Richland County Job and Family Services
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, through state and local partnerships, will be the nation's premier family support and workforce development system contributing to skilled, healthy Ohioans, successful businesses and strong communities.
Click on this underlined link to locate our office:
Richland County Department
of Job and Family Services
171 Park Ave East
Mansfield OH 44902
Hours of operation: 7:00 am to 5:00 pm - Monday through Friday
Phone: 419.774.5400
888.774.5400
Providing assistance with the following:
Income Maintenance Programs
Ohio Works First (OWF) builds on the Federal Personal
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996. It replaces Aid to
Dependent Children (ADC), the federal cash assistance program for needy families with
dependent children. OWF provides time-limited
cash assistance which allows participants to receive cash benefits while working or
participating in training to develop skills that will help them become self-sufficient.
OWF is administered by the ODJFS,
under the supervision of ODJFS. ODJFS, working with each county's commissioners, enters into
a
Partnership Agreement to define how ODJFS will support local
efforts to move citizens from dependency (public assistance) to independence
(self-sufficiency). The county commissioners can assign the responsibility to provide
coordination services to any organization deemed appropriate. Historically, public
assistance has been provided by CDJFS.
The Food Stamp Program helps people with low incomes obtain
nutritious food. The Food Stamp Direction Card is issued by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture through job and family service departments, and are used to purchase specific
staples and grocery items at participating grocery stores. Eligibility, determined by the
CDJFS, is based on federal guidelines including income, resources and household sizes.
The Disability Assistance
(DA) program is state and county funded and provides cash and medical coverage
to certain persons ineligible for federally-supported public assistance programs. DA is
designed to maintain health and help recipients meet basic needs.
Medicaid is a large,
multidimensional health coverage program that provides health care coverage to more than
1 million lower-income Ohioans. Coverage is administered by the state and funded by federal
and state dollars. Eligibility for coverage is determined by ODJFS.
The ODJFS Office of Medicaid serves
the needs of consumers through several program functions. They include:
1. Member services
2. Provider network management
3. Quality assurance and improvement
4. Coordination of benefits
5. Claims processing and payment
6. Benefit design and pricing
7. Information services
8. Utilization review and management
9. Program integrity
The Medicaid program provides health care coverage to three primary markets: children to
age 19 whose families fall within income guidelines
( Healthy Start
, Ohio's Title XIX Medicaid and Title XXI Children's Health Insurance Program), Working
families with limited income, pregnant women and families participating in OWF, including
persons who are 65 or older, blind or have disabilities.
Disability Assistance is available for qualified disabled Ohioans
through a state-funded(non-Medicaid) program administered by the
ODJFS Office of Medicaid.
This provides limited health care coverage for medications, physician services and hospital
services covered by Health Care Assurance Program (HCAP).
A web site at http://jfs.ohio.gov/OHP/
fully describes the Medicaid program, eligibility guidelines, health benefit plans and
covered services. The Office of Medicaid operates a toll-free Consumer Hotline that can
provide general Medicaid information. The number is 800.324.8680, or TDD 800.292.3572.
The Basic Medicaid Health
Plan covers a wide range of services, including:
Long-Term Care Health Plan, Ohio Home Care Waiver, and Passport are
other services that are
available through the Office of Medicaid. Eligibility for these
programs is determined by the local CDJFS.
Healthy Start offers comprehensive health care coverage for children in
families with income up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline. Healthy Start includes
coverage for doctor visits, hospital care, prescription drugs, dental visits and eyeglasses.
Individuals can get more information by calling the Medicaid Consumer Hotline at 800.324.8680.
Work Activities
Self-sufficiency Contracts serve as a guide to assist the CDJFS in helping families design
personalized plans that will help each adult family member become self-sufficient.
Work activities are mandatory and require participation in order to receive assistance.
Work activities include:
Child care, Medicaid and transportation are also available to work
activity participants.
PRC (Prevention,
Retention, and Contingency) is a program designed to help families in different
levels of need. Participants may only need help to get past an initial barrier in order to
work. PRC
provides temporary help for a family while they are getting back on their feet due to
unforseen hardships. Each county designs its own PRC program to meet the needs of local
families. PRC can help individuals keep jobs or help them get better jobs.
Learning, Earning and Parenting Program (LEAP) is designed to help
OWF-eligible teen parents and pregnant teens who have not completed high school. Financial
incentives are provided to help LEAP teens graduate or get their High School Equivalence
Diploma (HSED). Supportive services such as child care, transportation and food stamps are
available.
Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Employment and Training program (TANF
E&T) focuses much-needed services on what has historically been the
hard-to-serve population families that have been receiving cash assistance for two years or
more. TANF E&T allows counties to design flexible employment and training efforts that
support OWF's six guiding principles.
Food Stamp Employment and Training (FSET) offers a wide array of work force development
services to food stamp recipients who are not participating in OWF. FSET services include:
The services are coordinated with other Work Force Development providers in the
community.
Child Care Assistance
programs pay a portion of the cost of child care while parents participate in
OWF work activities. CDJSFs are permitted to continue payment for up to one year following
OWF participation. The CDJFS determines eligibility and pays eligible providers. Federal and
state funds are used to reimburse the CDJFS for child care services.
Work Force Development is a
coordinated system of programs for individuals that results in a pipeline of trained workers
available to meet the needs of Ohio employers.
WIA is a program that provides
services to clients which include core services, assessment and provision of work experience
and education. WIA
coordinates services with our current Work Activity program.
One Stop is a concept of a no-wrong door philosophy whereby our clients
can receive intensive training services that will move individuals toward self-sufficiency.
The One-Stop system is used by everyone job seekers, employers, parents and children looking
at occupational trends, pregnant teens that need supportive services, employed people seeking
to improve or add to their skills, retirees interested in part-time or volunteer employment,
anyone needing a resume, etc.
Area agencies can also coordinate services to avoid clients being sent from place to place
looking for the services they need to become active members of the work force. One Stop will
be utilized by employers for on site interviews and workshops, employee recruitment and
screening, job matching services and coordination of training service with partner agencies.
Community and Faith-based Projects ODJFS helps counties work with local
community and faith-based organizations to create partnerships and programs that help OWF
participants and the working poor advance in the work force.
Training
In July 1999, the ODJFS Office of Professional Development and Quality Services was created.
Among its tasks is to bring together under one office the diverse training operations of the
department. That training includes not only ODJFS staff, but staff of all county job and
family services, children's services and child support agencies.
Social Services
Adult Protective Services – This program provides protective services for
persons 60 years of age or older, in independent living situations, who are known or
suspected to be suffering from abuse, neglect, or exploitation to an extent that either life
is endangered or physical harm, mental anguish, or mental illness results or is likely to
result. Services are provided without regard to income. Reports of abuse, neglect, or
exploitation of the elderly may be made by calling the Adult Protective Referral Line number
at 419-774-5473.
Healthchek Program – A preventive health care program for Medicaid eligible
individuals from birth to age 21. Services include: informing parents of children who are
receiving Medicaid of the availability of physical exams, assistance with obtaining medical
treatment, and breaking down barriers that prevent medical treatment being utilized.
Healthchek services may be obtained by calling 419.774.5483.
Pregnancy Related Services – This program is designed to help all pregnant
women who are Medicaid eligible with obtaining prenatal care. Services include: assistance
with finding a doctor, scheduling appointments, transportation, and referrals to other
community services. Pregnancy Related Services may be obtained by calling 419.774.5483.
Transportation - The Enhanced Medicaid Transportation Services (EMTS) program provides
non-emergency transportation for Medicaid recipients (DA excluded). This program provides
transportation, or gas vouchers to out-of-county Medicaid medical providers (for example:
Cleveland, Akron, or Columbus). For eligibility determination and scheduling, call
419.774.5470.
Information Line – The Information Line is a telephone information and
referral service. Information is collected on social service agencies, government offices,
support groups, churches, clubs, organizations, and cultural and recreational institutions
located in Richland and surrounding counties. Information concerning services, hours of
operation, phone numbers, and addresses are collected and given out to callers. The phone
line is operated by the RCJFS in the daytime and by the Mansfield-Richland County Public
Library in the evenings. The Information Line phone number is 419.522.4636.
Title XX of the Social Security Act provides funding to counties for local
social services programs for families, children and adults. Funds are used to strengthen,
restore, maintain or improve their ability to be self-supportive and independent. The funds
are distributed by the state, but CDJFS determines what services will be available in their
communities. Local non-emergency transportation to medical providers is provided under Title
XX. Recipients must be on a medical card (Medicaid, OWF, or DA), income eligible, or age
sixty and older to use the service. For more information call 419.774.5470.
The Special Investigations Unit of the Richland County Department of Job &
Family Services has been busy and effective in conducting investigations, collecting overpaid
benefits and protecting tax payer dollars from waste and abuse. In the last five years they
have collected $1.75 million in overpaid benefits. Since beginning their in-house diversion
program in 1995 they have had 519 persons in the program and 325 have successfully completed
the program paying back nearly one million dollars. In the last five years they have
conducted 1,917 investigations and 757 Early Prevention and Detection Investigations which
resulted in a cost savings of $150,000.00. Since 1992 when the State of Ohio installed
computers, they have closed 10,500 claims. These claims have been repaid in full and the
dollar amount collected was $2.9 million. In the last five years they have disqualified 810
individuals from Food Stamps and cash assistance for Intentional Program Violations.
While there are no fees for our services, an application is required.
Appointments are preferred.