| (4) The requirements of minimum basic training that peace | 28 |
|
officers appointed to probationary terms shall complete before | 29 |
|
being eligible for permanent appointment, which requirements
shall | 30 |
|
include a minimum of fifteen hours of training in the
handling of | 31 |
|
the offense of domestic violence, other types of
domestic | 32 |
|
violence-related offenses and incidents, and protection
orders and | 33 |
|
consent agreements issued or approved under section
2919.26 or | 34 |
|
3113.31 of the Revised Code, a minimum of six hours of
crisis | 35 |
|
intervention training, and a specified amount of training
in the | 36 |
|
handling of missing children and child abuse and neglect
cases, | 37 |
|
and the time within which such basic training shall be
completed | 38 |
|
following such appointment to a probationary term; | 39 |
| (5) The requirements of minimum basic training that peace | 40 |
|
officers not appointed for probationary terms but appointed on | 41 |
|
other than a permanent basis shall complete in order to be | 42 |
|
eligible for continued employment or permanent appointment, which | 43 |
|
requirements shall include a minimum of fifteen hours of training | 44 |
|
in the handling of the offense of domestic violence, other types | 45 |
|
of domestic violence-related offenses and incidents, and | 46 |
|
protection orders and consent agreements issued or approved under | 47 |
|
section 2919.26 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code, a minimum of six | 48 |
|
hours of crisis intervention training, and a specified amount of | 49 |
|
training in the handling of missing children and child abuse and | 50 |
|
neglect cases, and the time within which such basic training
shall | 51 |
|
be completed following such appointment on other than a
permanent | 52 |
|
basis; | 53 |
| (6) Categories or classifications of advanced in-service | 54 |
|
training programs for peace officers, including programs in the | 55 |
|
handling of the offense of domestic violence, other types of | 56 |
|
domestic violence-related offenses and incidents, and protection | 57 |
|
orders and consent agreements issued or approved under section | 58 |
|
2919.26 or 3113.31 of the Revised Code, in crisis intervention, | 59 |
|
and in the handling of missing children and child abuse and | 60 |
|
neglect cases, and minimum courses of study and attendance | 61 |
|
requirements with respect to such categories or classifications; | 62 |
| (7) Permitting persons who are employed as members of a | 63 |
|
campus police department appointed under section 1713.50 of the | 64 |
|
Revised Code, who are employed as police officers by a qualified | 65 |
|
nonprofit corporation police department pursuant to section | 66 |
|
1702.80 of the Revised Code, or who are appointed and
commissioned | 67 |
|
as railroad police officers or hospital
police officers
pursuant | 68 |
|
to sections 4973.17 to 4973.22 of the Revised Code to
attend | 69 |
|
approved peace officer training schools, including the
Ohio peace | 70 |
|
officer training academy, and to receive certificates
of | 71 |
|
satisfactory completion of basic training programs, if the
private | 72 |
|
college or university that established the campus police | 73 |
|
department, qualified nonprofit corporation police department, | 74 |
|
railroad company, or hospital sponsoring the police
officers pays | 75 |
|
the entire cost of the training and certification
and if trainee | 76 |
|
vacancies are available; | 77 |
| (8) Permitting undercover drug agents to attend approved | 78 |
|
peace officer training schools, other than the Ohio peace officer | 79 |
|
training academy, and to receive certificates of satisfactory | 80 |
|
completion of basic training programs, if, for each undercover | 81 |
|
drug agent, the county, township, or municipal corporation that | 82 |
|
employs that undercover drug agent pays the entire cost of the | 83 |
|
training and certification; | 84 |
| (12) Establishing requirements for the training of agents of | 101 |
|
a county humane society under section 1717.06 of the Revised Code, | 102 |
|
including, without limitation, a requirement that the agents | 103 |
|
receive instruction that is within the scope of an overall | 104 |
|
curriculum for instruction on the topic of animal husbandry | 105 |
|
practices that is consistent with recommendations, if any, of the | 106 |
|
Ohio state university
college of veterinary medicine. | 107 |
| (B) The commission shall appoint an executive director,
with | 108 |
|
the approval of the attorney general, who shall hold office
during | 109 |
|
the pleasure of the commission. The executive
director shall | 110 |
|
perform such duties as may be assigned by the
commission. The | 111 |
|
executive director
shall receive a salary fixed pursuant to | 112 |
|
Chapter 124. of the
Revised Code and reimbursement for expenses | 113 |
|
within the amounts
available by appropriation. The executive | 114 |
|
director may appoint
officers, employees, agents, and consultants | 115 |
|
as the executive
director considers
necessary, prescribe their | 116 |
|
duties, and provide for reimbursement
of their expenses within the | 117 |
|
amounts available for reimbursement
by appropriation and with the | 118 |
|
approval of the
commission. | 119 |
|
(7) "Federal animal welfare act" means the "Laboratory | 158 |
|
Animal Act of 1966," Pub. L. No. 89-544, 80 Stat. 350 (1966), 7 | 159 |
|
U.S.C.A. 2131 et seq., as amended by the "Animal Welfare Act of | 160 |
|
1970," Pub. L. No. 91-579, 84 Stat. 1560 (1970), the "Animal | 161 |
|
Welfare Act Amendments of 1976," Pub. L. No. 94-279, 90 Stat. 417 | 162 |
|
(1976), and the "Food Security Act of 1985," Pub. L. No. 99-198, | 163 |
|
99 Stat. 1354 (1985), and as it may be subsequently amended. | 164 |
| (E) Notwithstanding any section of the Revised Code that | 202 |
|
otherwise provides for the distribution of fine moneys, the clerk | 203 |
|
of court shall forward all fines the clerk collects that are so | 204 |
|
imposed for any
violation of this section
to the treasurer of the | 205 |
|
political subdivision or the state, whose county humane society or | 206 |
|
law enforcement agency is to be paid the fine money as determined | 207 |
|
under this division. The
treasurer to whom the fines are forwarded | 208 |
|
shall pay the fine moneys to the county humane
society or the | 209 |
|
county, township, municipal corporation, or state law enforcement | 210 |
|
agency in this state that primarily was responsible for or | 211 |
|
involved in
the investigation and prosecution of
the violation.
If | 212 |
| a county humane society receives any fine moneys under this | 213 |
|
division, the county
humane society shall use the fine
moneys to | 214 |
|
provide the training
that is required for humane agents
under | 215 |
|
section 1717.06 of the
Revised Code. | 216 |
| (3) "Officer" means any law enforcement officer, agent of a | 226 |
|
county humane society, dog warden, assistant dog warden, or other | 227 |
|
person appointed to act as an animal control officer for a county, | 228 |
|
municipal corporation, or township in accordance with state law, | 229 |
|
an ordinance, or a resolution. | 230 |
| (B) An officer
may impound a companion animal if the officer | 231 |
|
has probable
cause to believe that it or other
companion animals | 232 |
|
that are kept by the same person
on the premises are the
subject | 233 |
|
of a
violation of section 959.131
of the Revised Code and
if the | 234 |
|
officer has lawful access to the
companion animal at the
time of | 235 |
|
the impoundment. The officer
shall give written notice of
the | 236 |
|
impoundment by posting the notice
on the door of the residence
on | 237 |
|
the premises at which the companion animal was
impounded, by | 238 |
|
giving it in person to the owner, custodian,
or caretaker of the | 239 |
|
companion animal, or by otherwise
posting the
notice in a | 240 |
|
conspicuous place on the premises where
the companion
animal was | 241 |
|
seized. | 242 |
| (C) If charges are filed under section 959.131 of the | 243 |
|
Revised Code against the
custodian or caretaker of a
companion | 244 |
|
animal, but the
companion animal that is
the subject of
the | 245 |
|
charges is not
impounded, the court in which the charges
are | 246 |
|
pending may order
the
owner or person having custody of the | 247 |
|
companion animal to
provide
to the companion animal the | 248 |
|
necessities described in
division
(C)(2) to (6) of section | 249 |
|
959.131 of the Revised Code until the
final disposition of the | 250 |
|
charges.
If the court issues an order of
that nature, the court | 251 |
|
also may
authorize an officer or another
person
to visit the place | 252 |
|
where
the companion animal is
being
kept, at the times and under | 253 |
|
the
conditions that the court may
set, to
determine whether the | 254 |
|
companion animal is
receiving those
necessities and to remove and | 255 |
|
impound the companion
animal if the
companion animal
is not | 256 |
|
receiving those necessities. | 257 |
| (D) An owner, custodian, or caretaker of one or
more | 258 |
|
companion animals that have been impounded under this section
may | 259 |
|
file a written request for a hearing with the clerk of the
court | 260 |
|
in which charges are pending that were filed under section
959.131 | 261 |
|
of the Revised Code and that involve the impounded
companion | 262 |
|
animals. If a hearing is requested, the court shall
conduct a | 263 |
|
hearing not later than twenty-one days following receipt
of the | 264 |
|
request. At the hearing, the impounding agency has the
burden of | 265 |
|
proving by a preponderance of the evidence that probable
cause | 266 |
|
exists to find that the defendant is guilty of a violation
of | 267 |
|
section 959.131 of the Revised Code. A hearing that is
conducted | 268 |
|
under division (D) of this section shall be combined
whenever | 269 |
|
possible with any hearing involving the same pending
charges that | 270 |
|
is authorized and conducted under division (E) of
this section. | 271 |
| (E)(1) At any time that one or more charges are pending | 288 |
|
under
section 959.131 of the Revised Code,
an impounding
agency | 289 |
|
may
file
a motion in the
court in which the
charges are pending | 290 |
|
requesting
that
the defendant post a deposit
to cover the costs of | 291 |
|
caring,
during the pendency of the charges, for
any impounded | 292 |
|
companion
animals seized or removed from the defendant's custody | 293 |
|
if the
reasonably necessary projected costs of the care that will | 294 |
|
be
provided prior to the final resolution of the charges are | 295 |
|
estimated to be in excess of one thousand five hundred dollars. | 296 |
|
The
motion shall be
accompanied by an
affidavit that sets forth an | 297 |
|
estimate
of the
reasonably necessary costs that the impounding | 298 |
|
agency expects
to
incur in providing that care, which may include, | 299 |
|
but are not
limited to, the necessary cost of
veterinary care, | 300 |
|
medications,
food, water, and
board for the
companion animals | 301 |
|
during the pendency
of
the charges. | 302 |
| (2) Within ten days after the date on which a motion
is | 303 |
|
filed under division (E)(1) of this section, the court
shall | 304 |
|
conduct a hearing. Except as otherwise provided in division | 305 |
|
(E)(5) of this section, at the hearing,
the impounding
agency has | 306 |
|
the
burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that | 307 |
|
there
is
probable cause to find
that the defendant is guilty of a | 308 |
|
violation
of
section 959.131 of the Revised Code and that the | 309 |
|
reasonably
necessary cumulative costs of caring during the | 310 |
|
pendency of the
charges for the companion animals seized or | 311 |
|
removed from the
defendant's custody or control are reasonably | 312 |
|
projected to exceed
one thousand five hundred dollars. | 313 |
| (3) If the court finds at the conclusion of the hearing that | 314 |
|
probable cause does not exist for finding that the defendant | 315 |
|
committed a violation of section 959.131 of the Revised Code and | 316 |
|
that the defendant otherwise has a right to possession of the | 317 |
|
companion animals, the court shall order the animals to be | 318 |
|
returned to the defendant. If the court finds at the conclusion | 319 |
|
of the hearing that probable cause exists for finding that the | 320 |
|
defendant committed a violation of that section, but that the | 321 |
|
reasonably necessary costs for caring during the pendency of the | 322 |
|
charges for the companion animals seized or removed from the | 323 |
|
defendant's custody or control are reasonably projected to be one | 324 |
|
thousand five hundred dollars or less, the court shall deny
the | 325 |
|
petitioner's motion to require the defendant to pay a deposit. | 326 |
| (4) The court may order the defendant to forfeit the right | 347 |
|
of possession and ownership in one or more of the companion | 348 |
|
animals to the
impounding agency if the defendant fails to comply | 349 |
|
with the
conditions set forth in an order of the court that is | 350 |
|
rendered
under division (E)(3) of this section. If the order that | 351 |
|
was not complied with required the defendant to post a deposit, | 352 |
|
forfeiture of the companion animals relieves the defendant of any | 353 |
|
further obligation to post the deposit. | 354 |
| (b) At a hearing conducted under division (E) of this | 361 |
|
section, an impounding agency shall not be required to prove that | 362 |
|
there is probable cause to find that the defendant is guilty of a | 363 |
|
violation of section 959.131 of the Revised Code if the court | 364 |
|
already has made a finding concerning probable cause at a separate | 365 |
|
hearing conducted under division (D) of this section. In such an | 366 |
|
event, the probable cause finding made at the hearing conducted | 367 |
|
under division (D) of this section shall be used for purposes of | 368 |
|
the hearing conducted under division (E) of this section.
| 369 |
| (F)(1) If the defendant is found guilty of
violating | 370 |
|
section 959.131 of the Revised Code or any other offense relating | 371 |
|
to the care or treatment of a companion animal and the defendant | 372 |
|
posted a deposit pursuant to division (E) of this section, the | 373 |
|
court shall
determine the amount of the reasonably necessary | 374 |
|
costs that the
impounding agency incurred in caring for the | 375 |
|
companion animal
during the pendency of the charges. The court | 376 |
|
shall order the
clerk of the court to pay that amount of the | 377 |
|
deposit to the impounding agency and to dispose of any amount
of | 378 |
|
the deposit that
exceeds that amount
in the
following order: | 379 |
| (2) If the defendant is found not guilty of violating | 385 |
|
section 959.131 of the Revised Code or any other offense relating | 386 |
|
to the care or treatment of a companion animal, the court shall | 387 |
|
order the clerk of court to return the entire amount of the | 388 |
|
deposit to the defendant, and the impounding agency shall return | 389 |
|
the companion
animal to the defendant. If the companion animal | 390 |
|
cannot be
returned, the
court
shall order the impounding agency to | 391 |
|
pay to
the defendant an
amount determined by the court to be equal | 392 |
|
to the
reasonable
market value of the companion animal at the time | 393 |
|
that it was
impounded
plus statutory interest as defined in | 394 |
|
section
1343.03
of the
Revised Code from the date of the | 395 |
|
impoundment.
In
determining the
reasonable market value of the | 396 |
|
companion
animal,
the court may
consider the condition of the | 397 |
|
companion
animal at
the time that the
companion animal was | 398 |
|
impounded and any
change in the
condition of
the companion animal | 399 |
|
after it was
impounded. | 400 |
| (D) Whoever violates division (A) of section 959.13 of the | 418 |
|
Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree. In | 419 |
|
addition, the court may order the offender to forfeit the animal | 420 |
|
or livestock and may provide for its disposition, including, but | 421 |
|
not limited to, the sale of the animal or livestock. If an
animal | 422 |
|
or livestock is forfeited and sold pursuant to this
division, the | 423 |
|
proceeds from the sale first shall be applied to
pay the expenses | 424 |
|
incurred with regard to the care of the animal
from the time it | 425 |
|
was taken from the custody of the former owner.
The balance of the | 426 |
|
proceeds from the sale, if any, shall be paid
to the former owner | 427 |
|
of the animal. | 428 |
| (3)(a) A court may order a person who is convicted of or | 437 |
|
pleads
guilty to
a violation of section 959.131 of the Revised | 438 |
|
Code
to
forfeit to an impounding agency, as defined in section | 439 |
|
959.132 of
the Revised Code, any or all of the companion animals | 440 |
|
in that
person's ownership or care. The court also may prohibit | 441 |
|
or place
limitations on the person's ability to own or care for | 442 |
|
any
companion animals for a specified or indefinite period of | 443 |
|
time. | 444 |
| Sec. 1717.06. A county humane society organized under | 468 |
|
section 1717.05 of the Revised Code may appoint agents, who are | 469 |
|
residents of the county or municipal corporation for which the | 470 |
|
appointment is made, for the purpose of prosecuting any person | 471 |
|
guilty of an act of cruelty to persons or animals. Such agents | 472 |
may arrest any person found violating
sections 1717.01 to
1717.14, | 473 |
inclusive, of the Revised Code,this chapter or any other law for | 474 |
|
protecting
persons or animals or preventing acts of cruelty | 475 |
thereto. Upon
making
suchan arrest the agent forthwith shall | 476 |
|
convey the person
arrested before some court or magistrate having | 477 |
jurisdiction of
the offense, and there make complaint against
him | 478 |
| the person on
oath or affirmation of the offense. | 479 |
| In order to qualify for appointment as a humane agent under | 486 |
|
this section, a person first shall successfully complete a | 487 |
|
minimum
of twenty hours of training on issues relating to the | 488 |
|
investigation and prosecution of cruelty to and neglect of | 489 |
|
animals. The training shall comply with rules recommended by the | 490 |
|
peace officer training commission under section 109.73 of the | 491 |
|
Revised Code and shall include, without limitation, instruction | 492 |
|
regarding animal husbandry practices as described in division | 493 |
|
(A)(12) of that section. A person who has been
appointed as a | 494 |
|
humane agent
under this section prior to the
effective date of | 495 |
|
this amendment
may continue to act as a humane
agent for a period | 496 |
|
of time on and
after the effective date of this
amendment without | 497 |
|
completing the
training. However, on or before
December 31, 2004, | 498 |
|
a person who
has been appointed as a humane
agent under this | 499 |
|
section prior to
the effective date of this
amendment shall | 500 |
|
successfully complete
the training described in this paragraph | 501 |
|
and submit
proof of its successful completion to the
appropriate | 502 |
|
appointing
mayor or probate judge in order to continue
to act as a | 503 |
|
humane
agent after December 31, 2004. | 504 |
| Sec. 2151.421. (A)(1)(a) No person described in division | 505 |
|
(A)(1)(b) of this section who is acting in an
official or | 506 |
|
professional capacity and knows or suspects that a child under | 507 |
|
eighteen years of age or a mentally
retarded, developmentally | 508 |
|
disabled, or physically impaired child under
twenty-one years of | 509 |
|
age has suffered or faces a
threat of suffering any physical or | 510 |
|
mental wound, injury,
disability, or condition of a nature that | 511 |
|
reasonably indicates
abuse or neglect of the child, shall fail to | 512 |
|
immediately report
that knowledge or suspicion to the public | 513 |
|
children services agency or a municipal or
county peace officer in | 514 |
|
the county in which the child resides or
in which the abuse or | 515 |
|
neglect is occurring or has occurred. | 516 |
| (b) Division (A)(1)(a)
of this section applies to any person | 517 |
|
who is an attorney;
physician, including a hospital intern or | 518 |
|
resident; dentist;
podiatrist; practitioner of a limited branch of | 519 |
|
medicine
as specified in section 4731.15 of the Revised
Code; | 520 |
|
registered nurse;
licensed practical nurse; visiting nurse; other | 521 |
|
health care
professional; licensed psychologist; licensed school | 522 |
|
psychologist; speech pathologist or audiologist; coroner; | 523 |
|
administrator or employee of a child day-care center; | 524 |
|
administrator or
employee of a residential camp or child day camp; | 525 |
|
administrator or employee of a certified child care agency or | 526 |
|
other public or private children services agency; school
teacher; | 527 |
|
school employee; school authority; person engaged in
social work | 528 |
|
or the practice of professional counseling;
agent of a county | 529 |
|
humane society; or a
person rendering spiritual treatment through | 530 |
|
prayer in
accordance with the tenets of a well-recognized | 531 |
|
religion. | 532 |
| (2) An attorney or a physician is not required to make a | 533 |
|
report
pursuant
to division (A)(1) of this section concerning any | 534 |
|
communication
the attorney or physician
receives from a
client or | 535 |
|
patient in an attorney-client or physician-patient
relationship, | 536 |
|
if, in accordance with division (A) or (B)
of section
2317.02 of | 537 |
|
the Revised Code, the attorney or physician could not
testify with | 538 |
|
respect to that communication in a civil or criminal proceeding, | 539 |
|
except that the client or patient is deemed to have waived any | 540 |
|
testimonial
privilege under division (A) or (B) of section 2317.02 | 541 |
|
of the
Revised
Code with respect to that communication and the | 542 |
|
attorney or physician
shall
make a report pursuant to division | 543 |
|
(A)(1) of this section with
respect to that communication, if all | 544 |
|
of the following apply: | 545 |
| (b) The attorney or physician knows or suspects, as a result | 550 |
|
of the
communication or any observations made during that | 551 |
|
communication,
that the client or patient has suffered or faces a | 552 |
|
threat of suffering
any
physical or mental wound, injury, | 553 |
|
disability, or condition of a
nature that reasonably indicates | 554 |
|
abuse or neglect of the client or
patient. | 555 |
| (B) Anyone, who knows or suspects that a child under | 560 |
|
eighteen years of age or a mentally
retarded, developmentally | 561 |
|
disabled, or physically impaired person
under twenty-one years of | 562 |
|
age has suffered or faces a
threat of suffering any physical or | 563 |
|
mental wound, injury,
disability, or other condition of a nature | 564 |
|
that reasonably
indicates abuse or neglect of the child, may | 565 |
|
report or cause
reports to be made of that knowledge or suspicion | 566 |
|
to the public
children services agency or to a municipal
or
county | 567 |
|
peace officer. | 568 |
| (E) No township, municipal, or county peace officer shall | 597 |
|
remove a child
about whom a report is made pursuant to this | 598 |
|
section from the child's parents,
stepparents, or guardian or any | 599 |
|
other persons having custody of the child
without consultation | 600 |
|
with the
public children services agency, unless,
in
the judgment | 601 |
|
of the officer, and, if the
report was made by physician, the | 602 |
|
physician,
immediate removal is considered essential to protect | 603 |
|
the child
from further abuse or neglect.
The agency that
must be | 604 |
|
consulted shall be the agency conducting the
investigation of the | 605 |
|
report as determined pursuant to section
2151.422 of the Revised | 606 |
|
Code. | 607 |
| (F)(1) Except as
provided in section 2151.422 of the Revised | 608 |
|
Code, the public
children
services agency shall investigate, | 609 |
|
within twenty-four
hours, each
report of known or suspected child | 610 |
|
abuse or child neglect and of
a known or suspected threat of child | 611 |
|
abuse or child neglect that
is referred to it under this section | 612 |
|
to determine the
circumstances surrounding the injuries, abuse, or | 613 |
|
neglect or the
threat of injury, abuse, or neglect, the cause of | 614 |
|
the injuries,
abuse, neglect, or threat, and the person or persons | 615 |
|
responsible.
The investigation shall be made in cooperation with | 616 |
|
the law
enforcement agency and in accordance with the memorandum | 617 |
|
of understanding
prepared under
division (J) of this section. A | 618 |
|
failure to make the investigation in accordance with the | 619 |
|
memorandum is
not grounds for, and shall not result in,
the | 620 |
|
dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from the report or | 621 |
|
the suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of the
report | 622 |
|
and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving,
any | 623 |
|
rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to
any | 624 |
|
person. The public
children
services agency shall report each | 625 |
|
case to a central
registry which
the department of job and family | 626 |
|
services
shall maintain in order to
determine whether prior | 627 |
|
reports have been made in other counties
concerning the child or | 628 |
|
other principals in the case. The
public children services agency | 629 |
|
shall submit a report of its
investigation,
in writing, to the law | 630 |
|
enforcement agency. | 631 |
| (G)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (H)(3) of this | 636 |
|
section, anyone or any hospital, institution, school, health | 637 |
|
department, or agency participating in the making of reports
under | 638 |
|
division (A) of this section, anyone or any hospital,
institution, | 639 |
|
school, health department, or agency participating
in good faith | 640 |
|
in the making of reports under division (B) of this
section, and | 641 |
|
anyone participating in good faith in
a judicial
proceeding | 642 |
|
resulting from the reports, shall be immune
from any
civil or | 643 |
|
criminal liability for injury, death, or loss to
person
or | 644 |
|
property that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as
a
result | 645 |
|
of the making of the reports or the participation in the
judicial | 646 |
|
proceeding. | 647 |
| (2) In any civil or criminal action or proceeding in which | 654 |
|
it is alleged and proved that participation in the making of a | 655 |
|
report under this section was not in good faith or participation | 656 |
|
in a judicial proceeding resulting from a report made under this | 657 |
|
section was not in good faith, the court shall award the | 658 |
|
prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs and, if a | 659 |
|
civil action or proceeding is voluntarily dismissed, may award | 660 |
|
reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the party against whom
the | 661 |
|
civil action or proceeding is brought. | 662 |
| (H)(1) Except as provided in divisions (H)(4),
(M), and (N) | 663 |
|
of this
section, a report made under this section is confidential. | 664 |
|
The information provided in a report made pursuant to this
section | 665 |
|
and the name of the person who made the report shall not
be | 666 |
|
released for use, and shall not be used, as evidence in any
civil | 667 |
|
action or proceeding brought against the person who made
the | 668 |
|
report. In a criminal proceeding, the report is admissible
in | 669 |
|
evidence in accordance with the Rules of Evidence and is
subject | 670 |
|
to discovery in accordance with the Rules of Criminal
Procedure. | 671 |
| (4) If a report is made pursuant to division (A) or
(B) of | 680 |
|
this section and the child who is the subject of the report
dies | 681 |
|
for any reason at any time after the report is made, but before | 682 |
|
the child
attains eighteen years of age, the public
children | 683 |
|
services agency or municipal or county peace officer to which the | 684 |
|
report was made or referred, on the request of the child fatality | 685 |
|
review
board,
shall submit a summary sheet of information | 686 |
|
providing a summary of the
report to the review board of the | 687 |
|
county in which the deceased
child resided at the time of death. | 688 |
|
On the request of the review
board, the agency or peace officer | 689 |
|
may, at its discretion, make
the report available to the review | 690 |
|
board. | 691 |
| (I) Any report that is required by this section shall
result | 699 |
|
in protective services and emergency supportive services
being | 700 |
|
made available by the public children services
agency on behalf of | 701 |
|
the children about whom
the report is made, in an effort to | 702 |
|
prevent further neglect or
abuse, to enhance their welfare, and, | 703 |
|
whenever possible, to
preserve the family unit intact.
The agency | 704 |
|
required to provide the services shall be the agency conducting | 705 |
|
the investigation of the report pursuant to section 2151.422 of | 706 |
|
the Revised
Code. | 707 |
| (2) A memorandum of understanding shall set forth the normal | 728 |
|
operating procedure to be employed by
all concerned officials in | 729 |
|
the execution of their respective
responsibilities under this | 730 |
|
section and division (C) of section
2919.21, division (B)(1) of | 731 |
|
section 2919.22, division (B) of
section 2919.23, and section | 732 |
|
2919.24 of the Revised Code and
shall have as two of its primary | 733 |
|
goals the elimination of all
unnecessary interviews of children | 734 |
|
who are the subject of reports
made pursuant to division (A) or | 735 |
|
(B) of this section and, when
feasible, providing for only one | 736 |
|
interview of a child who is the
subject of any report made | 737 |
|
pursuant to division (A) or (B) of
this section. A failure to | 738 |
|
follow the procedure set forth in the
memorandum by
the concerned | 739 |
|
officials is not grounds for, and shall not result in, the | 740 |
|
dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from any reported | 741 |
|
case of abuse or neglect or the suppression of any evidence | 742 |
|
obtained as a result of any reported child abuse or child neglect | 743 |
|
and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving, any | 744 |
|
rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to any | 745 |
|
person. | 746 |
| (b) Standards and procedures to be used in handling and | 751 |
|
coordinating investigations of reported cases of child abuse and | 752 |
|
reported cases of child neglect, methods to be used in | 753 |
|
interviewing the child who is the subject of the report and who | 754 |
|
allegedly was abused or neglected, and standards and procedures | 755 |
|
addressing the categories of persons who may interview the child | 756 |
|
who is the subject of the report and who allegedly was abused or | 757 |
|
neglected. | 758 |
| When a municipal or county peace officer or employee of a | 780 |
|
public children services
agency
receives a report pursuant to | 781 |
|
division (A) or
(B) of this section the recipient of the report | 782 |
|
shall inform the person of the
right to request the
information | 783 |
|
described in division (K)(1) of this section. The recipient of | 784 |
|
the report shall include in the initial child abuse or child | 785 |
|
neglect
report that the person making the report was so informed | 786 |
|
and, if
provided at the time of the making of the report, shall | 787 |
|
include
the person's name, address, and telephone number in the | 788 |
|
report. | 789 |
| Each request is subject to verification of the identity of | 790 |
|
the person making
the
report. If that person's
identity is | 791 |
|
verified, the agency shall
provide the person with
the information | 792 |
|
described in division (K)(1) of this section
a reasonable number | 793 |
|
of times, except that the agency shall not disclose
any | 794 |
|
confidential information
regarding the child who is the subject of | 795 |
|
the report other than
the information described in those | 796 |
|
divisions. | 797 |
| (L) The director of job and
family services shall
adopt | 806 |
|
rules in accordance
with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to | 807 |
|
implement this section. The department of job and family services | 808 |
|
may
enter into a
plan of cooperation with
any other governmental | 809 |
|
entity to aid in ensuring that children
are protected from abuse | 810 |
|
and neglect. The department shall make
recommendations to the | 811 |
|
attorney general that the department
determines are necessary to | 812 |
|
protect children from child abuse and
child neglect. | 813 |
| (M) No later than the end of the day
following the day on | 814 |
|
which a public children services agency
receives a report of | 815 |
|
alleged child abuse or child
neglect, or a report of an alleged | 816 |
|
threat of child abuse or child
neglect, that allegedly occurred in | 817 |
|
or involved an out-of-home
care entity, the agency shall provide | 818 |
|
written notice
of the allegations contained in and the person | 819 |
|
named as the alleged
perpetrator in the report to the | 820 |
|
administrator, director, or other chief
administrative officer of | 821 |
|
the out-of-home care entity that is the
subject of the report | 822 |
|
unless the administrator, director, or
other chief administrative | 823 |
|
officer is named as an alleged
perpetrator in the report. If the | 824 |
|
administrator, director, or
other chief administrative officer of | 825 |
|
an out-of-home care entity
is named as an alleged perpetrator in a | 826 |
|
report of alleged child
abuse or child neglect, or a report of an | 827 |
|
alleged threat of child
abuse or child neglect, that allegedly | 828 |
|
occurred in or involved
the out-of-home care entity, the agency | 829 |
|
shall provide the written notice
to
the owner or governing board | 830 |
|
of the out-of-home care entity that
is the subject of the report. | 831 |
|
The agency
shall not provide
witness statements or police or other | 832 |
|
investigative reports. | 833 |
| (N) No later than three days after the day on
which a public | 834 |
|
children services agency that
conducted the investigation as | 835 |
|
determined pursuant to section 2151.422
of the Revised Code makes | 836 |
|
a
disposition of an investigation involving a report of alleged | 837 |
|
child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged threat of | 838 |
|
child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred in or | 839 |
|
involved an out-of-home care entity, the
agency
shall send written | 840 |
|
notice of the disposition of the
investigation to the | 841 |
|
administrator, director, or other chief
administrative officer and | 842 |
|
the owner or governing board of the
out-of-home care entity. The | 843 |
|
agency shall
not provide witness
statements or police or other | 844 |
|
investigative reports. | 845 |