To amend sections 3109.17, 3109.171, and 3109.18 of the Revised Code to permit a child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board to submit a local allocation plan to the Children's Trust Fund Board on an annual, biannual, or multiple year basis, to permit two or more child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory boards to partner with each other to develop a comprehensive local allocation plan and to submit that plan on an annual, biannual, or multiple year basis, and to permit the Children's Trust Fund Board to send funds allocated to a county family and children first council to the county or district children's trust fund in the county treasury or directly to the administrative agent of the county family and children first council.
SECTION 1. That sections 3109.17, 3109.171, and 3109.18 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 3109.17. (A) For each fiscal biennium, the children's trust fund board shall establish a biennial state plan for comprehensive child abuse and child neglect prevention. The plan shall be transmitted to the governor, the president and minority leader of the senate, and the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives and shall be made available to the general public. The board may define in the state plan the term "effective public notice." If the board does not define that term in the state plan, the board shall include in the state plan the definition of "effective public notice" specified in rules adopted by the department of job and family services.
(B) In developing and carrying out the state plan, the children's trust fund board shall, in accordance with rules adopted by the department pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, do all of the following:
(1) Ensure that an opportunity exists for assistance through child abuse and child neglect prevention programs to persons throughout the state of various social and economic backgrounds;
(2) Before the thirtieth day of October of each year, notify each child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board of the amount estimated to be allocated to that advisory board for the following fiscal year;
(3) Develop criteria for county or district local allocation plans, including criteria for determining the plans' effectiveness;
(4) Review, and approve or disapprove, county or district local allocation plans, as described in section 3109.171 of the Revised Code;
(5) Allocate funds to each child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board for the purpose of funding child abuse and child neglect prevention programs. In allocating funds to a county family and children first council that has been designated to serve as the child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board under division (A)(1) of section 3109.18 of the Revised Code, the children's trust fund board may send those funds to the county or district children's trust fund in the county treasury or directly to the administrative agent of the county family and children first council designated pursuant to division (B)(5)(a) of section 121.37 of the Revised Code. Funds shall be allocated among advisory boards according to a formula based on the ratio of the number of children under age eighteen in the county or multicounty district to the number of children under age eighteen in the state, as shown in the most recent federal decennial census of population. Subject to the availability of funds and except as provided in section 3109.171 of the Revised Code, each advisory board shall receive a minimum of ten thousand dollars per fiscal year. In the case of an advisory board that serves a multicounty district, the advisory board shall receive, subject to available funds and except as provided in section 3109.171 of the Revised Code, a minimum of ten thousand dollars per fiscal year for each county in the district. Funds shall be disbursed to the advisory boards twice annually. At least fifty per cent of the funds allocated to an advisory board for a fiscal year shall be disbursed to the advisory board not later than the thirtieth day of September. The remainder of the funds allocated to the advisory board for that fiscal year shall be disbursed before the thirty-first day of March.
The board shall specify the criteria child abuse and child
neglect prevention advisory boards are to use in reviewing
applications under division (F)(3)(G)(2) of section 3109.18 of the
Revised Code.
(6) Allocate funds to entities other than child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory boards for the purpose of funding child abuse and child neglect prevention programs that have statewide significance and that have been approved by the children's trust fund board;
(7) Provide for the monitoring of expenditures from the children's trust fund and of programs that receive money from the children's trust fund;
(8) Establish reporting requirements for advisory boards;
(9) Collaborate with appropriate persons and government entities and facilitate the exchange of information among those persons and entities for the purpose of child abuse and child neglect prevention;
(10) Provide for the education of the public and professionals for the purpose of child abuse and child neglect prevention;
(11) Create and provide to each advisory board a children's trust fund grant application form;
(12) Specify the information to be included in a semiannual
and an annual report completed by a children's advocacy center for
which a child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board
uses funds allocated to the advisory board under section 3109.172
of the Revised Code, and each other person or entity that is a
recipient of a children's trust fund grant under division
(K)(L)(1) of section 3109.18 of the Revised Code.
(C) The children's trust fund board shall prepare a report for each fiscal biennium that delineates the expenditure of money from the children's trust fund. On or before January 1, 2002, and on or before the first day of January of a year that follows the end of a fiscal biennium of this state, the board shall file a copy of the report with the governor, the president and minority leader of the senate, and the speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives.
(D) The children's trust fund board shall develop a list of all state and federal sources of funding that might be available for establishing, operating, or establishing and operating a children's advocacy center under sections 2151.425 to 2151.428 of the Revised Code. The board periodically shall update the list as necessary. The board shall maintain, or provide for the maintenance of, the list at an appropriate location. That location may be the offices of the department of job and family services. The board shall provide the list upon request to any children's advocacy center or to any person or entity identified in section 2151.426 of the Revised Code as a person or entity that may participate in the establishment of a children's advocacy center.
Sec. 3109.171. (A) On receipt of a local allocation plan or
a comprehensive local allocation plan from a child abuse and child
neglect prevention advisory board or a group of child abuse and
child neglect prevention advisory boards submitted pursuant to
division (F)(1) of section 3109.18 of the Revised Code, the
children's trust fund board may do either of the following:
(1) Approve the plan;
(2) Require that the advisory board or advisory boards make changes to the plan and submit an amended plan to the board.
(B) If an advisory board or a group of advisory boards fails
to submit to the children's trust fund board a local allocation
plan or a comprehensive local allocation plan pursuant to division
(F)(1) of section 3109.18 of the Revised Code that is postmarked
on or before the first day of April March preceding the fiscal
year or years for which the plan is developed, if an advisory
board or a group of advisory boards fails to submit an amended
plan pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, or if a plan or
an amended plan submitted by an advisory board or a group of
advisory boards is not approved by the children's trust fund
board, the children's trust fund board may do either of the
following for the fiscal year or years for which the plan was to
have been developed:
(1) Deny funding to the advisory board or group of advisory boards;
(2) Allocate a reduced amount of funds to the advisory board or group of advisory boards, on a pro-rata daily basis.
(C) If an advisory board fails to submit to the children's
trust fund board an annual report pursuant to division (K)(L)(2)
of section 3109.18 of the Revised Code not later than the
fifteenth day of August following the year for which the report is
written, the board, for the following fiscal year, may allocate a
reduced amount of funds to the advisory board on a pro-rata daily
basis.
Sec. 3109.18. (A)(1) A board of county commissioners may establish a child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board or may designate the county family and children first council to serve as the child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board. The boards of county commissioners of two or more contiguous counties may instead form a multicounty district to be served by a child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board or may designate a regional family and children first council to serve as the district child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board. Each advisory board shall meet at least twice a year.
(2) The county auditor is hereby designated as the auditor and fiscal officer of the advisory board. In the case of a multicounty district, the boards of county commissioners that formed the district shall designate the auditor of one of the counties as the auditor and fiscal officer of the advisory board.
(B) Each county that establishes an advisory board or, in a multicounty district, the auditor who has been designated as the auditor and fiscal officer of the advisory board, shall establish a fund in the county treasury known as the county or district children's trust fund. The auditor shall deposit all funds received from the children's trust fund board into that fund, and the auditor shall distribute money from the fund at the request of the advisory board.
(C) Each January, the board of county commissioners of a county that has established an advisory board or, in a multicounty district, the board of county commissioners of the county served by the auditor who has been designated as the auditor and fiscal officer for the advisory board, shall appropriate the amount described in division (B)(2) of section 3109.17 of the Revised Code for distribution by the advisory board to child abuse and child neglect prevention programs.
(D)(1) Except in the case of a county or regional family and children first council that is designated to serve as a child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board, each advisory board shall consist of an odd number of members from both the public and private sectors, including all of the following:
(a) A representative of an agency responsible for the administration of children's services in the county or district;
(b) A provider of alcohol or drug addiction services or a representative of a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services that serves the county or district;
(c) A provider of mental health services or a representative of a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services that serves the county or district;
(d) A representative of a county board of developmental disabilities that serves the county or district;
(e) A representative of the educational community appointed by the superintendent of the school district with largest enrollment in the county or multicounty district.
(2) The following groups and entities may be represented on the advisory board:
(a) Parent groups;
(b) Juvenile justice officials;
(c) Pediatricians, health department nurses, and other representatives of the medical community;
(d) School personnel;
(e) Counselors and social workers;
(f) Head start agencies;
(g) Child care providers;
(h) Other persons with demonstrated knowledge in programs for children.
(3) Of the members first appointed, at least one shall serve for a term of three years, at least one for a term of two years, and at least one for a term of one year. Thereafter, each member shall serve a term of three years. Each member shall serve until the member's successor is appointed. All vacancies on the board shall be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.
(E) Each child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board may incur reasonable costs not to exceed five per cent of the funds allocated to the county or district under section 3109.17 of the Revised Code, for the purpose of carrying out the functions of the advisory board.
(F)(1) Except as provided in division (F)(2) of this section, each child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board shall develop a local allocation plan for the purpose of preventing child abuse and child neglect and submit the plan on an annual, biannual, or multiple year basis as determined by the children's trust fund board. The board shall submit the local allocation plan to the children's trust fund board on or before the first day of March preceding the fiscal years for which the plan is developed.
(2) Two or more child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory boards may, with the approval of the children's trust fund board, partner with each other to develop a comprehensive local allocation plan for the purpose of preventing child abuse and child neglect. The advisory boards shall submit the comprehensive local allocation plan on an annual, biannual, or multiple year basis as determined by the children's trust fund board and shall submit the comprehensive local allocation plan to the children's trust fund board on or before the first day of March preceding the fiscal year or years for which the plan is developed.
(G) Each child abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board shall do all of the following:
(1) For each fiscal biennium, develop a local allocation plan
for the purpose of preventing child abuse and child neglect and
submit the plan to the children's trust fund board on or before
the first day of April preceding the fiscal year for which the
plan is developed;
(2) Provide effective public notice, as defined by the
children's trust fund board in the state plan or, if the board
does not define the term in the state plan, as defined in rules
adopted by the department of job and family services, to potential
applicants about the availability of funds from the children's
trust fund, including an estimate of the amount of money available
for grants within each county or district, the date of at least
one public hearing, information on obtaining a copy of the grant
application form, and the deadline for submitting grant
applications;
(3)(2) Review all applications received using criteria
specified in the state plan adopted by the board under section
3109.17 of the Revised Code;
(4)(3) Consistent with the local allocation plan or
comprehensive local allocation plan developed pursuant to division
(F)(1) of this section, make grants to child abuse and child
neglect prevention programs.;
(5)(4) Establish any reporting requirements for grant
recipients, in addition to those specified by the children's trust
fund board, and for children's advocacy centers for which funds
are used in accordance with section 3109.172 of the Revised Code.
(G)(H) A member of a child abuse and child neglect prevention
advisory board shall not participate in the development of a local
allocation plan or a comprehensive local allocation plan under
division (F)(1) of this section if it is reasonable to expect that
the member's judgment could be affected by the member's own
financial, business, property, or personal interest or other
conflict of interest. For purposes of this division, "conflict of
interest" means the taking of any action that violates any
applicable provision of Chapter 102. or 2921. of the Revised Code.
Questions relating to the existence of a conflict of interest
pertaining to Chapter 2921. of the Revised Code shall be submitted
by the advisory board to the local prosecuting attorney for
resolution. Questions relating to the existence of a conflict of
interest pertaining to Chapter 102. of the Revised Code shall be
submitted by the advisory board to the Ohio ethics commission for
resolution.
(H)(I) Each advisory board shall assist the children's trust
fund board in monitoring programs that receive money from the
children's trust fund and shall perform such other duties for the
local administration of the children's trust fund as the
children's trust fund board requires.
(I)(J) A children's advocacy center for which a child abuse
and child neglect prevention advisory board uses any amount out of
the funds allocated to the advisory board under section 3109.172
of the Revised Code, as start-up costs for the establishment and
operation of the center, shall use the moneys so received only for
establishment and operation of the center in accordance with
sections 2151.425 to 2151.428 of the Revised Code. Any other
person or entity that is a recipient of a grant from the
children's trust fund shall use the grant funds only to fund
primary and secondary child abuse and child neglect prevention
programs. Any grant funds that are not spent by the recipient of
the funds within the time specified by the terms of the grant
shall be returned to the county treasurer. Any grant funds
returned that are not redistributed by the advisory board within
the state fiscal year in which they are received shall be returned
to the treasurer of state. The treasurer of state shall deposit
such unspent moneys into the children's trust fund to be spent for
purposes consistent with the state plan adopted under section
3109.17 of the Revised Code.
(J)(K) Applications for grants from the children's trust fund
shall be made to the advisory board on forms prescribed by the
children's trust fund board.
(K)(L)(1) Each children's advocacy center for which a child
abuse and child neglect prevention advisory board uses any amount
out of the funds allocated to the advisory board under section
3109.172 of the Revised Code, as start-up costs for the
establishment and operation of the center, and each other person
or entity that is a recipient of a children's trust fund grant
from an advisory board shall file with the advisory board a copy
of a semi-annual and an annual report that includes the
information required by the children's trust fund board.
(2) Each advisory board shall file with the children's trust fund board, not later than the fifteenth day of August following the year for which the report is written, a copy of an annual report regarding the county or district local allocation plan that contains the information required by the children's trust fund board, and regarding the advisory board's use of any amount out of the funds allocated to the advisory board under section 3109.172 of the Revised Code as start-up costs for the establishment and operation of a children's advocacy center.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 3109.17, 3109.171, and 3109.18 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.