Ohio DCY vs ODJFS: Which Agency Handles Which Kinship Program

Why There Are Two Agencies Now

Before January 2025, most child welfare and public assistance programs in Ohio lived under one roof — the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS). House Bill 33 changed that by creating the Department of Children and Youth (DCY) and moving child welfare, kinship programs, foster care, adoption, and publicly funded child care under its authority.

ODJFS still runs the federal public assistance block grants: Ohio Works First cash assistance, SNAP food benefits, and Prevention Retention and Contingency emergency funds. The Ohio Department of Medicaid handles health coverage separately.

For kinship caregivers, this split means the money you need might come from two or three different agencies depending on the program. Calling the wrong one doesn't just waste time — it can delay your application by weeks.

Which Agency Runs What

DCY (Department of Children and Youth) oversees:

• Kinship Support Program (KSP) — the $10.20/day payment for relatives caring for children in PCSA custody
• Kinship Permanency Incentive (KPI) — incentive payments after a court grants you legal custody or guardianship
• Kinship Guardianship Assistance Program (KGAP) — long-term monthly payments for former foster children placed with kin
• Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC) — childcare subsidies for working or qualifying caregivers

ODJFS (Department of Job and Family Services) oversees:

• Ohio Works First (OWF) child-only cash grants — the monthly payment where your income doesn't count
• SNAP (food assistance)
• PRC (Prevention, Retention, and Contingency) emergency funds

Ohio Department of Medicaid oversees:

• Healthy Start Medicaid and CHIP for children

Where You Actually Apply

Here's the part that confuses people: even though state oversight is split between DCY and ODJFS, most applications still go through your County Department of Job and Family Services (CDJFS). That's your local county JFS office — the same place that handles welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid applications.

For OWF child-only grants, SNAP, Medicaid, and PRC, you submit Form JFS 07200 to your county JFS or apply online at ssp.benefits.ohio.gov.

For KSP, there's no application at all. When a Public Children Services Agency (PCSA) places a child with you, KSP payments start automatically through the SACWIS system.

For KPI and KGAP, you work directly with your local PCSA — the county children services agency — not county JFS. The PCSA handles the home assessment, verifies your court order, and processes the application.

The Mistake That Costs People Months

The most common mixup: a grandparent walks into the county JFS office and asks about kinship support payments. The intake worker processes them for OWF (which JFS handles) but never mentions KPI (which the PCSA handles). Both programs can run at the same time, but nobody connects the dots because they're administered by different agencies.

The reverse happens too. A relative placed through the child welfare system may go to the PCSA for everything and miss county JFS for SNAP or Medicaid, which can be applied for separately. OWF eligibility depends on the placement payment: caregivers receiving KSP are exempt from OWF during the KSP period.

How to Make Sure You're Not Missing Programs

The fastest way to cover all your bases: call OhioKAN at 1-844-644-6526. Their navigators understand the DCY/ODJFS split and can tell you exactly which office to contact for each program.

If you want to handle it yourself, apply at county JFS for OWF child-only, SNAP, and Medicaid first — those are the programs where caregiver income is excluded and most children qualify quickly. Then contact your county PCSA separately if you have a court custody or guardianship order (for KPI) or if the child was placed through children services (for KSP or KGAP).

Our Ohio Kinship Financial Help guide maps every program to the correct agency with a document checklist for each application, so you don't have to keep track of which form goes where.

See more Ohio guides →