is
		  entered into statewide automated child welfare information system (SACWIS) and
		  a PCPA shall ensure that the information is documented in the case record each
		  work day or as information becomes available in accordance with rule
		  5101:2-33-70 of the Administrative Code:
(1) All services provided
			 to youth as indicated in paragraph (D) of this rule.
(2) Youth characteristics
			 including:
(a) Education levels.
(b) Tribal membership.
(c) Delinquency adjudication.
(d) Special education.
(e) Medical conditions.
(3) Basic demographics of
			 the youth including:
(a) Gender.
(b) Race.
(c) Ethnicity.
(L) The PCSA shall enter in SACWIS and the PCPA shall
		  document in the case record the date the independent living assessment and the
		  independent living plan were completed. All review dates of the independent
		  living plan shall be entered in SACWIS, in accordance with rule 5101:2-33-70 of
		  the Administrative Code. The PCPA shall document all review dates in the case
		  record.
(M) The PCSA or PCPA shall provide the youth information on
		  post emancipation services in accordance with rule 5101:2-42-19.2 of the
		  Administrative Code and eligibility criteria to enroll in bridges in accordance
		  with Chapter 5101:2-50 of the Administrative Code.
(1) At least one hundred
			 eighty days prior to the youth's eighteenth birthday, the PCSA or PCPA
			 shall determine if one of the following eligibility criteria can be met for the
			 youth to be enrolled in the bridges program upon the youth emancipating from
			 care.
(a) Youth is completing secondary education or a program leading
				to an equivalent credential.
(b) Youth is enrolled in an institution that provides
				post-secondary or vocation education.
(c) Youth is participating in a program or activity designed to
				remove barriers to employment.
(d) Youth is employed for at least eighty hours per
				month.
(e) Youth is incapable of doing any of the activities described
				in paragraphs (M)(1)(a) to (M)(1)(d) of this rule due to a medical condition,
				and incapacity is supported by regular documentation from a qualified
				practitioner.
(2) At least ninety days prior to the
			 youth's emancipation if it is determined the youth is interested and meets
			 at least one of the eligibility criteria described in paragraphs (M)(1)(a) to
			 (M)(1)(e), the PCSA or PCPA shall:
(a) Refer the youth to the bridges program.
(b) Assign the bridges representative to the ongoing case within
				SACWIS.
(c) Introduce the youth to the bridges
				representative.
(d) Collaborate with the bridges representative until the
				youth reaches emancipation and custody has been terminated.
(3) At least fourteen days prior to the
			 youth's emancipation, the PCSA or PCPA shall ensure the youth has all
			 documentation required to enroll in the bridges program. 
(N) At least ninety days prior to the youth's
		  emancipation from the agency's custody, the PCSA or PCPA shall work with
		  the youth to develop a final transition plan. The plan shall be youth-driven
		  and as detailed as the youth chooses. The PCSA shall complete the plan in
		  SACWIS. For youth who have been referred to the bridges program, the final
		  transition plan shall be shared with the bridges representative. The plan shall
		  include information regarding:
(1) The youth's
			 option to receive post emancipation services identified in rule 5101:2-42-19.2
			 of the Administrative Code, provided or arranged by the PCSA or PCPA from which
			 the youth emancipated.
(2) Health care
			 including:
(a) Health insurance.
(b) Health care power of attorney.
(c) Youth's option to execute power of
				attorney.
(3) Employment
			 services.
(4) Secondary and post
			 secondary education and training.
(5) Obtaining and paying
			 for housing.
(6) Budgeting for
			 necessary living expenses.
(7) Obtaining a credit
			 report.
(8) Registering for
			 selective service.
(9) Information on
			 obtaining a driver's license.
(10) Information on any existing court
			 fees associated with the youth's name prior to emancipation.
(11) Information on any existing benefits
			 the youth receives, such as but not limited to social security benefits. If
			 necessary, the PCSA or PCPA shall review with the youth instructions on how to
			 apply for continuation of those benefits.
(O) Prior to the youth's emancipation from the
		  agency's custody, the PCSA or PCPA shall coordinate with the following
		  agencies, to obtain necessary documents:
(1) The department of
			 health, office of vital statistics, to ensure the youth obtains an original
			 birth certificate.
(2) The social security
			 administration, to ensure the youth obtains an original social security
			 card.
(3) The bureau of motor
			 vehicles, to ensure the youth obtains a current state identification card and
			 information on obtaining a driver's license.
(P) The PCSA or PCPA shall provide a copy of the final
		  transition plan to the youth when custody is terminated due to reaching the age
		  of emancipation, along with the following:
(1) A copy of the
			 youth's health and education records.
(2) A letter verifying
			 that the youth emancipated from agency custody.
(Q) The PCSA shall document in SACWIS the date the agency
		  provided the information in paragraphs (E), (M) and (N) to (P) of this rule.
		  The PCPA shall document the information in the case record.