Ohio Works First (OWF) is a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program that provides cash assistance to eligible families. The child-only benefit is a special case within OWF in which children who are living with caregivers other than their parents receive OWF cash assistance. These children are exempt from the OWF work requirements.

The monthly payment is determined by the size of the assistance group, with incremental increases for each additional member of an assistance group.

OhioKAN is a flexible and responsive kinship and adoption navigator program designed to support children, youth and their families. Building on the premise that families are inherently capable of finding solutions to the circumstances and challenges they face, the OhioKAN program takes an inclusive, engaging, and genuine approach to strengthening families and their networks.

OhioKAN went live as a statewide navigator program in fall 2020.

Caregivers call 1-844-OhioKAN (1-844-644-6526) to request assistance, or visit www.OhioKAN.jfs.ohio.gov

Ohio’s Kinship Supports Intervention was part of Ohio’s IV-E Waiver Demonstration Project, ProtectOHIO. The program is designed to promote and support kinship placements. The goal of the intervention is to meet children’s physical, emotional, financial, and basic needs by connecting kinship caregivers with federal, state, and local resources. A key component of the intervention is the kinship caregiver support plan. This plan focuses on case management activities and may address topics such as financial assistance, referral services, and training for kinship caregivers. This plan is intended to be individualized, incorporating information from tools such as the home assessment and needs assessment, and to be reviewed and updated regularly. Monthly home visit services with a kinship coordinator are also offered and are an opportunity to establish trust between the kinship caregiver and coordinator and to promote more effective communication, education, assessment, planning, and support for the family.

KGAP is an optional Title IV-E program for states that opt to provide guardianship assistance payments for the care of children by relatives who have assumed legal guardianship of eligible children for whom they previously cared as foster parents. The program is designed to promote permanency for children who cannot return to their parents and for whom adoption is not an option. As of June 2021, 40 states operate KGAP programs.

The Kinship Support Program (KSP) was established by ODJFS to provide financial payments to eligible kinship caregivers for the placement of children in their homes. The payments are meant to help support the kinship caregiver as they work towards certification as a foster parent if they choose.

The Kinship Permanency Incentive Program (KPI) supports children being cared for by kin through direct payments to kinship families at the time of a child’s placement and at six-month intervals thereafter. As of 2019, the initial payment is $525 and additional payments are $300.