As Passed by the Senate 1
122nd General Assembly 4
Regular Session Am. S. B. No. 212 5
1997-1998 6
SENATORS NEIN-KEARNS-LATTA-SWEENEY-CARNES-McLIN-GAETH- 8
HERINGTON-DRAKE-GARDNER-FINAN-DIX-MUMPER-WHITE 9
11
A B I L L
To amend sections 2151.011 and 2151.421 of the 13
Revised Code to require an administrator or 14
employee of a residential camp or a child day
camp to report known or suspected child abuse to 15
the public children services agency or a
municipal or county peace officer. 16
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO: 17
Section 1. That sections 2151.011 and 2151.421 of the 19
Revised Code be amended to read as follows: 20
Sec. 2151.011. (A) As used in the Revised Code: 29
(1) "Juvenile court" means the division of the court of 31
common pleas or a juvenile court separately and independently 32
created having jurisdiction under this chapter. 33
(2) "Juvenile judge" means a judge of a court having 35
jurisdiction under this chapter. 36
(3) "Private child placing agency" means any association, 38
as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, that is 39
certified pursuant to sections 5103.03 to 5103.05 of the Revised 40
Code to accept temporary, permanent, or legal custody of children 41
and place the children for either foster care or adoption. 42
(4) "Private noncustodial agency" means any person, 44
organization, association, or society certified by the department 45
of human services that does not accept temporary or permanent 46
legal custody of children, that is privately operated in this 47
state, and that does one or more of the following: 48
2
(a) Receives and cares for children for two or more 50
consecutive weeks; 51
(b) Participates in the placement of children in family 53
foster homes; 54
(c) Provides adoption services in conjunction with a 56
public children services agency or private child placing agency. 57
(B) As used in this chapter: 59
(1) "Adequate parental care" means the provision by a 61
child's parent or parents, guardian, or custodian of adequate 62
food, clothing, and shelter to ensure the child's health and 63
physical safety and the provision by a child's parent or parents 64
of specialized services warranted by the child's physical or 65
mental needs. 66
(2) "Adult" means an individual who is eighteen years of 68
age or older. 69
(3) "Agreement for temporary custody" means a voluntary 71
agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the Revised Code that 73
transfers the temporary custody of a child to a public children 74
services agency or a private child placing agency. 75
(4) "Babysitting care" means care provided for a child 77
while the parents, guardian, or legal custodian of the child are 78
temporarily away. 79
(5) "Certified family foster home" means a family foster 81
home operated by persons holding a certificate in force, issued 82
under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code. 83
(6)(a) "Child" means a person who is under eighteen years 86
of age, except as otherwise provided in divisions (B)(6)(b) to 87
(f) of this section. 88
(b) Subject to division (B)(6)(c) of this section, any 91
person who violates a federal or state law or municipal ordinance 92
prior to attaining eighteen years of age shall be deemed a
"child" irrespective of that person's age at the time the 93
complaint is filed or the hearing on the complaint is held. 94
(c) Any person who, while under eighteen years of age, 97
3
commits an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult 98
and who is not taken into custody or apprehended for that act
until after the person attains twenty-one years of age is not a 99
child in relation to that act. 100
(d) Any person whose case is transferred for criminal 102
prosecution pursuant to division (B) or (C) of section 2151.26 of 103
the Revised Code shall after the transfer be deemed not to be a 104
child in the transferred case. 105
(e) Subject to division (B)(6)(f) of this section, any 108
person whose case is transferred for criminal prosecution 109
pursuant to division (B) or (C) of section 2151.26 of the Revised 110
Code and who subsequently is convicted of or pleads guilty to a 111
felony in that case shall after the transfer be deemed not to be 113
a child in any case in which the person is alleged to have 115
committed prior to or subsequent to the transfer an act that 117
would be an offense if committed by an adult. Division (B)(6)(e) 118
of this section applies to a case regardless of whether the prior 121
or subsequent act that is alleged in the case and that would be
an offense if committed by an adult allegedly was committed in 122
the same county in which the case was transferred or in another 124
county and regardless of whether the complaint in the case 125
involved was filed in the same county in which the case was 126
transferred or in another county. Division (B)(6)(e) of this 127
section applies to a case that involves an act committed prior to 128
the transfer only when the prior act alleged in the case has not 129
been disposed of by a juvenile court or trial court. 130
(f) Notwithstanding division (B)(6)(e) of this section, if 133
a person's case is transferred for criminal prosecution pursuant 134
to division (B) or (C) of section 2151.26 of the Revised Code and 135
if the person subsequently is convicted of or pleads guilty to a 136
felony in that case, thereafter, the person shall be considered a 137
child solely for the following purposes in relation to any act
the person subsequently commits that would be an offense if 138
committed by an adult: 139
4
(i) For purposes of the filing of a complaint alleging 141
that the child is a delinquent child for committing the act that 142
would be an offense if committed by an adult; 143
(ii) For purposes of the juvenile court conducting a 145
hearing under division (B) of section 2151.26 of the Revised Code 147
relative to the complaint described in division (B)(6)(f)(i) of 148
this section to determine whether division (B)(1) of section 149
2151.26 of the Revised Code applies and requires that the case be 151
transferred for criminal prosecution to the appropriate court 152
having jurisdiction of the offense.
(7) "Child day camp," "child day-care," "child day-care 155
center," "part-time child day-care center," "type A family 158
day-care home," "certified type B family day-care home," "type B 159
home," "administrator of a child day-care center," "administrator 161
of a type A family day-care home," "in-home aide," and 162
"authorized provider" have the same meanings as in section 163
5104.01 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Child day-care provider" means an individual who is a 166
child-care staff member or administrator of a child day-care
center, a type A family day-care home, or a type B family 167
day-care home, or an in-home aide or an individual who is 168
licensed, is regulated, is approved, operates under the direction 169
of, or otherwise is certified by the department of human 170
services, department of mental retardation and developmental 171
disabilities, or the early childhood programs of the department 172
of education. 173
(9) "Commit" means to vest custody as ordered by the 175
court. 176
(10) "Counseling" includes both of the following: 178
(a) General counseling services performed by a public 181
children services agency or shelter for victims of domestic 182
violence to assist a child, a child's parents, and a child's 183
siblings in alleviating identified problems that may cause or 185
have caused the child to be an abused, neglected, or dependent 186
5
child.
(b) Psychiatric or psychological therapeutic counseling 189
services provided to correct or alleviate any mental or emotional 191
illness or disorder and performed by a licensed psychiatrist,
licensed psychologist, or a person licensed under Chapter 4757. 192
of the Revised Code to engage in social work or professional 193
counseling.
(11) "Custodian" means a person who has legal custody of a 195
child or a public children services agency or private child 196
placing agency that has permanent, temporary, or legal custody of 197
a child. 198
(12) "Detention" means the temporary care of children 200
pending court adjudication or disposition, or execution of a 201
court order, in a public or private facility designed to 202
physically restrict the movement and activities of children. 203
(13) "Developmental disability" has the same meaning as in 206
section 5123.01 of the Revised Code. 207
(14) "Family foster home" means a private residence in 209
which children are received apart from their parents, guardian, 210
or legal custodian by an individual for hire, gain, or reward for 211
nonsecure care, supervision, or training twenty-four hours a day. 212
"Family foster home" does not include babysitting care provided 213
for a child in the home of a person other than the home of the 214
parents, guardian, or legal custodian of the child. 215
(15) "Foster home" means a family home in which any child 217
is received apart from the child's parents for care, supervision, 218
or training. 220
(16) "Guardian" means a person, association, or 222
corporation that is granted authority by a probate court pursuant 223
to Chapter 2111. of the Revised Code to exercise parental rights 224
over a child to the extent provided in the court's order and 225
subject to the residual parental rights of the child's parents. 226
(17) "Legal custody" means a legal status that vests in 228
the custodian the right to have physical care and control of the 229
6
child and to determine where and with whom the child shall live, 230
and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the 232
child and to provide the child with food, shelter, education, and 233
medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights, 235
privileges, and responsibilities. An individual granted legal 236
custody shall exercise the rights and responsibilities personally 237
unless otherwise authorized by any section of the Revised Code or 238
by the court. 239
(18) "Long-term foster care" means an order of a juvenile 241
court pursuant to which both of the following apply: 242
(a) Legal custody of a child is given to a public children 244
services agency or a private child placing agency without the 245
termination of parental rights. 246
(b) The agency is permitted to make an appropriate 248
placement of the child and to enter into a written long-term 249
foster care agreement with a foster care provider or with another 250
person or agency with whom the child is placed. 251
(19) "Mental illness" and "mental MENTALLY ill person 253
subject to hospitalization by court order" have the same meanings 255
as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code. 256
(20) "Mental injury" means any behavioral, cognitive, 258
emotional, or mental disorder in a child caused by an act or 259
omission that is described in section 2919.22 of the Revised Code 260
and is committed by the parent or other person responsible for 262
the child's care.
(21) "Mentally retarded person" has the same meaning as in 264
section 5123.01 of the Revised Code. 265
(22) "Nonsecure care, supervision, or training" means 267
care, supervision, or training of a child in a facility that does 268
not confine or prevent movement of the child within the facility 269
or from the facility. 270
(23) "Organization" means any institution, public, 272
semipublic, or private, and any private association, society, or 273
agency located or operating in the state, incorporated or 274
7
unincorporated, having among its functions the furnishing of 275
protective services or care for children, or the placement of 276
children in foster homes or elsewhere. 277
(24) "Out-of-home care" means detention facilities, 279
shelter facilities, foster homes, certified foster homes, 280
placement in a prospective adoptive home prior to the issuance of 281
a final decree of adoption, organizations, certified 282
organizations, child day-care centers, type A family day-care 283
homes, child day-care provided by type B family day-care home 284
providers and by in-home aides, group home providers, group 285
homes, institutions, state institutions, residential facilities, 286
residential care facilities, residential camps, day camps, 287
hospitals, and medical clinics that are responsible for the care, 288
physical custody, or control of children. 289
(25) "Out-of-home care child abuse" means any of the 291
following when committed by a person responsible for the care of 292
a child in out-of-home care: 293
(a) Engaging in sexual activity with a child in the 295
person's care; 296
(b) Denial to a child, as a means of punishment, of proper 298
or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or other care 299
necessary for a child's health; 300
(c) Use of restraint procedures on a child that cause 302
injury or pain; 303
(d) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic 305
medication to the child without the written approval and ongoing 306
supervision of a licensed physician; 307
(e) Commission of any act, other than by accidental means, 309
that results in any injury to or death of the child in 310
out-of-home care or commission of any act by accidental means 311
that results in an injury to or death of a child in out-of-home 312
care and that is at variance with the history given of the injury 313
or death.
(26) "Out-of-home care child neglect" means any of the 315
8
following when committed by a person responsible for the care of 316
a child in out-of-home care: 317
(a) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to 319
the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical 320
condition, or other special needs of the child; 321
(b) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to 323
the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical 324
condition, or other special needs of the child, that results in 325
sexual or physical abuse of the child by any person; 326
(c) Failure to develop a process for all of the following: 328
(i) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic 330
drugs for the child; 331
(ii) Assuring that the instructions of the licensed 333
physician who prescribed a drug for the child are followed; 334
(iii) Reporting to the licensed physician who prescribed 336
the drug all unfavorable or dangerous side effects from the use 337
of the drug. 338
(d) Failure to provide proper or necessary subsistence, 340
education, medical care, or other individualized care necessary 341
for the health or well-being of the child; 342
(e) Confinement of the child to a locked room without 344
monitoring by staff; 345
(f) Failure to provide ongoing security for all 347
prescription and nonprescription medication; 348
(g) Isolation of a child for a period of time when there 350
is substantial risk that the isolation, if continued, will impair 351
or retard the mental health or physical well-being of the child. 352
(27) "Permanent custody" means a legal status that vests 354
in a public children services agency or a private child placing 355
agency, all parental rights, duties, and obligations, including 356
the right to consent to adoption, and divests the natural parents 357
or adoptive parents of all parental rights, privileges, and 359
obligations, including all residual rights and obligations.
(28) "Permanent surrender" means the act of the parents 361
9
or, if a child has only one parent, of the parent of a child, by 362
a voluntary agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the 364
Revised Code, to transfer the permanent custody of the child to a
public children services agency or a private child placing 365
agency. 366
(29) "Person responsible for a child's care in out-of-home 368
care" means any of the following: 369
(a) Any foster parent, in-home aide, or provider; 371
(b) Any administrator, employee, or agent of any of the 373
following: a public or private detention facility; shelter 374
facility; organization; certified organization; child day-care 375
center; type A family day-care home; certified type B family 376
day-care home; group home; institution; state institution; 377
residential facility; residential care facility; residential 378
camp; day camp; hospital; or medical clinic; 379
(c) Any other person who performs a similar function with 381
respect to, or has a similar relationship to, children. 382
(30) "Physically impaired" means having one or more of the 385
following conditions that substantially limit one or more of an 386
individual's major life activities, including self-care,
receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, and 387
self-direction:
(a) A substantial impairment of vision, speech, or 389
hearing;
(b) A congenital orthopedic impairment; 391
(c) An orthopedic impairment caused by disease, rheumatic 394
fever or any other similar chronic or acute health problem, or 395
amputation or another similar cause.
(31) "Placement for adoption" means the arrangement by a 397
public children services agency or a private child placing agency 398
with a person for the care and adoption by that person of a child 399
of whom the agency has permanent custody. 400
(32) "Placement for adoption IN FOSTER CARE" means the 402
arrangement by a public children services agency or a private 403
10
child placing agency for the out-of-home care of a child of whom 404
the agency has temporary custody or permanent custody. 405
(33) "Practice of social work" and "practice of 407
professional counseling" have the same meanings as in section 408
4757.01 of the Revised Code. 409
(34) "Probation" means a legal status created by court 411
order following an adjudication that a child is a delinquent 412
child, a juvenile traffic offender, or an unruly child, whereby 413
the child is permitted to remain in the parent's, guardian's, or 414
custodian's home subject to supervision, or under the supervision 415
of any agency designated by the court and returned to the court 416
for violation of probation at any time during the period of 417
probation. 418
(35) "Protective supervision" means an order of 420
disposition pursuant to which the court permits an abused, 421
neglected, dependent, unruly, or delinquent child or a juvenile 422
traffic offender to remain in the custody of the child's parents, 423
guardian, or custodian and stay in the child's home, subject to 424
any conditions and limitations upon the child, the child's 426
parents, guardian, or custodian, or any other person that the 428
court prescribes, including supervision as directed by the court 429
for the protection of the child. 430
(36) "Psychiatrist" has the same meaning as in section 432
5122.01 of the Revised Code. 433
(37) "Psychologist" has the same meaning as in section 435
4732.01 of the Revised Code. 436
(38) "Residential camp" means a public or private facility 438
that engages or accepts PROGRAM IN WHICH the care, physical 439
custody, or control of children during summer months andthat is 441
licensed, regulated, approved, operated under the direction of, 443
or otherwise certified by the department of health or the 444
American camping association IS ACCEPTED OVERNIGHT FOR 445
RECREATIONAL OR RECREATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. 446
(39) "Residential care facility" means an institution, 448
11
residence, or facility that is licensed by the department of 449
mental health under section 5119.22 of the Revised Code and that 450
provides care for a child. 451
(40) "Residential facility" means a home or facility that 453
is licensed by the department of mental retardation and 454
developmental disabilities under section 5123.19 of the Revised 455
Code and in which a child with a developmental disability 456
resides. 457
(41) "Residual parental rights, privileges, and 459
responsibilities" means those rights, privileges, and 460
responsibilities remaining with the natural parent after the 461
transfer of legal custody of the child, including, but not 462
necessarily limited to, the privilege of reasonable visitation, 463
consent to adoption, the privilege to determine the child's 464
religious affiliation, and the responsibility for support. 465
(42) "Secure correctional facility" means a facility under 468
the direction of the department of youth services that is
designed to physically restrict the movement and activities of 469
children and used for the placement of children after 470
adjudication and disposition.
(43) "Sexual activity" has the same meaning as in section 472
2907.01 of the Revised Code. 473
(44) "Shelter" means the temporary care of children in 475
physically unrestricted facilities pending court adjudication or 476
disposition. 477
(45) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the 479
same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code. 480
(46) "Temporary custody" means legal custody of a child 482
who is removed from the child's home, which custody may be 483
terminated at any time at the discretion of the court or, if the 485
legal custody is granted in an agreement for temporary custody, 486
by the person who executed the agreement. 487
Sec. 2151.421. (A)(1)(a) No person described listed in 497
division (A)(1)(b) of this section who is acting in an official 499
12
or professional capacity and knows or suspects that a child under 500
eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally 502
disabled, or physically impaired child under twenty-one years of 503
age has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or 504
mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that 505
reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child, shall fail to 506
immediately report that knowledge or suspicion to the public 507
children services agency or a municipal or county peace officer 509
in the county in which the child resides or in which the abuse or 510
neglect is occurring or has occurred.
(b) Division (A)(1)(a) of this section applies to any 514
person who is an attorney; physician, including a hospital intern 515
or resident; dentist; podiatrist; practitioner of a limited 516
branch of medicine or surgery as defined in section 4731.15 of 517
the Revised Code; registered nurse; licensed practical nurse; 520
visiting nurse; other health care professional; licensed 521
psychologist; licensed school psychologist; speech pathologist or 522
audiologist; coroner; administrator or employee of a child 523
day-care center; ADMINISTRATOR OR EMPLOYEE OF A RESIDENTIAL CAMP 524
OR CHILD DAY CAMP; administrator or employee of a certified child 525
care agency or other public or private children services agency; 526
school teacher; school employee; school authority; person engaged 527
in social work or the practice of professional counseling; or a 528
person rendering spiritual treatment through prayer in accordance 530
with the tenets of a well-recognized religion.
(2) An attorney or a physician is not required to make a 532
report pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section concerning any 534
communication the attorney or physician receives from a client or 537
patient in an attorney-client or physician-patient relationship, 538
if, in accordance with division (A) or (B) of section 2317.02 of 540
the Revised Code, the attorney or physician could not testify 541
with respect to that communication in a civil or criminal 542
proceeding, except that the client or patient is deemed to have 543
waived any testimonial privilege under division (A) or (B) of 545
13
section 2317.02 of the Revised Code with respect to that 547
communication and the attorney or physician shall make a report 549
pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section with respect to that 550
communication, if all of the following apply:
(a) The client or patient, at the time of the 552
communication, is either a child under eighteen years of age or a 553
mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically 555
impaired person under twenty-one years of age. 556
(b) The attorney of OR physician knows or suspects, as a 558
result of the communication or any observations made during that 560
communication, that the client or patient has suffered or faces a 561
threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, 563
disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates 564
abuse or neglect of the client or patient. 565
(c) The attorney-client or physician-patient relationship 567
does not arise out of the client's or patient's attempt to have 569
an abortion without the notification of her parents, guardian, or 571
custodian in accordance with section 2151.85 of the Revised Code. 572
(B) Anyone, who knows or suspects that a child under 574
eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally 576
disabled, or physically impaired person under twenty-one years of 577
age has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or 578
mental wound, injury, disability, or other condition of a nature 579
that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child, may 580
report or cause reports to be made of that knowledge or suspicion 581
to the public children services agency or to a municipal or 583
county peace officer. 584
(C) Any report made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of 586
this section shall be made forthwith either by telephone or in 587
person and shall be followed by a written report, if requested by 589
the receiving agency or officer. The written report shall
contain: 590
(1) The names and addresses of the child and the child's 592
parents or the person or persons having custody of the child, if 593
14
known;
(2) The child's age and the nature and extent of the 595
child's known or suspected injuries, abuse, or neglect or of the 596
known or suspected threat of injury, abuse, or neglect, including 597
any evidence of previous injuries, abuse, or neglect; 598
(3) Any other information that might be helpful in 600
establishing the cause of the known or suspected injury, abuse, 601
or neglect or of the known or suspected threat of injury, abuse, 602
or neglect. 603
Any person, who is required by division (A) of this section 605
to report known or suspected child abuse or child neglect, may 606
take or cause to be taken color photographs of areas of trauma 607
visible on a child and, if medically indicated, cause to be 608
performed radiological examinations of the child. 609
(D)(1) Upon the receipt of a report concerning the 611
possible abuse or neglect of a child or the possible threat of 612
abuse or neglect of a child, the municipal or county peace 613
officer who receives the report shall refer the report to the 614
appropriate public children services agency. 616
(2) On receipt of a report pursuant to this division or 619
division (A) or (B) of this section, the public children services 621
agency shall comply with section 2151.422 of the Revised Code. 623
(E) No township, municipal, or county peace officer shall 625
remove a child about whom a report is made pursuant to this 626
section from the child's parents, stepparents, or guardian or any 627
other persons having custody of the child without consultation 628
with the public children services agency, unless, in the judgment 631
of the officer, and, if the report was made by physician, the 632
physician, immediate removal is considered essential to protect 633
the child from further abuse or neglect. The agency that must be 636
consulted shall be the agency conducting the investigation of the 637
report as determined pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised 638
Code. 639
(F)(1) Except as provided in section 2151.422 of the 642
15
Revised Code, the public children services agency shall 644
investigate, within twenty-four hours, each report of known or 646
suspected child abuse or child neglect and of a known or 647
suspected threat of child abuse or child neglect that is referred 648
to it under this section to determine the circumstances 649
surrounding the injuries, abuse, or neglect or the threat of 650
injury, abuse, or neglect, the cause of the injuries, abuse, 651
neglect, or threat, and the person or persons responsible. The 652
investigation shall be made in cooperation with the law
enforcement agency and in accordance with the memorandum of 653
understanding prepared under division (J) of this section. A 655
failure to make the investigation in accordance with the 656
memorandum is not grounds for, and shall not result in, the 658
dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from the report or 659
the suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of the 660
report and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving, 661
any rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to 662
any person. The public children services agency shall report 665
each case to a central registry which the state department of 667
human services shall maintain in order to determine whether prior 668
reports have been made in other counties concerning the child or 669
other principals in the case. The public children services 670
agency shall submit a report of its investigation, in writing to 672
the law enforcement agency.
(2) The public children services agency shall make any 675
recommendations to the county prosecuting attorney or city 677
director of law that it considers necessary to protect any 678
children that are brought to its attention. 679
(G)(1) Except as provided in division (H)(3) of this 681
section, anyone or any hospital, institution, school, health 682
department, or agency participating in the making of reports 683
under division (A) of this section, anyone or any hospital, 684
institution, school, health department, or agency participating 685
in good faith in the making of reports under division (B) of this 686
16
section, and anyone participating in good faith in a judicial 687
proceeding resulting from the reports, shall be immune from any 688
civil or criminal liability for injury, death, or loss to person 689
or property that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as a 690
result of the making of the reports or the participation in the 691
judicial proceeding. Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the 692
Revised Code, the physician-patient privilege shall not be a 693
ground for excluding evidence regarding a child's injuries, 694
abuse, or neglect, or the cause of the injuries, abuse, or 695
neglect in any judicial proceeding resulting from a report 696
submitted pursuant to this section. 697
(2) In any civil or criminal action or proceeding in which 699
it is alleged and proved that participation in the making of a 700
report under this section was not in good faith or participation 701
in a judicial proceeding resulting from a report made under this 702
section was not in good faith, the court shall award the 703
prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs and, if a 704
civil action or proceeding is voluntarily dismissed, may award 705
reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the party against whom 706
the civil action or proceeding is brought. 707
(H)(1) Except as provided in divisions (H)(4), (M), and 710
(N) of this section, a report made under this section is 711
confidential. The information provided in a report made pursuant 712
to this section and the name of the person who made the report 713
shall not be released for use, and shall not be used, as evidence 714
in any civil action or proceeding brought against the person who 715
made the report. In a criminal proceeding, the report is 716
admissible in evidence in accordance with the Rules of Evidence 717
and is subject to discovery in accordance with the Rules of 718
Criminal Procedure. 719
(2) No person shall permit or encourage the unauthorized 721
dissemination of the contents of any report made under this 722
section. 723
(3) A person who knowingly makes or causes another person 725
17
to make a false report under division (B) of this section that 726
alleges that any person has committed an act or omission that 727
resulted in a child being an abused child or a neglected child is 728
guilty of a violation of section 2921.14 of the Revised Code. 729
(4) A public children services agency shall advise a 732
person alleged to have inflicted abuse or neglect on a child who 733
is the subject of a report made pursuant to this section of the
disposition of the investigation. The agency shall not provide 734
to the person any information that identifies the person who made 736
the report, statements of witnesses, or police or other
investigative reports. 737
(I) Any report that is required by this section shall 739
result in protective services and emergency supportive services 740
being made available by the public children services agency on 742
behalf of the children about whom the report is made, in an 744
effort to prevent further neglect or abuse, to enhance their 745
welfare, and, whenever possible, to preserve the family unit 746
intact. The agency required to provide the services shall be the 748
agency conducting the investigation of the report pursuant to 749
section 2151.422 of the Revised Code. 751
(J)(1) Each public children services agency shall prepare 753
a memorandum of understanding that is signed by all of the 755
following:
(a) If there is only one juvenile judge in the county, the 758
juvenile judge of the county or the juvenile judge's 759
representative;
(b) If there is more than one juvenile judge in the 763
county, a juvenile judge or the juvenile judges' representative 764
selected by the juvenile judges or, if they are unable to do so 765
for any reason, the juvenile judge who is senior in point of 766
service or the senior juvenile judge's representative; 767
(c) The county peace officer; 770
(d) All chief municipal peace officers within the county; 773
(e) Other law enforcement officers handling child abuse 775
18
and neglect cases in the county; 776
(f) The prosecuting attorney of the county; public 779
(g) If the public children services agency is not the 781
county department of human services agency, the county department 783
of human services. 784
(2) A memorandum of understanding shall set forth the 786
normal operating procedure to be employed by all concerned 788
officials in the execution of their respective responsibilities 789
under this section and division (C) of section 2919.21, division 790
(B)(1) of section 2919.22, division (B) of section 2919.23, and 791
section 2919.24 of the Revised Code and shall have as two of its 792
primary goals the elimination of all unnecessary interviews of 793
children who are the subject of reports made pursuant to division 794
(A) or (B) of this section and, when feasible, providing for only 795
one interview of a child who is the subject of any report made 796
pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section. A failure to 797
follow the procedure set forth in the memorandum by the concerned 799
officials is not grounds for, and shall not result in, the 800
dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from any reported 801
case of abuse or neglect or the suppression of any evidence 802
obtained as a result of any reported child abuse or child neglect 803
and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving, any 804
rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to any 805
person. 806
(3) A memorandum of understanding shall include all of the 808
following: 809
(a) The roles and responsibilities for handling emergency 812
and non-emergency cases of abuse and neglect; 814
(b) Standards and procedures to be used in handling and 816
coordinating investigations of reported cases of child abuse and 817
reported cases of child neglect, methods to be used in 818
interviewing the child who is the subject of the report and who 819
allegedly was abused or neglected, and standards and procedures 820
addressing the categories of persons who may interview the child 821
19
who is the subject of the report and who allegedly was abused or 822
neglected. 823
(K)(1) Except as provided in division (K)(4) of this 826
section, a person who is required to make a report pursuant to 827
division (A) of this section may make a reasonable number of 828
requests of the public children services agency that receives or 829
is referred the report to be provided with the following 831
information:
(a) Whether the agency has initiated an investigation of 834
the report;
(b) Whether the agency is continuing to investigate the 837
report;
(c) Whether the agency is otherwise involved with the 841
child who is the subject of the report;
(d) The general status of the health and safety of the 843
child who is the subject of the report; 844
(e) Whether the report has resulted in the filing of a 846
complaint in juvenile court or of criminal charges in another 847
court. 848
(2) A person may request the information specified in 850
division (K)(1) of this section only if, at the time the report 851
is made, the person's name, address, and telephone number are 852
provided to the person who receives the report.
When a municipal or county peace officer or employee of a 854
public children services agency receives a report pursuant to 857
division (A) or (B) of this section the recipient of the report 858
shall inform the person of the right to request the information 860
described in division (K)(1) of this section. The recipient of
the report shall include in the initial child abuse or child 861
neglect report that the person making the report was so informed 862
and, if provided at the time of the making of the report, shall 863
include the person's name, address, and telephone number in the 864
report.
Each request is subject to verification of the identity of 866
20
the person making the report. If that person's identity is 869
verified, the agency shall provide the person with the 871
information described in division (K)(1) of this section a 872
reasonable number of times, except that the agency shall not
disclose any confidential information regarding the child who is 874
the subject of the report other than the information described in 875
those divisions.
(3) A request made pursuant to division (K)(1) of this 877
section is not a substitute for any report required to be made 878
pursuant to division (A) of this section. 879
(4) If an agency other than the agency that received or 882
was referred the report is conducting the investigation of the 883
report pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code, the 885
agency conducting the investigation shall comply with the 886
requirements of division (K) OF THIS SECTION. 887
(L) The department of human services shall adopt rules in 889
accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement 892
this section. The department may enter into a plan of 894
cooperation with any other governmental entity to aid in ensuring 895
that children are protected from abuse and neglect. The 896
department shall make recommendations to the attorney general 897
that the department determines are necessary to protect children 898
from child abuse and child neglect. 899
(M) No later than the end of the day following the day on 902
which a public children services agency receives a report of 903
alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged 904
threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred 905
in or involved an out-of-home care entity, the agency shall 906
provide written notice of the allegations contained in and the 908
person named as the alleged perpetrator in the report to the 909
administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer of 910
the out-of-home care entity that is the subject of the report 911
unless the administrator, director, or other chief administrative 912
officer is named as an alleged perpetrator in the report. If the 913
21
administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer of 914
an out-of-home care entity is named as an alleged perpetrator in 915
a report of alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of 916
an alleged threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly 917
occurred in or involved the out-of-home care entity, the agency 918
shall provide the written notice to the owner or governing board 920
of the out-of-home care entity that is the subject of the report. 921
The agency shall not provide witness statements or police or 923
other investigative reports.
(N) No later than three days after the day on which a 926
public children services agency that conducted the investigation 927
as determined pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code 928
makes a disposition of an investigation involving a report of 929
alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged 930
threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred 931
in or involved an out-of-home care entity, the agency shall send 934
written notice of the disposition of the investigation to the 935
administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer 936
and the owner or governing board of the out-of-home care entity. 937
The agency shall not provide witness statements or police or 939
other investigative reports.
Section 2. That existing sections 2151.011 and 2151.421 of 941
the Revised Code are hereby repealed. 942
Section 3. Section 2151.421 of the Revised Code is 944
presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by 946
both Am. Sub. H.B. 215 and Sub. H.B. 408 of the 122nd General 947
Assembly, with the new language of neither of the acts shown in 949
capital letters. This is in recognition of the principle stated 950
in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that such 951
amendments are to be harmonized where not substantively 952
irreconcilable and constitutes a legislative finding that such is 953
the resulting version in effect prior to the effective date of 954
this act.