130th Ohio General Assembly
The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.

(126th General Assembly)
(Amended Substitute Senate Bill Number 238)



AN ACT
To amend sections 109.57, 109.572, 109.60, 1347.08, 1717.14, 2101.11, 2151.011, 2151.23, 2151.281, 2151.353, 2151.39, 2151.416, 2151.421, 3107.011, 3107.014, 3107.015, 3107.016, 3107.02, 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.10, 3107.12, 3107.14, 3107.17, 3107.66, 3109.16, 3109.17, 3313.64, 5101.141, 5101.29, 5101.35, 5101.72, 5101.99, 5103.03, 5103.031, 5103.033, 5103.034, 5103.035, 5103.036, 5103.038, 5103.039, 5103.0311, 5103.0312, 5103.0313, 5103.0315, 5103.07, 5103.13, 5103.131, 5103.16, 5104.01, 5104.11, 5104.31, 5153.01, 5153.111, 5153.122, 5153.16, 5153.17, 5153.20, 5153.60, 5153.61, 5153.62, 5153.63, 5153.64, 5153.65, 5153.66, 5153.67, 5153.70, 5153.71, 5153.72, 5153.73, 5153.74, 5153.75, 5153.76, 5153.77, and 5153.78; to amend, for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses, sections 3107.032 (3107.033), 3107.10 (3107.055), 5153.60 (5103.30), 5153.61 (5103.35), 5153.62 (5103.36), 5153.63 (5103.362), 5153.64 (5103.363), 5153.65 (5103.37), 5153.66 (5103.39), 5153.67 (5103.391), 5153.70 (5103.38), 5153.71 (5103.41), 5153.72 (5103.42), 5153.73 (5103.421), 5153.74 (5103.422), 5153.75 (5153.125), 5153.76 (5153.126), 5153.77 (5153.127), and 5153.78 (5103.32); to enact new sections 3107.032, 3107.10, 5103.20, 5103.21, and 5103.22 and sections 2151.423, 3107.034, 3107.101, 5101.13, 5101.131, 5101.132, 5101.133, 5101.134, 5103.162, 5103.18, 5103.301, 5103.302, 5103.303, 5103.31, 5103.33, 5103.34, 5103.361, 5103.40, 5153.123, 5153.124, and 5153.166; and to repeal sections 5103.037, 5103.20, 5103.21, 5103.22, 5103.23, 5103.24, 5103.25, 5103.26, 5103.27, 5103.28, 5153.68, and 5153.69 of the Revised Code to revise the law governing child welfare and other laws regarding the Department of Job and Family Services.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:

SECTION 1. That sections 109.57, 109.572, 109.60, 1347.08, 1717.14, 2101.11, 2151.011, 2151.23, 2151.281, 2151.353, 2151.39, 2151.416, 2151.421, 3107.011, 3107.014, 3107.015, 3107.016, 3107.02, 3107.31, 3107.032, 3107.10, 3107.12, 3107.14, 3107.17, 3307.66, 3109.16, 3109.17, 3313.64, 5101.141, 5101.29, 5101.35, 5101.72, 5101.99, 5103.03, 5103.031, 5103.033, 5103.034, 5103.035, 5103.036, 5103.038, 5103.039, 5103.0311, 5103.0312, 5103.0313, 5103.0315, 5103.07, 5103.13, 5103.131, 5103.16, 5104.01, 5104.11, 5104.31, 5153.01, 5153.111, 5153.122, 5153.16, 5153.17, 5153.20, 5153.60, 5153.61, 5153.62, 5153.63, 5153.64, 5153.65, 5153.66, 5153.67, 5153.70, 5153.71, 5153.72, 5153.73, 5153.74, 5153.75, 5153.76, 5153.77, and 5153.78 be amended; sections 3107.032 (3107.033), 3107.10 (3107.055), 5153.60 (5103.30), 5153.61 (5103.35), 5153.62 (5103.36), 5153.63 (5103.362), 5153.64 (5103.363), 5153.65 (5103.37), 5153.66 (5103.39), 5153.67 (5103.391), 5153.70 (5103.38), 5153.71 (5103.41), 5153.72 (5103.42), 5153.73 (5103.421), 5153.74 (5103.422), 5153.75 (5153.125), 5153.76 (5153.126), 5153.77 (5153.127), and 5153.78 (5103.32) be amended for the purpose of adopting new section numbers as indicated in parentheses; and new sections 3107.032, 3107.10, 5103.20, 5103.21, and 5103.22 and sections 2151.423, 3107.034, 3107.101, 5101.13, 5101.131, 5101.132, 5101.133, 5101.134, 5103.162, 5103.18, 5103.301, 5103.302, 5103.303, 5103.31, 5103.33, 5103.34, 5103.361, 5103.40, 5153.123, 5153.124, and 5153.166 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 109.57.  (A)(1) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall procure from wherever procurable and file for record photographs, pictures, descriptions, fingerprints, measurements, and other information that may be pertinent of all persons who have been convicted of committing within this state a felony, any crime constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, or any misdemeanor described in division (A)(1)(a) or (A)(10)(a) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, of all children under eighteen years of age who have been adjudicated delinquent children for committing within this state an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult or who have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to committing within this state a felony or an offense of violence, and of all well-known and habitual criminals. The person in charge of any county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution and the person in charge of any state institution having custody of a person suspected of having committed a felony, any crime constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, or any misdemeanor described in division (A)(1)(a) or (A)(10)(a) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code or having custody of a child under eighteen years of age with respect to whom there is probable cause to believe that the child may have committed an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult shall furnish such material to the superintendent of the bureau. Fingerprints, photographs, or other descriptive information of a child who is under eighteen years of age, has not been arrested or otherwise taken into custody for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, has not been adjudicated a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, has not been convicted of or pleaded guilty to committing a felony or an offense of violence, and is not a child with respect to whom there is probable cause to believe that the child may have committed an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult shall not be procured by the superintendent or furnished by any person in charge of any county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution, except as authorized in section 2151.313 of the Revised Code.

(2) Every clerk of a court of record in this state, other than the supreme court or a court of appeals, shall send to the superintendent of the bureau a weekly report containing a summary of each case involving a felony, involving any crime constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, involving a misdemeanor described in division (A)(1)(a) or (A)(10)(a) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, or involving an adjudication in a case in which a child under eighteen years of age was alleged to be a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult. The clerk of the court of common pleas shall include in the report and summary the clerk sends under this division all information described in divisions (A)(2)(a) to (f) of this section regarding a case before the court of appeals that is served by that clerk. The summary shall be written on the standard forms furnished by the superintendent pursuant to division (B) of this section and shall include the following information:

(a) The incident tracking number contained on the standard forms furnished by the superintendent pursuant to division (B) of this section;

(b) The style and number of the case;

(c) The date of arrest;

(d) The date that the person was convicted of or pleaded guilty to the offense, adjudicated a delinquent child for committing the act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, found not guilty of the offense, or found not to be a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, the date of an entry dismissing the charge, an entry declaring a mistrial of the offense in which the person is discharged, an entry finding that the person or child is not competent to stand trial, or an entry of a nolle prosequi, or the date of any other determination that constitutes final resolution of the case;

(e) A statement of the original charge with the section of the Revised Code that was alleged to be violated;

(f) If the person or child was convicted, pleaded guilty, or was adjudicated a delinquent child, the sentence or terms of probation imposed or any other disposition of the offender or the delinquent child.

If the offense involved the disarming of a law enforcement officer or an attempt to disarm a law enforcement officer, the clerk shall clearly state that fact in the summary, and the superintendent shall ensure that a clear statement of that fact is placed in the bureau's records.

(3) The superintendent shall cooperate with and assist sheriffs, chiefs of police, and other law enforcement officers in the establishment of a complete system of criminal identification and in obtaining fingerprints and other means of identification of all persons arrested on a charge of a felony, any crime constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, or a misdemeanor described in division (A)(1)(a) or (A)(10)(a) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code and of all children under eighteen years of age arrested or otherwise taken into custody for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult. The superintendent also shall file for record the fingerprint impressions of all persons confined in a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution for the violation of state laws and of all children under eighteen years of age who are confined in a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution or in any facility for delinquent children for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, and any other information that the superintendent may receive from law enforcement officials of the state and its political subdivisions.

(4) The superintendent shall carry out Chapter 2950. of the Revised Code with respect to the registration of persons who are convicted of or plead guilty to either a sexually oriented offense that is not a registration-exempt sexually oriented offense or a child-victim oriented offense and with respect to all other duties imposed on the bureau under that chapter.

(5) The bureau shall perform centralized recordkeeping functions for criminal history records and services in this state for purposes of the national crime prevention and privacy compact set forth in section 109.571 of the Revised Code and is the criminal history record repository as defined in that section for purposes of that compact. The superintendent or the superintendent's designee is the compact officer for purposes of that compact and shall carry out the responsibilities of the compact officer specified in that compact.

(B) The superintendent shall prepare and furnish to every county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution and to every clerk of a court in this state specified in division (A)(2) of this section standard forms for reporting the information required under division (A) of this section. The standard forms that the superintendent prepares pursuant to this division may be in a tangible format, in an electronic format, or in both tangible formats and electronic formats.

(C) The superintendent may operate a center for electronic, automated, or other data processing for the storage and retrieval of information, data, and statistics pertaining to criminals and to children under eighteen years of age who are adjudicated delinquent children for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, criminal activity, crime prevention, law enforcement, and criminal justice, and may establish and operate a statewide communications network to gather and disseminate information, data, and statistics for the use of law enforcement agencies. The superintendent may gather, store, retrieve, and disseminate information, data, and statistics that pertain to children who are under eighteen years of age and that are gathered pursuant to sections 109.57 to 109.61 of the Revised Code together with information, data, and statistics that pertain to adults and that are gathered pursuant to those sections. In addition to any other authorized use of information, data, and statistics of that nature, the superintendent or the superintendent's designee may provide and exchange the information, data, and statistics pursuant to the national crime prevention and privacy compact as described in division (A)(5) of this section.

(D) The information and materials furnished to the superintendent pursuant to division (A) of this section and information and materials furnished to any board or person under division (F) or (G) of this section are not public records under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(E) The attorney general shall adopt rules, in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, setting forth the procedure by which a person may receive or release information gathered by the superintendent pursuant to division (A) of this section. A reasonable fee may be charged for this service. If a temporary employment service submits a request for a determination of whether a person the service plans to refer to an employment position has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to an offense listed in division (A)(1), (3), (4), (5), or (6) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, the request shall be treated as a single request and only one fee shall be charged.

(F)(1) As used in division (F)(2) of this section, "head start agency" means an entity in this state that has been approved to be an agency for purposes of subchapter II of the "Community Economic Development Act," 95 Stat. 489 (1981), 42 U.S.C.A. 9831, as amended.

(2)(a) In addition to or in conjunction with any request that is required to be made under section 109.572, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code, the board of education of any school district; the director of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; any county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; any entity under contract with a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; the chief administrator of any chartered nonpublic school; the chief administrator of any home health agency; the chief administrator of or person operating any child day-care center, type A family day-care home, or type B family day-care home licensed or certified under Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code; the administrator of any type C family day-care home certified pursuant to Section 1 of Sub. H.B. 62 of the 121st general assembly or Section 5 of Am. Sub. S.B. 160 of the 121st general assembly; the chief administrator of any head start agency; or the executive director of a public children services agency may request that the superintendent of the bureau investigate and determine, with respect to any individual who has applied for employment in any position after October 2, 1989, or any individual wishing to apply for employment with a board of education may request, with regard to the individual, whether the bureau has any information gathered under division (A) of this section that pertains to that individual. On receipt of the request, the superintendent shall determine whether that information exists and, upon request of the person, board, or entity requesting information, also shall request from the federal bureau of investigation any criminal records it has pertaining to that individual. The superintendent or the superintendent's designee also may request criminal history records from other states or the federal government pursuant to the national crime prevention and privacy compact set forth in section 109.571 of the Revised Code. Within thirty days of the date that the superintendent receives a request, the superintendent shall send to the board, entity, or person a report of any information that the superintendent determines exists, including information contained in records that have been sealed under section 2953.32 of the Revised Code, and, within thirty days of its receipt, shall send the board, entity, or person a report of any information received from the federal bureau of investigation, other than information the dissemination of which is prohibited by federal law.

(b) When a board of education is required to receive information under this section as a prerequisite to employment of an individual pursuant to section 3319.39 of the Revised Code, it may accept a certified copy of records that were issued by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and that are presented by an individual applying for employment with the district in lieu of requesting that information itself. In such a case, the board shall accept the certified copy issued by the bureau in order to make a photocopy of it for that individual's employment application documents and shall return the certified copy to the individual. In a case of that nature, a district only shall accept a certified copy of records of that nature within one year after the date of their issuance by the bureau.

(3) The state board of education may request, with respect to any individual who has applied for employment after October 2, 1989, in any position with the state board or the department of education, any information that a school district board of education is authorized to request under division (F)(2) of this section, and the superintendent of the bureau shall proceed as if the request has been received from a school district board of education under division (F)(2) of this section.

(4) When the superintendent of the bureau receives a request for information under section 3319.291 of the Revised Code, the superintendent shall proceed as if the request has been received from a school district board of education under division (F)(2) of this section.

(5) When a recipient of a classroom reading improvement grant paid under section 3301.86 of the Revised Code requests, with respect to any individual who applies to participate in providing any program or service funded in whole or in part by the grant, the information that a school district board of education is authorized to request under division (F)(2)(a) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau shall proceed as if the request has been received from a school district board of education under division (F)(2)(a) of this section.

(G) In addition to or in conjunction with any request that is required to be made under section 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, or 3722.151 of the Revised Code with respect to an individual who has applied for employment in a position that involves providing direct care to an older adult, the chief administrator of a home health agency, hospice care program, home licensed under Chapter 3721. of the Revised Code, adult day-care program operated pursuant to rules adopted under section 3721.04 of the Revised Code, or adult care facility may request that the superintendent of the bureau investigate and determine, with respect to any individual who has applied after January 27, 1997, for employment in a position that does not involve providing direct care to an older adult, whether the bureau has any information gathered under division (A) of this section that pertains to that individual.

In addition to or in conjunction with any request that is required to be made under section 173.27 of the Revised Code with respect to an individual who has applied for employment in a position that involves providing ombudsperson services to residents of long-term care facilities or recipients of community-based long-term care services, the state long-term care ombudsperson, ombudsperson's designee, or director of health may request that the superintendent investigate and determine, with respect to any individual who has applied for employment in a position that does not involve providing such ombudsperson services, whether the bureau has any information gathered under division (A) of this section that pertains to that applicant.

In addition to or in conjunction with any request that is required to be made under section 173.394 of the Revised Code with respect to an individual who has applied for employment in a position that involves providing direct care to an individual, the chief administrator of a community-based long-term care agency may request that the superintendent investigate and determine, with respect to any individual who has applied for employment in a position that does not involve providing direct care, whether the bureau has any information gathered under division (A) of this section that pertains to that applicant.

On receipt of a request under this division, the superintendent shall determine whether that information exists and, on request of the individual requesting information, shall also request from the federal bureau of investigation any criminal records it has pertaining to the applicant. The superintendent or the superintendent's designee also may request criminal history records from other states or the federal government pursuant to the national crime prevention and privacy compact set forth in section 109.571 of the Revised Code. Within thirty days of the date a request is received, the superintendent shall send to the requester a report of any information determined to exist, including information contained in records that have been sealed under section 2953.32 of the Revised Code, and, within thirty days of its receipt, shall send the requester a report of any information received from the federal bureau of investigation, other than information the dissemination of which is prohibited by federal law.

(H) Information obtained by a government entity or person under this section is confidential and shall not be released or disseminated.

(I) The superintendent may charge a reasonable fee for providing information or criminal records under division (F)(2) or (G) of this section.

Sec. 109.572. (A)(1) Upon receipt of a request pursuant to section 121.08, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 5104.012, or 5104.013, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code, felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code that would have been a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, had the violation been committed prior to that date, or a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is not a minor drug possession offense;

(b) A violation of an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(1)(a) of this section.

(2) On receipt of a request pursuant to section 5123.081 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment in any position with the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, pursuant to section 5126.28 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment in any position with a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or pursuant to section 5126.281 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment in a direct services position with an entity contracting with a county board for employment, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check. The superintendent shall conduct the criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2903.341, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.04, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.12, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code;

(b) An existing or former municipal ordinance or law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(2)(a) of this section.

(3) On receipt of a request pursuant to section 173.27, 173.394, 3712.09, 3721.121, or 3722.151 of the Revised Code, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check with respect to any person who has applied for employment in a position for which a criminal records check is required by those sections. The superintendent shall conduct the criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.11, 2905.12, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.12, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2911.13, 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.40, 2913.43, 2913.47, 2913.51, 2919.25, 2921.36, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.11, 2925.13, 2925.22, 2925.23, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code;

(b) An existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(3)(a) of this section.

(4) On receipt of a request pursuant to section 3701.881 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment with a home health agency as a person responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check. The superintendent shall conduct the criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.04, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.12, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code or a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is not a minor drug possession offense;

(b) An existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(4)(a) of this section.

(5) On receipt of a request pursuant to section 5111.95 or 5111.96 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment with a waiver agency participating in a department of job and family services administered home and community-based waiver program or an independent provider participating in a department administered home and community-based waiver program in a position that involves providing home and community-based waiver services to consumers with disabilities, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check. The superintendent shall conduct the criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.041, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.05, 2905.11, 2905.12, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2911.13, 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.40, 2913.43, 2913.47, 2913.51, 2919.12, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2921.36, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, 2925.11, 2925.13, 2925.22, 2925.23, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code, felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code that would have been a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, had the violation been committed prior to that date;

(b) An existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(5)(a) of this section.

(6) On receipt of a request pursuant to section 3701.881 of the Revised Code with respect to an applicant for employment with a home health agency in a position that involves providing direct care to an older adult, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check. The superintendent shall conduct the criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.11, 2905.12, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.12, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2911.13, 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.40, 2913.43, 2913.47, 2913.51, 2919.25, 2921.36, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.11, 2925.13, 2925.22, 2925.23, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code;

(b) An existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(6)(a) of this section.

(7) When conducting a criminal records check upon a request pursuant to section 3319.39 of the Revised Code for an applicant who is a teacher, in addition to the determination made under division (A)(1) of this section, the superintendent shall determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense specified in section 3319.31 of the Revised Code.

(8) On a request pursuant to section 2151.86 of the Revised Code, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2909.02, 2909.03, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code that would have been a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, had the violation been committed prior to that date, a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is not a minor drug possession offense, or felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code;

(b) A violation of an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(8)(a) of this section.

(9) When conducting a criminal records check on a request pursuant to section 5104.013 of the Revised Code for a person who is an owner, licensee, or administrator of a child day-care center or type A family day-care home or, an authorized provider of a certified type B family day-care home, or an adult residing in a type A or certified type B home, or when conducting a criminal records check or a request pursuant to section 5104.012 of the Revised Code for a person who is an applicant for employment in a center, type A home, or certified type B home, the superintendent, in addition to the determination made under division (A)(1) of this section, shall determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2913.02, 2913.03, 2913.04, 2913.041, 2913.05, 2913.06, 2913.11, 2913.21, 2913.31, 2913.32, 2913.33, 2913.34, 2913.40, 2913.41, 2913.42, 2913.43, 2913.44, 2913.441, 2913.45, 2913.46, 2913.47, 2913.48, 2913.49, 2921.11, 2921.13, or 2923.01 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2923.02 or 2923.03 of the Revised Code that relates to a crime specified in this division or division (A)(1)(a) of this section, or a second violation of section 4511.19 of the Revised Code within five years of the date of application for licensure or certification.

(b) A violation of an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses or violations described in division (A)(9)(a) of this section.

(10) Upon receipt of a request pursuant to section 5153.111 of the Revised Code, a completed form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of this section, and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in the manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists that indicates that the person who is the subject of the request previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2909.02, 2909.03, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code, felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code that would have been a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, had the violation been committed prior to that date, or a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is not a minor drug possession offense;

(b) A violation of an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses listed in division (A)(10)(a) of this section.

(11) On receipt of a request for a criminal records check from an individual pursuant to section 4749.03 or 4749.06 of the Revised Code, accompanied by a completed copy of the form prescribed in division (C)(1) of this section and a set of fingerprint impressions obtained in a manner described in division (C)(2) of this section, the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall conduct a criminal records check in the manner described in division (B) of this section to determine whether any information exists indicating that the person who is the subject of the request has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a felony in this state or in any other state. If the individual indicates that a firearm will be carried in the course of business, the superintendent shall require information from the federal bureau of investigation as described in division (B)(2) of this section. The superintendent shall report the findings of the criminal records check and any information the federal bureau of investigation provides to the director of public safety.

(11)(12) Not later than thirty days after the date the superintendent receives the request, completed form, and fingerprint impressions, the superintendent shall send the person, board, or entity that made the request any information, other than information the dissemination of which is prohibited by federal law, the superintendent determines exists with respect to the person who is the subject of the request that indicates that the person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense listed or described in division (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), or (10), or (11) of this section, as appropriate. The superintendent shall send the person, board, or entity that made the request a copy of the list of offenses specified in division (A)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), or (10), or (11) of this section, as appropriate. If the request was made under section 3701.881 of the Revised Code with regard to an applicant who may be both responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child and involved in providing direct care to an older adult, the superintendent shall provide a list of the offenses specified in divisions (A)(4) and (6) of this section.

(B) The superintendent shall conduct any criminal records check requested under section 121.08, 173.27, 173.394, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, 3722.151, 4749.03, 4749.06, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5111.95, 5111.96, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code as follows:

(1) The superintendent shall review or cause to be reviewed any relevant information gathered and compiled by the bureau under division (A) of section 109.57 of the Revised Code that relates to the person who is the subject of the request, including any relevant information contained in records that have been sealed under section 2953.32 of the Revised Code;

(2) If the request received by the superintendent asks for information from the federal bureau of investigation, the superintendent shall request from the federal bureau of investigation any information it has with respect to the person who is the subject of the request and shall review or cause to be reviewed any information the superintendent receives from that bureau.

(3) The superintendent or the superintendent's designee may request criminal history records from other states or the federal government pursuant to the national crime prevention and privacy compact set forth in section 109.571 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) The superintendent shall prescribe a form to obtain the information necessary to conduct a criminal records check from any person for whom a criminal records check is required by section 121.08, 173.27, 173.394, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, 3722.151, 4749.03, 4749.06, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5111.95, 5111.96, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code. The form that the superintendent prescribes pursuant to this division may be in a tangible format, in an electronic format, or in both tangible and electronic formats.

(2) The superintendent shall prescribe standard impression sheets to obtain the fingerprint impressions of any person for whom a criminal records check is required by section 121.08, 173.27, 173.394, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, 3722.151, 4749.03, 4749.06, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5111.95, 5111.96, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code. Any person for whom a records check is required by any of those sections shall obtain the fingerprint impressions at a county sheriff's office, municipal police department, or any other entity with the ability to make fingerprint impressions on the standard impression sheets prescribed by the superintendent. The office, department, or entity may charge the person a reasonable fee for making the impressions. The standard impression sheets the superintendent prescribes pursuant to this division may be in a tangible format, in an electronic format, or in both tangible and electronic formats.

(3) Subject to division (D) of this section, the superintendent shall prescribe and charge a reasonable fee for providing a criminal records check requested under section 121.08, 173.27, 173.394, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, 3722.151, 4749.03, 4749.06, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5111.95, 5111.96, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code. The person making a criminal records request under section 121.08, 173.27, 173.394, 2151.86, 3301.32, 3301.541, 3319.39, 3701.881, 3712.09, 3721.121, 3722.151, 4749.03, 4749.06, 5104.012, 5104.013, 5111.95, 5111.96, 5123.081, 5126.28, 5126.281, or 5153.111 of the Revised Code shall pay the fee prescribed pursuant to this division. A person making a request under section 3701.881 of the Revised Code for a criminal records check for an applicant who may be both responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child and involved in providing direct care to an older adult shall pay one fee for the request.

(4) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation may prescribe methods of forwarding fingerprint impressions and information necessary to conduct a criminal records check, which methods shall include, but not be limited to, an electronic method.

(D) A determination whether any information exists that indicates that a person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any offense listed or described in division (A)(1)(a) or (b), (A)(2)(a) or (b), (A)(3)(a) or (b), (A)(4)(a) or (b), (A)(5)(a) or (b), (A)(6), (A)(7)(a) or (b), (A)(8)(a) or (b), or (A)(9)(a) or (b), or (A)(10)(a) or (b) of this section that is made by the superintendent with respect to information considered in a criminal records check in accordance with this section is valid for the person who is the subject of the criminal records check for a period of one year from the date upon which the superintendent makes the determination. During the period in which the determination in regard to a person is valid, if another request under this section is made for a criminal records check for that person, the superintendent shall provide the information that is the basis for the superintendent's initial determination at a lower fee than the fee prescribed for the initial criminal records check.

(E) As used in this section:

(1) "Criminal records check" means any criminal records check conducted by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with division (B) of this section.

(2) "Home and community-based waiver services" and "waiver agency" have the same meanings as in section 5111.95 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Independent provider" has the same meaning as in section 5111.96 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Minor drug possession offense" has the same meaning as in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Older adult" means a person age sixty or older.

Sec. 109.60.  (A)(1) The sheriffs of the several counties and the chiefs of police of cities, immediately upon the arrest of any person for any felony, on suspicion of any felony, for a crime constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, or for any misdemeanor described in division (A)(1)(a) or (A)(10)(a) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, and immediately upon the arrest or taking into custody of any child under eighteen years of age for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult or upon probable cause to believe that a child of that age may have committed an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, shall take the person's or child's fingerprints, or cause the same to be taken, according to the fingerprint system of identification on the forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, and immediately shall forward copies of the completed forms, any other description that may be required, and the history of the offense committed to the bureau to be classified and filed and to the clerk of the court having jurisdiction over the prosecution of the offense or over the adjudication relative to the act.

(2) If a sheriff or chief of police has not taken, or caused to be taken, a person's or child's fingerprints in accordance with division (A)(1) of this section by the time of the arraignment or first appearance of the person or child, the court shall order the person or child to appear before the sheriff or chief of police within twenty-four hours to have the person's or child's fingerprints taken. The sheriff or chief of police shall take the person's or child's fingerprints, or cause the fingerprints to be taken, according to the fingerprint system of identification on the forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and, immediately after the person's or child's arraignment or first appearance, forward copies of the completed forms, any other description that may be required, and the history of the offense committed to the bureau to be classified and filed and to the clerk of the court.

(3) Every court with jurisdiction over a case involving a person or child with respect to whom division (A)(1) of this section requires a sheriff or chief of police to take the person's or child's fingerprints shall inquire at the time of the person's or child's sentencing or adjudication whether or not the person or child has been fingerprinted pursuant to division (A)(1) or (2) of this section for the original arrest upon which the sentence or adjudication is based. If the person or child was not fingerprinted for the original arrest upon which the sentence or adjudication is based, the court shall order the person or child to appear before the sheriff or chief of police within twenty-four hours to have the person's or child's fingerprints taken. The sheriff or chief of police shall take the person's or child's fingerprints, or cause the fingerprints to be taken, according to the fingerprint system of identification on the forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and immediately forward copies of the completed forms, any other description that may be required, and the history of the offense committed to the bureau to be classified and filed and to the clerk of the court.

(4) If a person or child is in the custody of a law enforcement agency or a detention facility, as defined in section 2921.01 of the Revised Code, and the chief law enforcement officer or chief administrative officer of the detention facility discovers that a warrant has been issued or a bill of information has been filed alleging the person or child to have committed an offense or act other than the offense or act for which the person or child is in custody, and the other alleged offense or act is one for which fingerprints are to be taken pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section, the law enforcement agency or detention facility shall take the fingerprints of the person or child, or cause the fingerprints to be taken, according to the fingerprint system of identification on the forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and immediately forward copies of the completed forms, any other description that may be required, and the history of the offense committed to the bureau to be classified and filed and to the clerk of the court that issued the warrant or with which the bill of information was filed.

(5) If an accused is found not guilty of the offense charged or a nolle prosequi is entered in any case, or if any accused child under eighteen years of age is found not to be a delinquent child for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult or not guilty of the felony or offense of violence charged or a nolle prosequi is entered in that case, the fingerprints and description shall be given to the accused upon the accused's request.

(6) The superintendent shall compare the description received with those already on file in the bureau, and, if the superintendent finds that the person arrested or taken into custody has a criminal record or a record as a delinquent child for having committed an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult or is a fugitive from justice or wanted by any jurisdiction in this or another state, the United States, or a foreign country for any offense, the superintendent at once shall inform the arresting officer, the officer taking the person into custody, or the chief administrative officer of the county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, community-based correctional facility, halfway house, alternative residential facility, or state correctional institution in which the person or child is in custody of that fact and give appropriate notice to the proper authorities in the jurisdiction in which the person is wanted, or, if that jurisdiction is a foreign country, give appropriate notice to federal authorities for transmission to the foreign country. The names, under which each person whose identification is filed is known, shall be alphabetically indexed by the superintendent.

(B) Division (A) of this section does not apply to a violator of a city ordinance unless the officers have reason to believe that the violator is a past offender or the crime is one constituting a misdemeanor on the first offense and a felony on subsequent offenses, or unless it is advisable for the purpose of subsequent identification. This section does not apply to any child under eighteen years of age who was not arrested or otherwise taken into custody for committing an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult or upon probable cause to believe that a child of that age may have committed an act that would be a felony or an offense of violence if committed by an adult, except as provided in section 2151.313 of the Revised Code.

(C)(1) For purposes of division (C) of this section, a law enforcement agency shall be considered to have arrested a person if any law enforcement officer who is employed by, appointed by, or serves that agency arrests the person. As used in division (C) of this section:

(a) "Illegal methamphetamine manufacturing laboratory" has the same meaning as in section 3745.13 of the Revised Code.

(b) "Methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product" means methamphetamine, any salt, isomer, or salt of an isomer of methamphetamine, or any compound, mixture, preparation, or substance containing methamphetamine or any salt, isomer, or salt of an isomer of methamphetamine.

(2) Each law enforcement agency that, in any calendar year, arrests any person for a violation of section 2925.04 of the Revised Code that is based on the manufacture of methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product, a violation of section 2925.041 of the Revised Code that is based on the possession of chemicals sufficient to produce methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product, or a violation of any other provision of Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code that is based on the possession of chemicals sufficient to produce methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product shall prepare an annual report covering the calendar year that contains the information specified in division (C)(3) of this section relative to all arrests for violations of those sections committed under those circumstances during that calendar year and relative to illegal methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories, dump sites, and chemical caches as specified in that division and shall send the annual report, not later than the first day of March in the calendar year following the calendar year covered by the report, to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation.

The law enforcement agency shall write any annual report prepared and filed under this division on the standard forms furnished by the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation pursuant to division (C)(4) of this section. The annual report shall be a statistical report, and nothing in the report or in the information it contains shall identify, or enable the identification of, any person who was arrested and whose arrest is included in the information contained in the report. The annual report in the possession of the bureau and the information it contains are public records for the purpose of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(3) The annual report prepared and filed by a law enforcement agency under division (C)(2) of this section shall contain all of the following information for the calendar year covered by the report:

(a) The total number of arrests made by the agency in that calendar year for a violation of section 2925.04 of the Revised Code that is based on the manufacture of methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product, a violation of section 2925.041 of the Revised Code that is based on the possession of chemicals sufficient to produce methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product, or a violation of any other provision of Chapter 2925. or 3719. of the Revised Code that is based on the possession of chemicals sufficient to produce methamphetamine or a methamphetamine product;

(b) The total number of illegal methamphetamine manufacturing laboratories at which one or more of the arrests reported under division (C)(3)(a) of this section occurred, or that were discovered in that calendar year within the territory served by the agency but at which none of the arrests reported under division (C)(3)(a) of this section occurred;

(c) The total number of dump sites and chemical caches that are, or that are reasonably believed to be, related to illegal methamphetamine manufacturing and that were discovered in that calendar year within the territory served by the agency.

(4) The superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall prepare and furnish to each law enforcement agency in this state standard forms for making the annual reports required by division (C)(2) of this section. The standard forms that the superintendent prepares pursuant to this division may be in a tangible format, in an electronic format, or in both a tangible format and an electronic format.

(5) The annual report required by division (C)(2) of this section is separate from, and in addition to, any report, materials, or information required under division (A) of this section or under any other provision of sections 109.57 to 109.62 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1347.08.  (A) Every state or local agency that maintains a personal information system, upon the request and the proper identification of any person who is the subject of personal information in the system, shall:

(1) Inform the person of the existence of any personal information in the system of which the person is the subject;

(2) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E)(2) of this section, permit the person, the person's legal guardian, or an attorney who presents a signed written authorization made by the person, to inspect all personal information in the system of which the person is the subject;

(3) Inform the person about the types of uses made of the personal information, including the identity of any users usually granted access to the system.

(B) Any person who wishes to exercise a right provided by this section may be accompanied by another individual of the person's choice.

(C)(1) A state or local agency, upon request, shall disclose medical, psychiatric, or psychological information to a person who is the subject of the information or to the person's legal guardian, unless a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist determines for the agency that the disclosure of the information is likely to have an adverse effect on the person, in which case the information shall be released to a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist who is designated by the person or by the person's legal guardian.

(2) Upon the signed written request of either a licensed attorney at law or a licensed physician designated by the inmate, together with the signed written request of an inmate of a correctional institution under the administration of the department of rehabilitation and correction, the department shall disclose medical information to the designated attorney or physician as provided in division (C) of section 5120.21 of the Revised Code.

(D) If an individual who is authorized to inspect personal information that is maintained in a personal information system requests the state or local agency that maintains the system to provide a copy of any personal information that the individual is authorized to inspect, the agency shall provide a copy of the personal information to the individual. Each state and local agency may establish reasonable fees for the service of copying, upon request, personal information that is maintained by the agency.

(E)(1) This section regulates access to personal information that is maintained in a personal information system by persons who are the subject of the information, but does not limit the authority of any person, including a person who is the subject of personal information maintained in a personal information system, to inspect or have copied, pursuant to section 149.43 of the Revised Code, a public record as defined in that section.

(2) This section does not provide a person who is the subject of personal information maintained in a personal information system, the person's legal guardian, or an attorney authorized by the person, with a right to inspect or have copied, or require an agency that maintains a personal information system to permit the inspection of or to copy, a confidential law enforcement investigatory record or trial preparation record, as defined in divisions (A)(2) and (4) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(F) This section does not apply to any of the following:

(1) The contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of health under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code;

(2) Information contained in the putative father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the department of job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a child support enforcement agency;

(3) Papers, records, and books that pertain to an adoption and that are subject to inspection in accordance with section 3107.17 of the Revised Code;

(4) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of the Revised Code;

(5) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 3721.031 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;

(6) Files and records that have been expunged under division (D)(1) of section 3721.23 of the Revised Code;

(7) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 3721.25 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;

(8) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 5111.61 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;

(9) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that the board of examiners of nursing home administrators administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts under that section with a private or government entity to administer;

(10) Information contained in a database established and maintained pursuant to section 5101.13 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 1717.14.  When an officer or agent of the Ohio humane society or of a county humane society deems it for the best interest of a child, because of cruelty inflicted upon it the child or because of its the child's surroundings, that it the child be removed from the possession and control of the parents or persons having charge of it the child, such the officer or agent may take possession of the child summarily, and upon doing so shall immediately file a complaint in the juvenile court concerning such child. Such court shall have full jurisdiction to deal with such child as provided in sections 2151.01 to 2151.54 of the Revised Code, subject to the prior jurisdiction, if any, which another court may have over such child comply with section 2151.421 of the Revised Code.

As used in this section "child" means any person under eighteen years of age.

Sec. 2101.11.  (A)(1) The probate judge shall have the care and custody of the files, papers, books, and records belonging to the probate court. The probate judge is authorized to perform the duties of clerk of the judge's court. The probate judge may appoint deputy clerks, stenographers, a bailiff, and any other necessary employees, each of whom shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the employee's appointment and, when so qualified, may perform the duties appertaining to the office of clerk of the court.

(2)(a) The probate judge shall provide for one or more probate court investigators to perform the duties that are established for a probate court investigator by the Revised Code or the probate judge. The probate judge may provide for an investigator in any of the following manners, as the court determines is appropriate:

(i) By appointing a person as a full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as investigator, or by designating a current full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as investigator;

(ii) By contracting with a person to serve and be compensated as investigator only when needed by the probate court, as determined by the court, and by designating that person as a probate court investigator during the times when the person is performing the duties of an investigator for the court;

(iii) By entering into an agreement with another department or agency of the county, including, but not limited to, the sheriff's department or the county department of job and family services, pursuant to which an employee of the other department or agency will serve and perform the duties of investigator for the court, upon request of the probate judge, and designating that employee as a probate court investigator during the times when the person is performing the duties of an investigator for the court.

(b) Each person appointed or otherwise designated as a probate court investigator shall take an oath of office before entering upon the duties of the person's appointment. When so qualified, an investigator may perform the duties that are established for a probate court investigator by the Revised Code or the probate judge.

(c) Except as otherwise provided in this division, a probate court investigator shall hold at least a bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, education, special education, or a related human services field. A probate judge may waive the education requirement of this division for a person the judge appoints or otherwise designates as a probate court investigator if the judge determines that the person has experience in family services work that is equivalent to the required education.

(d) Within one year after appointment or designation, a probate court investigator shall attend an orientation course of at least six hours, and each calendar year after the calendar year of appointment or designation, a probate court investigator shall satisfactorily complete at least six hours of continuing education.

(e) For purposes of divisions (A)(4), (B), and (C) of this section, a person designated as a probate court investigator under division (A)(2)(a)(ii) or (iii) of this section shall be considered an appointee of the probate court at any time that the person is performing the duties established under the Revised Code or by the probate judge for a probate court investigator.

(3)(a) The probate judge may provide for one or more persons to perform the duties of an assessor under sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.082, 3107.09, 3107.101, and 3107.12 of the Revised Code or may enter into agreements with public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, or private noncustodial agencies under which the agency provides for one or more persons to perform the duties of an assessor. A probate judge who provides for an assessor shall do so in either of the following manners, as the judge considers appropriate:

(i) By appointing a person as a full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as assessor, or by designating a current full-time or part-time employee of the probate court to serve as assessor;

(ii) By contracting with a person to serve and be compensated as assessor only when needed by the probate court, as determined by the court, and by designating that person as an assessor during the times when the person is performing the duties of an assessor for the court.

(b) Each person appointed or designated as a probate court assessor shall take an oath of office before entering on the duties of the person's appointment.

(c) A probate court assessor must meet the qualifications for an assessor established by section 3107.014 of the Revised Code.

(d) A probate court assessor shall perform additional duties, including duties of an investigator under division (A)(2) of this section, when the probate judge assigns additional duties to the assessor.

(e) For purposes of divisions (A)(4), (B), and (C) of this section, a person designated as a probate court assessor shall be considered an appointee of the probate court at any time that the person is performing assessor duties.

(4) Each appointee of the probate judge may administer oaths in all cases when necessary, in the discharge of official duties.

(B)(1)(a) Subject to the appropriation made by the board of county commissioners pursuant to this division, each appointee of a probate judge under division (A) of this section shall receive such compensation and expenses as the judge determines and shall serve during the pleasure of the judge. The compensation of each appointee shall be paid in semimonthly installments by the county treasurer from the county treasury, upon the warrants of the county auditor, certified to by the judge.

(b) Except as otherwise provided in the Revised Code, the total compensation paid to all appointees of the probate judge in any calendar year shall not exceed the total fees earned by the probate court during the preceding calendar year, unless the board of county commissioners approves otherwise.

(2) The probate judge annually shall submit a written request for an appropriation to the board of county commissioners that shall set forth estimated administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses, including, but not limited to, those enumerated in section 5123.96 of the Revised Code, that the judge considers reasonably necessary for the operation of the court. The board shall conduct a public hearing with respect to the written request submitted by the judge and shall appropriate such sum of money each year as it determines, after conducting the public hearing and considering the written request of the judge, is reasonably necessary to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, including the salaries of appointees as determined by the judge and any other costs, fees, and expenses, including, but not limited to, the costs, fees, and expenses enumerated in section 5123.96 of the Revised Code.

If the judge considers the appropriation made by the board pursuant to this division insufficient to meet all the administrative expenses of the court, the judge shall commence an action under Chapter 2731. of the Revised Code in the court of appeals for the judicial district for a determination of the duty of the board of county commissioners to appropriate the amount of money in dispute. The court of appeals shall give priority to the action filed by the probate judge over all cases pending on its docket. The burden shall be on the probate judge to prove that the appropriation requested is reasonably necessary to meet all administrative expenses of the court. If, prior to the filing of an action under Chapter 2731. of the Revised Code or during the pendency of the action, the judge exercises the judge's contempt power in order to obtain the sum of money in dispute, the judge shall not order the imprisonment of any member of the board of county commissioners notwithstanding sections 2705.02 to 2705.06 of the Revised Code.

(C) The probate judge may require any of the judge's appointees to give bond in the sum of not less than one thousand dollars, conditioned for the honest and faithful performance of the appointee's duties. The sureties on the bonds shall be approved in the manner provided in section 2101.03 of the Revised Code.

The judge is personally liable for the default, malfeasance, or nonfeasance of any such appointee, but, if a bond is required of the appointee, the liability of the judge is limited to the amount by which the loss resulting from the default, malfeasance, or nonfeasance exceeds the amount of the bond.

All bonds required to be given in the probate court, on being accepted and approved by the probate judge, shall be filed in the judge's office.

Sec. 2151.011.  (A) As used in the Revised Code:

(1) "Juvenile court" means whichever of the following is applicable that has jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code:

(a) The division of the court of common pleas specified in section 2101.022 or 2301.03 of the Revised Code as having jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code or as being the juvenile division or the juvenile division combined with one or more other divisions;

(b) The juvenile court of Cuyahoga county or Hamilton county that is separately and independently created by section 2151.08 or Chapter 2153. of the Revised Code and that has jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152. of the Revised Code;

(c) If division (A)(1)(a) or (b) of this section does not apply, the probate division of the court of common pleas.

(2) "Juvenile judge" means a judge of a court having jurisdiction under this chapter.

(3) "Private child placing agency" means any association, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, that is certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code to accept temporary, permanent, or legal custody of children and place the children for either foster care or adoption.

(4) "Private noncustodial agency" means any person, organization, association, or society certified by the department of job and family services that does not accept temporary or permanent legal custody of children, that is privately operated in this state, and that does one or more of the following:

(a) Receives and cares for children for two or more consecutive weeks;

(b) Participates in the placement of children in certified foster homes;

(c) Provides adoption services in conjunction with a public children services agency or private child placing agency.

(B) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Adequate parental care" means the provision by a child's parent or parents, guardian, or custodian of adequate food, clothing, and shelter to ensure the child's health and physical safety and the provision by a child's parent or parents of specialized services warranted by the child's physical or mental needs.

(2) "Adult" means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.

(3) "Agreement for temporary custody" means a voluntary agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the Revised Code that transfers the temporary custody of a child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency.

(4) "Certified foster home" means a foster home, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Child" means a person who is under eighteen years of age, except that the juvenile court has jurisdiction over any person who is adjudicated an unruly child prior to attaining eighteen years of age until the person attains twenty-one years of age, and, for purposes of that jurisdiction related to that adjudication, a person who is so adjudicated an unruly child shall be deemed a "child" until the person attains twenty-one years of age.

(6) "Child day camp," "child care," "child day-care center," "part-time child day-care center," "type A family day-care home," "certified type B family day-care home," "type B home," "administrator of a child day-care center," "administrator of a type A family day-care home," "in-home aide," and "authorized provider" have the same meanings as in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code.

(7) "Child care provider" means an individual who is a child-care staff member or administrator of a child day-care center, a type A family day-care home, or a type B family day-care home, or an in-home aide or an individual who is licensed, is regulated, is approved, operates under the direction of, or otherwise is certified by the department of job and family services, department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, or the early childhood programs of the department of education.

(8) "Chronic truant" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.

(9) "Commit" means to vest custody as ordered by the court.

(10) "Counseling" includes both of the following:

(a) General counseling services performed by a public children services agency or shelter for victims of domestic violence to assist a child, a child's parents, and a child's siblings in alleviating identified problems that may cause or have caused the child to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.

(b) Psychiatric or psychological therapeutic counseling services provided to correct or alleviate any mental or emotional illness or disorder and performed by a licensed psychiatrist, licensed psychologist, or a person licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code to engage in social work or professional counseling.

(11) "Custodian" means a person who has legal custody of a child or a public children services agency or private child placing agency that has permanent, temporary, or legal custody of a child.

(12) "Delinquent child" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.

(13) "Detention" means the temporary care of children pending court adjudication or disposition, or execution of a court order, in a public or private facility designed to physically restrict the movement and activities of children.

(14) "Developmental disability" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.

(15) "Foster caregiver" has the same meaning as in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code.

(16) "Guardian" means a person, association, or corporation that is granted authority by a probate court pursuant to Chapter 2111. of the Revised Code to exercise parental rights over a child to the extent provided in the court's order and subject to the residual parental rights of the child's parents.

(17) "Habitual truant" means any child of compulsory school age who is absent without legitimate excuse for absence from the public school the child is supposed to attend for five or more consecutive school days, seven or more school days in one school month, or twelve or more school days in a school year.

(18) "Juvenile traffic offender" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.

(19) "Legal custody" means a legal status that vests in the custodian the right to have physical care and control of the child and to determine where and with whom the child shall live, and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, education, and medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. An individual granted legal custody shall exercise the rights and responsibilities personally unless otherwise authorized by any section of the Revised Code or by the court.

(20) A "legitimate excuse for absence from the public school the child is supposed to attend" includes, but is not limited to, any of the following:

(a) The fact that the child in question has enrolled in and is attending another public or nonpublic school in this or another state;

(b) The fact that the child in question is excused from attendance at school for any of the reasons specified in section 3321.04 of the Revised Code;

(c) The fact that the child in question has received an age and schooling certificate in accordance with section 3331.01 of the Revised Code.

(21) "Mental illness" and "mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order" have the same meanings as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.

(22) "Mental injury" means any behavioral, cognitive, emotional, or mental disorder in a child caused by an act or omission that is described in section 2919.22 of the Revised Code and is committed by the parent or other person responsible for the child's care.

(23) "Mentally retarded person" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.

(24) "Nonsecure care, supervision, or training" means care, supervision, or training of a child in a facility that does not confine or prevent movement of the child within the facility or from the facility.

(25) "Of compulsory school age" has the same meaning as in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code.

(26) "Organization" means any institution, public, semipublic, or private, and any private association, society, or agency located or operating in the state, incorporated or unincorporated, having among its functions the furnishing of protective services or care for children, or the placement of children in certified foster homes or elsewhere.

(27) "Out-of-home care" means detention facilities, shelter facilities, certified children's crisis care facilities, certified foster homes, placement in a prospective adoptive home prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption, organizations, certified organizations, child day-care centers, type A family day-care homes, child care provided by type B family day-care home providers and by in-home aides, group home providers, group homes, institutions, state institutions, residential facilities, residential care facilities, residential camps, day camps, public schools, chartered nonpublic schools, educational service centers, hospitals, and medical clinics that are responsible for the care, physical custody, or control of children.

(28) "Out-of-home care child abuse" means any of the following when committed by a person responsible for the care of a child in out-of-home care:

(a) Engaging in sexual activity with a child in the person's care;

(b) Denial to a child, as a means of punishment, of proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or other care necessary for a child's health;

(c) Use of restraint procedures on a child that cause injury or pain;

(d) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic medication to the child without the written approval and ongoing supervision of a licensed physician;

(e) Commission of any act, other than by accidental means, that results in any injury to or death of the child in out-of-home care or commission of any act by accidental means that results in an injury to or death of a child in out-of-home care and that is at variance with the history given of the injury or death.

(29) "Out-of-home care child neglect" means any of the following when committed by a person responsible for the care of a child in out-of-home care:

(a) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical condition, or other special needs of the child;

(b) Failure to provide reasonable supervision according to the standards of care appropriate to the age, mental and physical condition, or other special needs of the child, that results in sexual or physical abuse of the child by any person;

(c) Failure to develop a process for all of the following:

(i) Administration of prescription drugs or psychotropic drugs for the child;

(ii) Assuring that the instructions of the licensed physician who prescribed a drug for the child are followed;

(iii) Reporting to the licensed physician who prescribed the drug all unfavorable or dangerous side effects from the use of the drug.

(d) Failure to provide proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical care, or other individualized care necessary for the health or well-being of the child;

(e) Confinement of the child to a locked room without monitoring by staff;

(f) Failure to provide ongoing security for all prescription and nonprescription medication;

(g) Isolation of a child for a period of time when there is substantial risk that the isolation, if continued, will impair or retard the mental health or physical well-being of the child.

(30) "Permanent custody" means a legal status that vests in a public children services agency or a private child placing agency, all parental rights, duties, and obligations, including the right to consent to adoption, and divests the natural parents or adoptive parents of all parental rights, privileges, and obligations, including all residual rights and obligations.

(31) "Permanent surrender" means the act of the parents or, if a child has only one parent, of the parent of a child, by a voluntary agreement authorized by section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, to transfer the permanent custody of the child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency.

(32) "Person" means an individual, association, corporation, or partnership and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies.

(33) "Person responsible for a child's care in out-of-home care" means any of the following:

(a) Any foster caregiver, in-home aide, or provider;

(b) Any administrator, employee, or agent of any of the following: a public or private detention facility; shelter facility; certified children's crisis care facility; organization; certified organization; child day-care center; type A family day-care home; certified type B family day-care home; group home; institution; state institution; residential facility; residential care facility; residential camp; day camp; school district; community school; chartered nonpublic school; educational service center; hospital; or medical clinic;

(c) Any person who supervises or coaches children as part of an extracurricular activity sponsored by a school district, public school, or chartered nonpublic school;

(d) Any other person who performs a similar function with respect to, or has a similar relationship to, children.

(33)(34) "Physically impaired" means having one or more of the following conditions that substantially limit one or more of an individual's major life activities, including self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, and self-direction:

(a) A substantial impairment of vision, speech, or hearing;

(b) A congenital orthopedic impairment;

(c) An orthopedic impairment caused by disease, rheumatic fever or any other similar chronic or acute health problem, or amputation or another similar cause.

(34)(35) "Placement for adoption" means the arrangement by a public children services agency or a private child placing agency with a person for the care and adoption by that person of a child of whom the agency has permanent custody.

(35)(36) "Placement in foster care" means the arrangement by a public children services agency or a private child placing agency for the out-of-home care of a child of whom the agency has temporary custody or permanent custody.

(36)(37) "Planned permanent living arrangement" means an order of a juvenile court pursuant to which both of the following apply:

(a) The court gives legal custody of a child to a public children services agency or a private child placing agency without the termination of parental rights.

(b) The order permits the agency to make an appropriate placement of the child and to enter into a written agreement with a foster care provider or with another person or agency with whom the child is placed.

(37)(38) "Practice of social work" and "practice of professional counseling" have the same meanings as in section 4757.01 of the Revised Code.

(38)(39) "Sanction, service, or condition" means a sanction, service, or condition created by court order following an adjudication that a child is an unruly child that is described in division (A)(4) of section 2152.19 of the Revised Code.

(39)(40) "Protective supervision" means an order of disposition pursuant to which the court permits an abused, neglected, dependent, or unruly child to remain in the custody of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian and stay in the child's home, subject to any conditions and limitations upon the child, the child's parents, guardian, or custodian, or any other person that the court prescribes, including supervision as directed by the court for the protection of the child.

(40)(41) "Psychiatrist" has the same meaning as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.

(41)(42) "Psychologist" has the same meaning as in section 4732.01 of the Revised Code.

(42)(43) "Residential camp" means a program in which the care, physical custody, or control of children is accepted overnight for recreational or recreational and educational purposes.

(43)(44) "Residential care facility" means an institution, residence, or facility that is licensed by the department of mental health under section 5119.22 of the Revised Code and that provides care for a child.

(44)(45) "Residential facility" means a home or facility that is licensed by the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities under section 5123.19 of the Revised Code and in which a child with a developmental disability resides.

(45)(46) "Residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities" means those rights, privileges, and responsibilities remaining with the natural parent after the transfer of legal custody of the child, including, but not necessarily limited to, the privilege of reasonable visitation, consent to adoption, the privilege to determine the child's religious affiliation, and the responsibility for support.

(46)(47) "School day" means the school day established by the state board of education pursuant to section 3313.48 of the Revised Code.

(47)(48) "School month" and "school year" have the same meanings as in section 3313.62 of the Revised Code.

(48)(49) "Secure correctional facility" means a facility under the direction of the department of youth services that is designed to physically restrict the movement and activities of children and used for the placement of children after adjudication and disposition.

(49)(50) "Sexual activity" has the same meaning as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code.

(50)(51) "Shelter" means the temporary care of children in physically unrestricted facilities pending court adjudication or disposition.

(51)(52) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code.

(52)(53) "Temporary custody" means legal custody of a child who is removed from the child's home, which custody may be terminated at any time at the discretion of the court or, if the legal custody is granted in an agreement for temporary custody, by the person who executed the agreement.

(C) For the purposes of this chapter, a child shall be presumed abandoned when the parents of the child have failed to visit or maintain contact with the child for more than ninety days, regardless of whether the parents resume contact with the child after that period of ninety days.

Sec. 2151.23.  (A) The juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction under the Revised Code as follows:

(1) Concerning any child who on or about the date specified in the complaint, indictment, or information is alleged to have violated section 2151.87 of the Revised Code or an order issued under that section or to be a juvenile traffic offender or a delinquent, unruly, abused, neglected, or dependent child and, based on and in relation to the allegation pertaining to the child, concerning the parent, guardian, or other person having care of a child who is alleged to be an unruly or delinquent child for being an habitual or chronic truant;

(2) Subject to divisions (G) and (V) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, to determine the custody of any child not a ward of another court of this state;

(3) To hear and determine any application for a writ of habeas corpus involving the custody of a child;

(4) To exercise the powers and jurisdiction given the probate division of the court of common pleas in Chapter 5122. of the Revised Code, if the court has probable cause to believe that a child otherwise within the jurisdiction of the court is a mentally ill person subject to hospitalization by court order, as defined in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code;

(5) To hear and determine all criminal cases charging adults with the violation of any section of this chapter;

(6) To hear and determine all criminal cases in which an adult is charged with a violation of division (C) of section 2919.21, division (B)(1) of section 2919.22, section 2919.222, division (B) of section 2919.23, or section 2919.24 of the Revised Code, provided the charge is not included in an indictment that also charges the alleged adult offender with the commission of a felony arising out of the same actions that are the basis of the alleged violation of division (C) of section 2919.21, division (B)(1) of section 2919.22, section 2919.222, division (B) of section 2919.23, or section 2919.24 of the Revised Code;

(7) Under the interstate compact on juveniles in section 2151.56 of the Revised Code;

(8) Concerning any child who is to be taken into custody pursuant to section 2151.31 of the Revised Code, upon being notified of the intent to take the child into custody and the reasons for taking the child into custody;

(9) To hear and determine requests for the extension of temporary custody agreements, and requests for court approval of permanent custody agreements, that are filed pursuant to section 5103.15 of the Revised Code;

(10) To hear and determine applications for consent to marry pursuant to section 3101.04 of the Revised Code;

(11) Subject to divisions (G) and (V) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, to hear and determine a request for an order for the support of any child if the request is not ancillary to an action for divorce, dissolution of marriage, annulment, or legal separation, a criminal or civil action involving an allegation of domestic violence, or an action for support brought under Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code;

(12) Concerning an action commenced under section 121.38 of the Revised Code;

(13) To hear and determine violations of section 3321.38 of the Revised Code;

(14) To exercise jurisdiction and authority over the parent, guardian, or other person having care of a child alleged to be a delinquent child, unruly child, or juvenile traffic offender, based on and in relation to the allegation pertaining to the child;

(15) To conduct the hearings, and to make the determinations, adjudications, and orders authorized or required under sections 2152.82 to 2152.85 and Chapter 2950. of the Revised Code regarding a child who has been adjudicated a delinquent child and to refer the duties conferred upon the juvenile court judge under sections 2152.82 to 2152.85 and Chapter 2950. of the Revised Code to magistrates appointed by the juvenile court judge in accordance with Juvenile Rule 40.

(B) Except as provided in divisions (G) and (I) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, the juvenile court has original jurisdiction under the Revised Code:

(1) To hear and determine all cases of misdemeanors charging adults with any act or omission with respect to any child, which act or omission is a violation of any state law or any municipal ordinance;

(2) To determine the paternity of any child alleged to have been born out of wedlock pursuant to sections 3111.01 to 3111.18 of the Revised Code;

(3) Under the uniform interstate family support act in Chapter 3115. of the Revised Code;

(4) To hear and determine an application for an order for the support of any child, if the child is not a ward of another court of this state;

(5) To hear and determine an action commenced under section 3111.28 of the Revised Code;

(6) To hear and determine a motion filed under section 3119.961 of the Revised Code;

(7) To receive filings under section 3109.74 of the Revised Code, and to hear and determine actions arising under sections 3109.51 to 3109.80 of the Revised Code.

(8) To enforce an order for the return of a child made under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction pursuant to section 3127.32 of the Revised Code;

(9) To grant any relief normally available under the laws of this state to enforce a child custody determination made by a court of another state and registered in accordance with section 3127.35 of the Revised Code.

(C) The juvenile court, except as to juvenile courts that are a separate division of the court of common pleas or a separate and independent juvenile court, has jurisdiction to hear, determine, and make a record of any action for divorce or legal separation that involves the custody or care of children and that is filed in the court of common pleas and certified by the court of common pleas with all the papers filed in the action to the juvenile court for trial, provided that no certification of that nature shall be made to any juvenile court unless the consent of the juvenile judge first is obtained. After a certification of that nature is made and consent is obtained, the juvenile court shall proceed as if the action originally had been begun in that court, except as to awards for spousal support or support due and unpaid at the time of certification, over which the juvenile court has no jurisdiction.

(D) The juvenile court, except as provided in divisions (G) and (I) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, has jurisdiction to hear and determine all matters as to custody and support of children duly certified by the court of common pleas to the juvenile court after a divorce decree has been granted, including jurisdiction to modify the judgment and decree of the court of common pleas as the same relate to the custody and support of children.

(E) The juvenile court, except as provided in divisions (G) and (I) of section 2301.03 of the Revised Code, has jurisdiction to hear and determine the case of any child certified to the court by any court of competent jurisdiction if the child comes within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court as defined by this section.

(F)(1) The juvenile court shall exercise its jurisdiction in child custody matters in accordance with sections 3109.04, 3127.01 to 3127.53, and 5103.20 to 5103.28 5103.22 of the Revised Code.

(2) The juvenile court shall exercise its jurisdiction in child support matters in accordance with section 3109.05 of the Revised Code.

(G) Any juvenile court that makes or modifies an order for child support shall comply with Chapters 3119., 3121., 3123., and 3125. of the Revised Code. If any person required to pay child support under an order made by a juvenile court on or after April 15, 1985, or modified on or after December 1, 1986, is found in contempt of court for failure to make support payments under the order, the court that makes the finding, in addition to any other penalty or remedy imposed, shall assess all court costs arising out of the contempt proceeding against the person and require the person to pay any reasonable attorney's fees of any adverse party, as determined by the court, that arose in relation to the act of contempt.

(H) If a child who is charged with an act that would be an offense if committed by an adult was fourteen years of age or older and under eighteen years of age at the time of the alleged act and if the case is transferred for criminal prosecution pursuant to section 2152.12 of the Revised Code, the juvenile court does not have jurisdiction to hear or determine the case subsequent to the transfer. The court to which the case is transferred for criminal prosecution pursuant to that section has jurisdiction subsequent to the transfer to hear and determine the case in the same manner as if the case originally had been commenced in that court, including, but not limited to, jurisdiction to accept a plea of guilty or another plea authorized by Criminal Rule 11 or another section of the Revised Code and jurisdiction to accept a verdict and to enter a judgment of conviction pursuant to the Rules of Criminal Procedure against the child for the commission of the offense that was the basis of the transfer of the case for criminal prosecution, whether the conviction is for the same degree or a lesser degree of the offense charged, for the commission of a lesser-included offense, or for the commission of another offense that is different from the offense charged.

(I) If a person under eighteen years of age allegedly commits an act that would be a felony if committed by an adult and if the person is not taken into custody or apprehended for that act until after the person attains twenty-one years of age, the juvenile court does not have jurisdiction to hear or determine any portion of the case charging the person with committing that act. In those circumstances, divisions (A) and (B) of section 2152.12 of the Revised Code do not apply regarding the act, and the case charging the person with committing the act shall be a criminal prosecution commenced and heard in the appropriate court having jurisdiction of the offense as if the person had been eighteen years of age or older when the person committed the act. All proceedings pertaining to the act shall be within the jurisdiction of the court having jurisdiction of the offense, and that court has all the authority and duties in the case that it has in other criminal cases in that court.

Sec. 2151.281.  (A) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of a child in any proceeding concerning an alleged or adjudicated delinquent child or unruly child when either of the following applies:

(1) The child has no parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

(2) The court finds that there is a conflict of interest between the child and the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

(B)(1) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of a child in any proceeding concerning an alleged abused or neglected child and in any proceeding held pursuant to section 2151.414 of the Revised Code. The guardian ad litem so appointed shall not be the attorney responsible for presenting the evidence alleging that the child is an abused or neglected child and shall not be an employee of any party in the proceeding.

(2) The guardian ad litem appointed for an alleged or adjudicated abused or neglected child may bring a civil action against any person, who is required by division (A)(1) of section 2151.421 of the Revised Code to file a report of known or suspected child abuse or child neglect, if that person knows or suspects that the child for whom the guardian ad litem is appointed is the subject of child abuse or child neglect and does not file the required report and if the child suffers any injury or harm as a result of the known or suspected child abuse or child neglect or suffers additional injury or harm after the failure to file the report.

(C) In any proceeding concerning an alleged or adjudicated delinquent, unruly, abused, neglected, or dependent child in which the parent appears to be mentally incompetent or is under eighteen years of age, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to protect the interest of that parent.

(D) The court shall require the guardian ad litem to faithfully discharge the guardian ad litem's duties and, upon the guardian ad litem's failure to faithfully discharge the guardian ad litem's duties, shall discharge the guardian ad litem and appoint another guardian ad litem. The court may fix the compensation for the service of the guardian ad litem, which compensation shall be paid from the treasury of the county, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court.

(E) A parent who is eighteen years of age or older and not mentally incompetent shall be deemed sui juris for the purpose of any proceeding relative to a child of the parent who is alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.

(F) In any case in which a parent of a child alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child is under eighteen years of age, the parents of that parent shall be summoned to appear at any hearing respecting the child, who is alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.

(G) In any case involving an alleged or adjudicated abused or neglected child or an agreement for the voluntary surrender of temporary or permanent custody of a child that is made in accordance with section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, the court shall appoint the guardian ad litem in each case as soon as possible after the complaint is filed, the request for an extension of the temporary custody agreement is filed with the court, or the request for court approval of the permanent custody agreement is filed. In any case involving an alleged dependent child in which the parent of the child appears to be mentally incompetent or is under eighteen years of age, there is a conflict of interest between the child and the child's parents, guardian, or custodian, or the court believes that the parent of the child is not capable of representing the best interest of the child, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the child. The guardian ad litem or the guardian ad litem's replacement shall continue to serve until any of the following occur:

(1) The complaint is dismissed or the request for an extension of a temporary custody agreement or for court approval of the permanent custody agreement is withdrawn or denied;

(2) All dispositional orders relative to the child have terminated;

(3) The legal custody of the child is granted to a relative of the child, or to another person;

(4) The child is placed in an adoptive home or, at the court's discretion, a final decree of adoption is issued with respect to the child;

(5) The child reaches the age of eighteen if the child is not mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired or the child reaches the age of twenty-one if the child is mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired;

(6) The guardian ad litem resigns or is removed by the court and a replacement is appointed by the court.

If a guardian ad litem ceases to serve a child pursuant to division (G)(4) of this section and the petition for adoption with respect to the child is denied or withdrawn prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption or prior to the date an interlocutory order of adoption becomes final, the juvenile court shall reappoint a guardian ad litem for that child. The public children services agency or private child placing agency with permanent custody of the child shall notify the juvenile court if the petition for adoption is denied or withdrawn.

(H) If the guardian ad litem for an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state, the guardian ad litem also may serve as counsel to the ward. If Until the supreme court adopts rules regarding service as a guardian ad litem that regulate conflicts between a person's role as guardian ad litem and as counsel, if a person is serving as guardian ad litem and counsel for a child and either that person or the court finds that a conflict may exist between the person's roles as guardian ad litem and as counsel, the court shall relieve the person of duties as guardian ad litem and appoint someone else as guardian ad litem for the child. If the court appoints a person who is not an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state to be a guardian ad litem, the court also may appoint an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state to serve as counsel for the guardian ad litem.

(I) The guardian ad litem for an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child shall perform whatever functions are necessary to protect the best interest of the child, including, but not limited to, investigation, mediation, monitoring court proceedings, and monitoring the services provided the child by the public children services agency or private child placing agency that has temporary or permanent custody of the child, and shall file any motions and other court papers that are in the best interest of the child.

The guardian ad litem shall be given notice of all hearings, administrative reviews, and other proceedings in the same manner as notice is given to parties to the action.

(J)(1) When the court appoints a guardian ad litem pursuant to this section, it shall appoint a qualified volunteer or court appointed special advocate whenever one is available and the appointment is appropriate.

(2) Upon request, the department of job and family services shall provide for the training of volunteer guardians ad litem.

Sec. 2151.353.  (A) If a child is adjudicated an abused, neglected, or dependent child, the court may make any of the following orders of disposition:

(1) Place the child in protective supervision;

(2) Commit the child to the temporary custody of a public children services agency, a private child placing agency, either parent, a relative residing within or outside the state, or a probation officer for placement in a certified foster home, or in any other home approved by the court;

(3) Award legal custody of the child to either parent or to any other person who, prior to the dispositional hearing, files a motion requesting legal custody of the child; or is identified as a proposed legal custodian in a complaint or motion filed prior to the dispositional hearing by any party to the proceedings. A person identified in a complaint or motion filed by a party to the proceedings as a proposed legal custodian shall be awarded legal custody of the child only if the person identified signs a statement of understanding for legal custody that contains at least the following provisions:

(a) That it is the intent of the person to become the legal custodian of the child and the person is able to assume legal responsibility for the care and supervision of the child;

(b) That the person understands that legal custody of the child in question is intended to be permanent in nature and that the person will be responsible as the custodian for the child until the child reaches the age of majority. Responsibility as custodian for the child shall continue beyond the age of majority if, at the time the child reaches the age of majority, the child is pursuing a diploma granted by the board of education or other governing authority, successful completion of the curriculum of any high school, successful completion of an individualized education program developed for the student by any high school, or an age and schooling certificate. Responsibility beyond the age of majority shall terminate when the child ceases to continuously pursue such an education, completes such an education, or is excused from such an education under standards adopted by the state board of education, whichever occurs first.

(c) That the parents of the child have residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities, including, but not limited to, the privilege of reasonable visitation, consent to adoption, the privilege to determine the child's religious affiliation, and the responsibility for support;

(d) That the person understands that the person must be present in court for the dispositional hearing in order to affirm the person's intention to become legal custodian, to affirm that the person understands the effect of the custodianship before the court, and to answer any questions that the court or any parties to the case may have.

(4) Commit the child to the permanent custody of a public children services agency or private child placing agency, if the court determines in accordance with division (E) of section 2151.414 of the Revised Code that the child cannot be placed with one of the child's parents within a reasonable time or should not be placed with either parent and determines in accordance with division (D) of section 2151.414 of the Revised Code that the permanent commitment is in the best interest of the child. If the court grants permanent custody under this division, the court, upon the request of any party, shall file a written opinion setting forth its findings of fact and conclusions of law in relation to the proceeding.

(5) Place the child in a planned permanent living arrangement with a public children services agency or private child placing agency, if a public children services agency or private child placing agency requests the court to place the child in a planned permanent living arrangement and if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that a planned permanent living arrangement is in the best interest of the child and that one of the following exists:

(a) The child, because of physical, mental, or psychological problems or needs, is unable to function in a family-like setting and must remain in residential or institutional care.

(b) The parents of the child have significant physical, mental, or psychological problems and are unable to care for the child because of those problems, adoption is not in the best interest of the child, as determined in accordance with division (D) of section 2151.414 of the Revised Code, and the child retains a significant and positive relationship with a parent or relative.

(c) The child is sixteen years of age or older, has been counseled on the permanent placement options available to the child, is unwilling to accept or unable to adapt to a permanent placement, and is in an agency program preparing the child for independent living.

(6) Order the removal from the child's home until further order of the court of the person who committed abuse as described in section 2151.031 of the Revised Code against the child, who caused or allowed the child to suffer neglect as described in section 2151.03 of the Revised Code, or who is the parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is adjudicated a dependent child and order any person not to have contact with the child or the child's siblings.

(B) No order for permanent custody or temporary custody of a child or the placement of a child in a planned permanent living arrangement shall be made pursuant to this section unless the complaint alleging the abuse, neglect, or dependency contains a prayer requesting permanent custody, temporary custody, or the placement of the child in a planned permanent living arrangement as desired, the summons served on the parents of the child contains as is appropriate a full explanation that the granting of an order for permanent custody permanently divests them of their parental rights, a full explanation that an adjudication that the child is an abused, neglected, or dependent child may result in an order of temporary custody that will cause the removal of the child from their legal custody until the court terminates the order of temporary custody or permanently divests the parents of their parental rights, or a full explanation that the granting of an order for a planned permanent living arrangement will result in the removal of the child from their legal custody if any of the conditions listed in divisions (A)(5)(a) to (c) of this section are found to exist, and the summons served on the parents contains a full explanation of their right to be represented by counsel and to have counsel appointed pursuant to Chapter 120. of the Revised Code if they are indigent.

If after making disposition as authorized by division (A)(2) of this section, a motion is filed that requests permanent custody of the child, the court may grant permanent custody of the child to the movant in accordance with section 2151.414 of the Revised Code.

(C) If the court issues an order for protective supervision pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section, the court may place any reasonable restrictions upon the child, the child's parents, guardian, or custodian, or any other person, including, but not limited to, any of the following:

(1) Order a party, within forty-eight hours after the issuance of the order, to vacate the child's home indefinitely or for a specified period of time;

(2) Order a party, a parent of the child, or a physical custodian of the child to prevent any particular person from having contact with the child;

(3) Issue an order restraining or otherwise controlling the conduct of any person which conduct would not be in the best interest of the child.

(D) As part of its dispositional order, the court shall journalize a case plan for the child. The journalized case plan shall not be changed except as provided in section 2151.412 of the Revised Code.

(E)(1) The court shall retain jurisdiction over any child for whom the court issues an order of disposition pursuant to division (A) of this section or pursuant to section 2151.414 or 2151.415 of the Revised Code until the child attains the age of eighteen years if the child is not mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired, the child attains the age of twenty-one years if the child is mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired, or the child is adopted and a final decree of adoption is issued, except that the court may retain jurisdiction over the child and continue any order of disposition under division (A) of this section or under section 2151.414 or 2151.415 of the Revised Code for a specified period of time to enable the child to graduate from high school or vocational school. The court shall make an entry continuing its jurisdiction under this division in the journal.

(2) Any public children services agency, any private child placing agency, the department of job and family services, or any party, other than any parent whose parental rights with respect to the child have been terminated pursuant to an order issued under division (A)(4) of this section, by filing a motion with the court, may at any time request the court to modify or terminate any order of disposition issued pursuant to division (A) of this section or section 2151.414 or 2151.415 of the Revised Code. The court shall hold a hearing upon the motion as if the hearing were the original dispositional hearing and shall give all parties to the action and the guardian ad litem notice of the hearing pursuant to the Juvenile Rules. If applicable, the court shall comply with section 2151.42 of the Revised Code.

(F) Any temporary custody order issued pursuant to division (A) of this section shall terminate one year after the earlier of the date on which the complaint in the case was filed or the child was first placed into shelter care, except that, upon the filing of a motion pursuant to section 2151.415 of the Revised Code, the temporary custody order shall continue and not terminate until the court issues a dispositional order under that section.

(G)(1) No later than one year after the earlier of the date the complaint in the case was filed or the child was first placed in shelter care, a party may ask the court to extend an order for protective supervision for six months or to terminate the order. A party requesting extension or termination of the order shall file a written request for the extension or termination with the court and give notice of the proposed extension or termination in writing before the end of the day after the day of filing it to all parties and the child's guardian ad litem. If a public children services agency or private child placing agency requests termination of the order, the agency shall file a written status report setting out the facts supporting termination of the order at the time it files the request with the court. If no party requests extension or termination of the order, the court shall notify the parties that the court will extend the order for six months or terminate it and that it may do so without a hearing unless one of the parties requests a hearing. All parties and the guardian ad litem shall have seven days from the date a notice is sent pursuant to this division to object to and request a hearing on the proposed extension or termination.

(a) If it receives a timely request for a hearing, the court shall schedule a hearing to be held no later than thirty days after the request is received by the court. The court shall give notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing to all parties and the guardian ad litem. At the hearing, the court shall determine whether extension or termination of the order is in the child's best interest. If termination is in the child's best interest, the court shall terminate the order. If extension is in the child's best interest, the court shall extend the order for six months.

(b) If it does not receive a timely request for a hearing, the court may extend the order for six months or terminate it without a hearing and shall journalize the order of extension or termination not later than fourteen days after receiving the request for extension or termination or after the date the court notifies the parties that it will extend or terminate the order. If the court does not extend or terminate the order, it shall schedule a hearing to be held no later than thirty days after the expiration of the applicable fourteen-day time period and give notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing to all parties and the child's guardian ad litem. At the hearing, the court shall determine whether extension or termination of the order is in the child's best interest. If termination is in the child's best interest, the court shall terminate the order. If extension is in the child's best interest, the court shall issue an order extending the order for protective supervision six months.

(2) If the court grants an extension of the order for protective supervision pursuant to division (G)(1) of this section, a party may, prior to termination of the extension, file with the court a request for an additional extension of six months or for termination of the order. The court and the parties shall comply with division (G)(1) of this section with respect to extending or terminating the order.

(3) If a court grants an extension pursuant to division (G)(2) of this section, the court shall terminate the order for protective supervision at the end of the extension.

(H) The court shall not issue a dispositional order pursuant to division (A) of this section that removes a child from the child's home unless the court complies with section 2151.419 of the Revised Code and includes in the dispositional order the findings of fact required by that section.

(I) If a motion or application for an order described in division (A)(6) of this section is made, the court shall not issue the order unless, prior to the issuance of the order, it provides to the person all of the following:

(1) Notice and a copy of the motion or application;

(2) The grounds for the motion or application;

(3) An opportunity to present evidence and witnesses at a hearing regarding the motion or application;

(4) An opportunity to be represented by counsel at the hearing.

(J) The jurisdiction of the court shall terminate one year after the date of the award or, if the court takes any further action in the matter subsequent to the award, the date of the latest further action subsequent to the award, if the court awards legal custody of a child to either of the following:

(1) A legal custodian who, at the time of the award of legal custody, resides in a county of this state other than the county in which the court is located;

(2) A legal custodian who resides in the county in which the court is located at the time of the award of legal custody, but moves to a different county of this state prior to one year after the date of the award or, if the court takes any further action in the matter subsequent to the award, one year after the date of the latest further action subsequent to the award.

The court in the county in which the legal custodian resides then shall have jurisdiction in the matter.

Sec. 2151.39.  No person, association or agency, public or private, of another state, incorporated or otherwise, shall place a child in a family home or with an agency or institution within the boundaries of this state, either for temporary or permanent care or custody or for adoption, unless such person or association has furnished the department of job and family services with a medical and social history of the child, pertinent information about the family, agency, association, or institution in this state with whom the sending party desires to place the child, and any other information or financial guaranty required by the department to determine whether the proposed placement will meet the needs of the child. The department may require the party desiring the placement to agree to promptly receive and remove from the state a child brought into the state whose placement has not proven satisfactorily responsive to the needs of the child at any time until the child is adopted, reaches majority, becomes self-supporting or is discharged with the concurrence of the department. All placements proposed to be made in this state by a party located in a state which is a party to the interstate compact on the placement of children shall be made according to the provisions of sections 5103.20 to 5103.28 5103.22 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2151.416.  (A) Each agency that is required by section 2151.412 of the Revised Code to prepare a case plan for a child shall complete a semiannual administrative review of the case plan no later than six months after the earlier of the date on which the complaint in the case was filed or the child was first placed in shelter care. After the first administrative review, the agency shall complete semiannual administrative reviews no later than every six months. If the court issues an order pursuant to section 2151.414 or 2151.415 of the Revised Code, the agency shall complete an administrative review no later than six months after the court's order and continue to complete administrative reviews no later than every six months after the first review, except that the court hearing held pursuant to section 2151.417 of the Revised Code may take the place of any administrative review that would otherwise be held at the time of the court hearing. When conducting a review, the child's health and safety shall be the paramount concern.

(B) Each administrative review required by division (A) of this section shall be conducted by a review panel of at least three persons, including, but not limited to, both of the following:

(1) A caseworker with day-to-day responsibility for, or familiarity with, the management of the child's case plan;

(2) A person who is not responsible for the management of the child's case plan or for the delivery of services to the child or the parents, guardian, or custodian of the child.

(C) Each semiannual administrative review shall include, but not be limited to, a joint meeting by the review panel with the parents, guardian, or custodian of the child, the guardian ad litem of the child, and the child's foster care provider and shall include an opportunity for those persons to submit any written materials to be included in the case record of the child. If a parent, guardian, custodian, guardian ad litem, or foster care provider of the child cannot be located after reasonable efforts to do so or declines to participate in the administrative review after being contacted, the agency does not have to include them in the joint meeting.

(D) The agency shall prepare a written summary of the semiannual administrative review that shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) A conclusion regarding the safety and appropriateness of the child's foster care placement;

(2) The extent of the compliance with the case plan of all parties;

(3) The extent of progress that has been made toward alleviating the circumstances that required the agency to assume temporary custody of the child;

(4) An estimated date by which the child may be returned to and safely maintained in the child's home or placed for adoption or legal custody;

(5) An updated case plan that includes any changes that the agency is proposing in the case plan;

(6) The recommendation of the agency as to which agency or person should be given custodial rights over the child for the six-month period after the administrative review;

(7) The names of all persons who participated in the administrative review.

(E) The agency shall file the summary with the court no later than seven days after the completion of the administrative review. If the agency proposes a change to the case plan as a result of the administrative review, the agency shall file the proposed change with the court at the time it files the summary. The agency shall give notice of the summary and proposed change in writing before the end of the next day after filing them to all parties and the child's guardian ad litem. All parties and the guardian ad litem shall have seven days after the date the notice is sent to object to and request a hearing on the proposed change.

(1) If the court receives a timely request for a hearing, the court shall schedule a hearing pursuant to section 2151.417 of the Revised Code to be held not later than thirty days after the court receives the request. The court shall give notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing to all parties and the guardian ad litem. The agency may implement the proposed change after the hearing, if the court approves it. The agency shall not implement the proposed change unless it is approved by the court.

(2) If the court does not receive a timely request for a hearing, the court may approve the proposed change without a hearing. If the court approves the proposed change without a hearing, it shall journalize the case plan with the change not later than fourteen days after the change is filed with the court. If the court does not approve the proposed change to the case plan, it shall schedule a review hearing to be held pursuant to section 2151.417 of the Revised Code no later than thirty days after the expiration of the fourteen-day time period and give notice of the date, time, and location of the hearing to all parties and the guardian ad litem of the child. If, despite the requirements of this division and division (D) of section 2151.417 of the Revised Code, the court neither approves and journalizes the proposed change nor conducts a hearing, the agency may implement the proposed change not earlier than fifteen days after it is submitted to the court.

(F) The director of job and family services may adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for procedures and standard forms for conducting administrative reviews pursuant to this section.

(G) The juvenile court that receives the written summary of the administrative review, upon determining, either from the written summary, case plan, or otherwise, that the custody or care arrangement is not in the best interest of the child, may terminate the custody of an agency and place the child in the custody of another institution or association certified by the department of job and family services under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.

(H) The department of job and family services shall report annually to the public and to the general assembly on the results of the review of case plans of each agency. The annual report shall include any information that is required by the department, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) A statistical analysis of the administrative reviews conducted pursuant to this section and section 2151.417 of the Revised Code;

(2) The number of children in temporary or permanent custody for whom an administrative review was conducted, the number of children whose custody status changed during the period, the number of children whose residential placement changed during the period, and the number of residential placement changes for each child during the period;

(3) An analysis of the utilization of public social services by agencies and parents or guardians, and the utilization of the adoption listing service of the department pursuant to section 5103.154 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 2151.421.  (A)(1)(a) No person described in division (A)(1)(b) of this section who is acting in an official or professional capacity and knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in a similar position to suspect, that a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired child under twenty-one years of age has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child shall fail to immediately report that knowledge or reasonable cause to suspect to the entity or persons specified in this division. Except as provided in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, the person making the report shall make it to the public children services agency or a municipal or county peace officer in the county in which the child resides or in which the abuse or neglect is occurring or has occurred. In the circumstances described in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, the person making the report shall make it to the entity specified in that section.

(b) Division (A)(1)(a) of this section applies to any person who is an attorney; physician, including a hospital intern or resident; dentist; podiatrist; practitioner of a limited branch of medicine as specified in section 4731.15 of the Revised Code; registered nurse; licensed practical nurse; visiting nurse; other health care professional; licensed psychologist; licensed school psychologist; independent marriage and family therapist or marriage and family therapist; speech pathologist or audiologist; coroner; administrator or employee of a child day-care center; administrator or employee of a residential camp or child day camp; administrator or employee of a certified child care agency or other public or private children services agency; school teacher; school employee; school authority; person engaged in social work or the practice of professional counseling; agent of a county humane society; person, other than a cleric, rendering spiritual treatment through prayer in accordance with the tenets of a well-recognized religion; superintendent, board member, or employee of a county board of mental retardation; investigative agent contracted with by a county board of mental retardation; or employee of the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities; employee of a facility or home that provides respite care in accordance with section 5123.171 of the Revised Code; employee of a home health agency; employee of an entity that provides homemaker services; a person performing the duties of an assessor pursuant to Chapter 3107. or 5103. of the Revised Code; or third party employed by a public children services agency to assist in providing child or family related services.

(2) Except as provided in division (A)(3) of this section, an attorney or a physician is not required to make a report pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section concerning any communication the attorney or physician receives from a client or patient in an attorney-client or physician-patient relationship, if, in accordance with division (A) or (B) of section 2317.02 of the Revised Code, the attorney or physician could not testify with respect to that communication in a civil or criminal proceeding.

(3) The client or patient in an attorney-client or physician-patient relationship described in division (A)(2) of this section is deemed to have waived any testimonial privilege under division (A) or (B) of section 2317.02 of the Revised Code with respect to any communication the attorney or physician receives from the client or patient in that attorney-client or physician-patient relationship, and the attorney or physician shall make a report pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section with respect to that communication, if all of the following apply:

(a) The client or patient, at the time of the communication, is either a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired person under twenty-one years of age.

(b) The attorney or physician knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in similar position to suspect, as a result of the communication or any observations made during that communication, that the client or patient has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the client or patient.

(c) The abuse or neglect does not arise out of the client's or patient's attempt to have an abortion without the notification of her parents, guardian, or custodian in accordance with section 2151.85 of the Revised Code.

(4)(a) No cleric and no person, other than a volunteer, designated by any church, religious society, or faith acting as a leader, official, or delegate on behalf of the church, religious society, or faith who is acting in an official or professional capacity, who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in a similar position to believe, that a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired child under twenty-one years of age has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child, and who knows, or has reasonable cause to believe based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in a similar position to believe, that another cleric or another person, other than a volunteer, designated by a church, religious society, or faith acting as a leader, official, or delegate on behalf of the church, religious society, or faith caused, or poses the threat of causing, the wound, injury, disability, or condition that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect shall fail to immediately report that knowledge or reasonable cause to believe to the entity or persons specified in this division. Except as provided in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, the person making the report shall make it to the public children services agency or a municipal or county peace officer in the county in which the child resides or in which the abuse or neglect is occurring or has occurred. In the circumstances described in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, the person making the report shall make it to the entity specified in that section.

(b) Except as provided in division (A)(4)(c) of this section, a cleric is not required to make a report pursuant to division (A)(4)(a) of this section concerning any communication the cleric receives from a penitent in a cleric-penitent relationship, if, in accordance with division (C) of section 2317.02 of the Revised Code, the cleric could not testify with respect to that communication in a civil or criminal proceeding.

(c) The penitent in a cleric-penitent relationship described in division (A)(4)(b) of this section is deemed to have waived any testimonial privilege under division (C) of section 2317.02 of the Revised Code with respect to any communication the cleric receives from the penitent in that cleric-penitent relationship, and the cleric shall make a report pursuant to division (A)(4)(a) of this section with respect to that communication, if all of the following apply:

(i) The penitent, at the time of the communication, is either a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired person under twenty-one years of age.

(ii) The cleric knows, or has reasonable cause to believe based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in a similar position to believe, as a result of the communication or any observations made during that communication, the penitent has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the penitent.

(iii) The abuse or neglect does not arise out of the penitent's attempt to have an abortion performed upon a child under eighteen years of age or upon a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired person under twenty-one years of age without the notification of her parents, guardian, or custodian in accordance with section 2151.85 of the Revised Code.

(d) Divisions (A)(4)(a) and (c) of this section do not apply in a cleric-penitent relationship when the disclosure of any communication the cleric receives from the penitent is in violation of the sacred trust.

(e) As used in divisions (A)(1) and (4) of this section, "cleric" and "sacred trust" have the same meanings as in section 2317.02 of the Revised Code.

(B) Anyone who knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in similar circumstances to suspect, that a child under eighteen years of age or a mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or physically impaired person under twenty-one years of age has suffered or faces a threat of suffering any physical or mental wound, injury, disability, or other condition of a nature that reasonably indicates abuse or neglect of the child may report or cause reports to be made of that knowledge or reasonable cause to suspect to the entity or persons specified in this division. Except as provided in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, a person making a report or causing a report to be made under this division shall make it or cause it to be made to the public children services agency or to a municipal or county peace officer. In the circumstances described in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, a person making a report or causing a report to be made under this division shall make it or cause it to be made to the entity specified in that section.

(C) Any report made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section shall be made forthwith either by telephone or in person and shall be followed by a written report, if requested by the receiving agency or officer. The written report shall contain:

(1) The names and addresses of the child and the child's parents or the person or persons having custody of the child, if known;

(2) The child's age and the nature and extent of the child's injuries, abuse, or neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed, as applicable, to have occurred or of the threat of injury, abuse, or neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed, as applicable, to exist, including any evidence of previous injuries, abuse, or neglect;

(3) Any other information that might be helpful in establishing the cause of the injury, abuse, or neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed, as applicable, to have occurred or of the threat of injury, abuse, or neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed, as applicable, to exist.

Any person, who is required by division (A) of this section to report child abuse or child neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed to have occurred, may take or cause to be taken color photographs of areas of trauma visible on a child and, if medically indicated, cause to be performed radiological examinations of the child.

(D) As used in this division, "children's advocacy center" and "sexual abuse of a child" have the same meanings as in section 2151.425 of the Revised Code.

(1) When a municipal or county peace officer receives a report concerning the possible abuse or neglect of a child or the possible threat of abuse or neglect of a child, upon receipt of the report, the municipal or county peace officer who receives the report shall refer the report to the appropriate public children services agency.

(2) When a public children services agency receives a report pursuant to this division or division (A) or (B) of this section, upon receipt of the report, the public children services agency shall do both of the following:

(a) Comply with section 2151.422 of the Revised Code;

(b) If the county served by the agency is also served by a children's advocacy center and the report alleges sexual abuse of a child or another type of abuse of a child that is specified in the memorandum of understanding that creates the center as being within the center's jurisdiction, comply regarding the report with the protocol and procedures for referrals and investigations, with the coordinating activities, and with the authority or responsibility for performing or providing functions, activities, and services stipulated in the interagency agreement entered into under section 2151.428 of the Revised Code relative to that center.

(E) No township, municipal, or county peace officer shall remove a child about whom a report is made pursuant to this section from the child's parents, stepparents, or guardian or any other persons having custody of the child without consultation with the public children services agency, unless, in the judgment of the officer, and, if the report was made by physician, the physician, immediate removal is considered essential to protect the child from further abuse or neglect. The agency that must be consulted shall be the agency conducting the investigation of the report as determined pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code.

(F)(1) Except as provided in section 2151.422 of the Revised Code or in an interagency agreement entered into under section 2151.428 of the Revised Code that applies to the particular report, the public children services agency shall investigate, within twenty-four hours, each report of child abuse or child neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed to have occurred and of a threat of child abuse or child neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed to exist that is referred to it under this section to determine the circumstances surrounding the injuries, abuse, or neglect or the threat of injury, abuse, or neglect, the cause of the injuries, abuse, neglect, or threat, and the person or persons responsible. The investigation shall be made in cooperation with the law enforcement agency and in accordance with the memorandum of understanding prepared under division (J) of this section. A representative of the public children services agency shall, at the time of initial contact with the person subject to the investigation, inform the person of the specific complaints or allegations made against the person. The information shall be given in a manner that is consistent with division (H)(1) of this section and protects the rights of the person making the report under this section.

A failure to make the investigation in accordance with the memorandum is not grounds for, and shall not result in, the dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from the report or the suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of the report and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving, any rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to any person. The public children services agency shall report each case to a central registry which the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system that the department of job and family services shall maintain in order to determine whether prior reports have been made in other counties concerning the child or other principals in the case accordance with section 5101.13 of the Revised Code. The public children services agency shall submit a report of its investigation, in writing, to the law enforcement agency.

(2) The public children services agency shall make any recommendations to the county prosecuting attorney or city director of law that it considers necessary to protect any children that are brought to its attention.

(G)(1)(a) Except as provided in division (H)(3) of this section, anyone or any hospital, institution, school, health department, or agency participating in the making of reports under division (A) of this section, anyone or any hospital, institution, school, health department, or agency participating in good faith in the making of reports under division (B) of this section, and anyone participating in good faith in a judicial proceeding resulting from the reports, shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability for injury, death, or loss to person or property that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as a result of the making of the reports or the participation in the judicial proceeding.

(b) Notwithstanding section 4731.22 of the Revised Code, the physician-patient privilege shall not be a ground for excluding evidence regarding a child's injuries, abuse, or neglect, or the cause of the injuries, abuse, or neglect in any judicial proceeding resulting from a report submitted pursuant to this section.

(2) In any civil or criminal action or proceeding in which it is alleged and proved that participation in the making of a report under this section was not in good faith or participation in a judicial proceeding resulting from a report made under this section was not in good faith, the court shall award the prevailing party reasonable attorney's fees and costs and, if a civil action or proceeding is voluntarily dismissed, may award reasonable attorney's fees and costs to the party against whom the civil action or proceeding is brought.

(H)(1) Except as provided in divisions (H)(4) and (M) of this section, a report made under this section is confidential. The information provided in a report made pursuant to this section and the name of the person who made the report shall not be released for use, and shall not be used, as evidence in any civil action or proceeding brought against the person who made the report. In a criminal proceeding, the report is admissible in evidence in accordance with the Rules of Evidence and is subject to discovery in accordance with the Rules of Criminal Procedure.

(2) No person shall permit or encourage the unauthorized dissemination of the contents of any report made under this section.

(3) A person who knowingly makes or causes another person to make a false report under division (B) of this section that alleges that any person has committed an act or omission that resulted in a child being an abused child or a neglected child is guilty of a violation of section 2921.14 of the Revised Code.

(4) If a report is made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section and the child who is the subject of the report dies for any reason at any time after the report is made, but before the child attains eighteen years of age, the public children services agency or municipal or county peace officer to which the report was made or referred, on the request of the child fatality review board, shall submit a summary sheet of information providing a summary of the report to the review board of the county in which the deceased child resided at the time of death. On the request of the review board, the agency or peace officer may, at its discretion, make the report available to the review board. If the county served by the public children services agency is also served by a children's advocacy center and the report of alleged sexual abuse of a child or another type of abuse of a child is specified in the memorandum of understanding that creates the center as being within the center's jurisdiction, the agency or center shall perform the duties and functions specified in this division in accordance with the interagency agreement entered into under section 2151.428 of the Revised Code relative to that advocacy center.

(5) A public children services agency shall advise a person alleged to have inflicted abuse or neglect on a child who is the subject of a report made pursuant to this section, including a report alleging sexual abuse of a child or another type of abuse of a child referred to a children's advocacy center pursuant to an interagency agreement entered into under section 2151.428 of the Revised Code, in writing of the disposition of the investigation. The agency shall not provide to the person any information that identifies the person who made the report, statements of witnesses, or police or other investigative reports.

(I) Any report that is required by this section, other than a report that is made to the state highway patrol as described in section 5120.173 of the Revised Code, shall result in protective services and emergency supportive services being made available by the public children services agency on behalf of the children about whom the report is made, in an effort to prevent further neglect or abuse, to enhance their welfare, and, whenever possible, to preserve the family unit intact. The agency required to provide the services shall be the agency conducting the investigation of the report pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code.

(J)(1) Each public children services agency shall prepare a memorandum of understanding that is signed by all of the following:

(a) If there is only one juvenile judge in the county, the juvenile judge of the county or the juvenile judge's representative;

(b) If there is more than one juvenile judge in the county, a juvenile judge or the juvenile judges' representative selected by the juvenile judges or, if they are unable to do so for any reason, the juvenile judge who is senior in point of service or the senior juvenile judge's representative;

(c) The county peace officer;

(d) All chief municipal peace officers within the county;

(e) Other law enforcement officers handling child abuse and neglect cases in the county;

(f) The prosecuting attorney of the county;

(g) If the public children services agency is not the county department of job and family services, the county department of job and family services;

(h) The county humane society;

(i) If the public children services agency participated in the execution of a memorandum of understanding under section 2151.426 of the Revised Code establishing a children's advocacy center, each participating member of the children's advocacy center established by the memorandum.

(2) A memorandum of understanding shall set forth the normal operating procedure to be employed by all concerned officials in the execution of their respective responsibilities under this section and division (C) of section 2919.21, division (B)(1) of section 2919.22, division (B) of section 2919.23, and section 2919.24 of the Revised Code and shall have as two of its primary goals the elimination of all unnecessary interviews of children who are the subject of reports made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section and, when feasible, providing for only one interview of a child who is the subject of any report made pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section. A failure to follow the procedure set forth in the memorandum by the concerned officials is not grounds for, and shall not result in, the dismissal of any charges or complaint arising from any reported case of abuse or neglect or the suppression of any evidence obtained as a result of any reported child abuse or child neglect and does not give, and shall not be construed as giving, any rights or any grounds for appeal or post-conviction relief to any person.

(3) A memorandum of understanding shall include all of the following:

(a) The roles and responsibilities for handling emergency and nonemergency cases of abuse and neglect;

(b) Standards and procedures to be used in handling and coordinating investigations of reported cases of child abuse and reported cases of child neglect, methods to be used in interviewing the child who is the subject of the report and who allegedly was abused or neglected, and standards and procedures addressing the categories of persons who may interview the child who is the subject of the report and who allegedly was abused or neglected.

(4) If a public children services agency participated in the execution of a memorandum of understanding under section 2151.426 of the Revised Code establishing a children's advocacy center, the agency shall incorporate the contents of that memorandum in the memorandum prepared pursuant to this section.

(K)(1) Except as provided in division (K)(4) of this section, a person who is required to make a report pursuant to division (A) of this section may make a reasonable number of requests of the public children services agency that receives or is referred the report, or of the children's advocacy center that is referred the report if the report is referred to a children's advocacy center pursuant to an interagency agreement entered into under section 2151.428 of the Revised Code, to be provided with the following information:

(a) Whether the agency or center has initiated an investigation of the report;

(b) Whether the agency or center is continuing to investigate the report;

(c) Whether the agency or center is otherwise involved with the child who is the subject of the report;

(d) The general status of the health and safety of the child who is the subject of the report;

(e) Whether the report has resulted in the filing of a complaint in juvenile court or of criminal charges in another court.

(2) A person may request the information specified in division (K)(1) of this section only if, at the time the report is made, the person's name, address, and telephone number are provided to the person who receives the report.

When a municipal or county peace officer or employee of a public children services agency receives a report pursuant to division (A) or (B) of this section the recipient of the report shall inform the person of the right to request the information described in division (K)(1) of this section. The recipient of the report shall include in the initial child abuse or child neglect report that the person making the report was so informed and, if provided at the time of the making of the report, shall include the person's name, address, and telephone number in the report.

Each request is subject to verification of the identity of the person making the report. If that person's identity is verified, the agency shall provide the person with the information described in division (K)(1) of this section a reasonable number of times, except that the agency shall not disclose any confidential information regarding the child who is the subject of the report other than the information described in those divisions.

(3) A request made pursuant to division (K)(1) of this section is not a substitute for any report required to be made pursuant to division (A) of this section.

(4) If an agency other than the agency that received or was referred the report is conducting the investigation of the report pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code, the agency conducting the investigation shall comply with the requirements of division (K) of this section.

(L) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section. The department of job and family services may enter into a plan of cooperation with any other governmental entity to aid in ensuring that children are protected from abuse and neglect. The department shall make recommendations to the attorney general that the department determines are necessary to protect children from child abuse and child neglect.

(M)(1) As used in this division:

(a) "Out-of-home care" includes a nonchartered nonpublic school if the alleged child abuse or child neglect, or alleged threat of child abuse or child neglect, described in a report received by a public children services agency allegedly occurred in or involved the nonchartered nonpublic school and the alleged perpetrator named in the report holds a certificate, permit, or license issued by the state board of education under section 3301.071 or Chapter 3319. of the Revised Code.

(b) "Administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer" means the superintendent of the school district if the out-of-home care entity subject to a report made pursuant to this section is a school operated by the district.

(2) No later than the end of the day following the day on which a public children services agency receives a report of alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred in or involved an out-of-home care entity, the agency shall provide written notice of the allegations contained in and the person named as the alleged perpetrator in the report to the administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer of the out-of-home care entity that is the subject of the report unless the administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer is named as an alleged perpetrator in the report. If the administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer of an out-of-home care entity is named as an alleged perpetrator in a report of alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred in or involved the out-of-home care entity, the agency shall provide the written notice to the owner or governing board of the out-of-home care entity that is the subject of the report. The agency shall not provide witness statements or police or other investigative reports.

(3) No later than three days after the day on which a public children services agency that conducted the investigation as determined pursuant to section 2151.422 of the Revised Code makes a disposition of an investigation involving a report of alleged child abuse or child neglect, or a report of an alleged threat of child abuse or child neglect, that allegedly occurred in or involved an out-of-home care entity, the agency shall send written notice of the disposition of the investigation to the administrator, director, or other chief administrative officer and the owner or governing board of the out-of-home care entity. The agency shall not provide witness statements or police or other investigative reports.

Sec. 2151.423.  A public children services agency shall disclose confidential information discovered during an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2151.421 or 2151.422 of the Revised Code to any federal, state, or local government entity that needs the information to carry out its responsibilities to protect children from abuse or neglect.

Information disclosed pursuant to this section is confidential and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to section 149.43 or 1347.08 of the Revised Code by the agency to whom the information was disclosed. The agency receiving the information shall maintain the confidentiality of information disclosed pursuant to this section.

Sec. 3107.011. (A) A person seeking to adopt a minor shall utilize an agency or attorney to arrange the adoption. Only an agency or attorney may arrange an adoption. An attorney may not represent with regard to the adoption both the person seeking to adopt and the parent placing a child for adoption.

Any person may informally aid or promote an adoption by making a person seeking to adopt a minor aware of a minor who will be or is available for adoption.

(B) A person seeking to adopt a minor who knowingly makes a false statement that is included in an application submitted to an agency or attorney to obtain services of that agency or attorney in arranging an adoption is guilty of the offense of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3107.014.  (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, only an individual who meets all of the following requirements may perform the duties of an assessor under sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.082, 3107.09, 3107.101, 3107.12, 5103.0324, and 5103.152 of the Revised Code:

(1) The individual must be in the employ of, appointed by, or under contract with a court, public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency;

(2) The individual must be one of the following:

(a) A professional counselor or, social worker, or marriage and family therapist licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code;

(b) A psychologist licensed under Chapter 4732. of the Revised Code;

(c) A student working to earn a four-year, post-secondary degree, or higher, in a social or behavior science, or both, who conducts assessor's duties under the supervision of a professional counselor or, social worker, or marriage and family therapist licensed under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code or a psychologist licensed under Chapter 4732. of the Revised Code;. Beginning July 1, 2009, a student is eligible under this division only if the supervising professional counselor, social worker, marriage and family therapist, or psychologist has completed training in accordance with rules adopted under section 3107.015 of the Revised Code.

(d) A civil service employee engaging in social work without a license under Chapter 4757. of the Revised Code, as permitted by division (A)(5) of section 4757.41 of the Revised Code;

(e) A former employee of a public children services agency who, while so employed, conducted the duties of an assessor.

(3) The individual must complete education programs training in accordance with rules adopted under section 3107.015 of the Revised Code.

(B) An individual in the employ of, appointed by, or under contract with a court prior to September 18, 1996, to conduct adoption investigations of prospective adoptive parents may perform the duties of an assessor under sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.082, 3107.09, 3107.101, 3107.12, 5103.0324, and 5103.152 of the Revised Code if the individual complies with division (A)(3) of this section regardless of whether the individual meets the requirement of division (A)(2) of this section.

(C) A court, public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency may employ, appoint, or contract with an assessor in the county in which a petition for adoption is filed and in any other county or location outside this state where information needed to complete or supplement the assessor's duties may be obtained. More than one assessor may be utilized for an adoption.

(D) Not later than January 1, 2008, the department of job and family services shall develop and maintain an assessor registry. The registry shall list all individuals who are employed, appointed by, or under contract with a court, public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency and meet the requirements of an assessor as described in this section. A public children services agency, private child placing agency, private noncustodial agency, court, or any other person may contact the department to determine if an individual is listed in the assessor registry. An individual listed in the assessor registry shall immediately inform the department when that individual is no longer employed, appointed by, or under contract with a court, public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency to perform the duties of an assessor as described in this section. The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation, contents, and maintenance of the registry, and any sanctions related to the provision of information, or the failure to provide information, that is needed for the proper operation of the assessor registry.

Sec. 3107.015.  Not later than ninety days after June 20, 1996, the The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code governing the education programs training an individual must complete for the purpose of division (A)(3) of section 3107.014 of the Revised Code. The education programs training shall include courses on adoption placement practice, federal and state adoption assistance programs, and post adoption support services.

Sec. 3107.016.  The department of job and family services shall develop a schedule of education programs training that meet meets the requirements established in rules adopted pursuant to section 3107.015 of the Revised Code. The schedule shall include enough programs training to provide all agencies equal access to the programs training. The department shall distribute the schedule to all agencies.

Sec. 3107.02.  (A) Any minor may be adopted.

(B) An adult may be adopted under any of the following conditions:

(1) If the adult is totally and permanently disabled;

(2) If the adult is determined to be a mentally retarded person as defined in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code;

(3) If the adult had established a child-foster caregiver or child-stepparent relationship with the petitioners as a minor, and the adult consents to the adoption;

(4) If the adult was, at the time of the adult's eighteenth birthday, in the permanent custody of a public children services agency or a private child placing agency, and the adult consents to the adoption.

(C) When proceedings to adopt a minor are initiated by the filing of a petition, and the eighteenth birthday of the minor occurs prior to the decision of the court, the court shall require the person who is to be adopted to submit a written statement of consent or objection to the adoption. If an objection is submitted, the petition shall be dismissed, and if a consent is submitted, the court shall proceed with the case, and may issue an interlocutory order or final decree of adoption.

(D) Any physical examination of the individual to be adopted as part of or in contemplation of a petition to adopt may be conducted by any health professional authorized by the Revised Code to perform physical examinations, including a physician assistant, a clinical nurse specialist, a certified nurse practitioner, or a certified nurse-midwife. Any written documentation of the physical examination shall be completed by the healthcare professional who conducted the examination.

(E) An adult who consents to an adoption pursuant to division (B)(4) of this section shall provide the court with the name and contact information of the public children services agency or private child placing agency that had permanent custody of that adult. The petitioner shall request verification from the agency as to whether the adult was or was not in the permanent custody of that agency at the time of the adult's eighteenth birthday and provide the verification to the court.

Sec. 3107.031.  Except as otherwise provided in this section, an assessor shall conduct a home study for the purpose of ascertaining whether a person seeking to adopt a minor is suitable to adopt. A written report of the home study shall be filed with the court at least ten days before the petition for adoption is heard.

A person seeking to adopt a minor who knowingly makes a false statement that is included in the written report of a home study conducted pursuant to this section is guilty of the offense of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code, and such a home study shall not be filed with the court. If such a home study is filed with the court, the court may strike the home study from the court's records.

The report shall contain the opinion of the assessor as to whether the person who is the subject of the report is suitable to adopt a minor, any multiple children assessment required under section 3107.032 of the Revised Code, and other information and documents specified in rules adopted by the director of job and family services under section 3107.032 3107.033 of the Revised Code. The assessor shall not consider the person's age when determining whether the person is suitable to adopt if the person is old enough to adopt as provided by section 3107.03 of the Revised Code.

An assessor may request departments or agencies within or outside this state to assist in the home study as may be appropriate and to make a written report to be included with and attached to the report to the court. The assessor shall make similar home studies and reports on behalf of other assessors designated by the courts of this state or another place.

Upon order of the court, the costs of the home study and other proceedings shall be paid by the person seeking to adopt, and, if the home study is conducted by a public agency or public employee, the part of the cost representing any services and expenses shall be taxed as costs and paid into the state treasury or county treasury, as the court may direct.

On request, the assessor shall provide the person seeking to adopt a copy of the report of the home study. The assessor shall delete from that copy any provisions concerning the opinion of other persons, excluding the assessor, of the person's suitability to adopt a minor.

This section does not apply to a foster caregiver seeking to adopt the foster caregiver's foster child if the foster child has resided in the foster caregiver's home for at least twelve months prior to the date the foster caregiver submits an application prescribed under division (B) of section 3107.012 of the Revised Code to the agency arranging the adoption.

Sec. 3107.032.  (A) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, each time a person seeking to adopt a minor or foster child will have at least five children residing in the prospective adoptive home after the minor or foster child to be adopted is placed in the home, an assessor, on behalf of an agency or attorney arranging an adoption pursuant to sections 3107.011 or 3107.012 of the Revised Code, shall complete a multiple children assessment during the home study. The multiple children assessment shall evaluate the ability of the person seeking to adopt in meeting the needs of the minor or foster child to be adopted and continuing to meet the needs of the children residing in the home. The assessor shall include the multiple children assessment in the written report of the home study filed pursuant to section 3107.031 of the Revised Code.

(B) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for an assessor to complete a multiple children assessment.

(C) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent whose spouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the minor to be adopted.

Sec. 3107.032 3107.033.  Not later than ninety days after June 20, 1996 January 1, 2008, the director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying the both of the following:

(A) The manner in which a home study is to be conducted and the information and documents to be included in a home study report, which shall include, pursuant to section 3107.034 of the Revised Code, a summary report of a search of the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system established in section 5101.13 of the Revised Code;

(B) A procedure under which a person whose application for adoption has been denied as a result of a search of the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system established in section 5101.13 of the Revised Code as part of the home study may appeal the denial to the agency that employed the assessor who filed the report.

Sec. 3107.034. (A) The summary report of a search of the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system established in section 5101.13 of the Revised Code that is required under section 3107.033 of the Revised Code shall contain, if applicable, a chronological list of abuse and neglect determinations or allegations of which the person seeking to adopt is subject and in regards to which a public children services agency has done one of the following:

(1) Determined that abuse or neglect occurred;

(2) Initiated an investigation, and the investigation is ongoing;

(3) Initiated an investigation and the agency was unable to determine whether abuse or neglect occurred.

(B) The summary report required under section 3107.033 of the Revised Code shall not contain any of the following:

(1) An abuse and neglect determination of which the person seeking to adopt is subject and in regards to which a public children services agency determined that abuse or neglect did not occur;

(2) Information or reports the dissemination of which is prohibited by, or interferes with eligibility under, the "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act," 88 Stat. 4 (1974), 42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., as amended;

(3) The name of the person who or entity that made, or participated in the making of, the report of abuse or neglect.

(C)(1) An application for adoption may be denied based on a summary report containing the information described under division (A)(1) of this section, when considered within the totality of the circumstances. An application that is denied may be appealed using the procedure adopted pursuant to division (B) of section 3107.033 of the Revised Code.

(2) An application for adoption shall not be denied solely based on a summary report containing the information described under division (A)(2) or (3) of this section.

Sec. 3107.10 3107.055.  (A) Notwithstanding section 3107.01 of the Revised Code, as used in this section, "agency" does not include a public children services agency.

(B) An agency or attorney, whichever arranges a minor's adoption, shall file with the court a preliminary estimate accounting not later than the time the adoption petition for the minor is filed with the court. The agency or attorney, whichever arranges the adoption, also shall file a final accounting with the court before a final decree of adoption is issued or an interlocutory order of adoption is finalized for the minor. The agency or attorney shall complete and file accountings in a manner acceptable to the court.

An accounting shall specify all disbursements of anything of value the petitioner, a person on the petitioner's behalf, and the agency or attorney made and has agreed to make in connection with the minor's permanent surrender under division (B) of section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, placement under section 5103.16 of the Revised Code, and adoption under this chapter. The agency or attorney shall include in an accounting an itemization of each expense listed in division (C) of this section. The itemization of the expenses specified in divisions (C)(3) and (4) of this section shall show the amount the agency or attorney charged or is going to charge for the services and the actual cost to the agency or attorney of providing the services. An accounting shall indicate whether any expenses listed in division (C) of this section do not apply to the adoption proceeding for which the accounting is filed.

The agency or attorney shall include with a preliminary estimate accounting and a final accounting a written statement signed by the petitioner that the petitioner has reviewed the accounting and attests to its accuracy.

(C) No petitioner, person acting on a petitioner's behalf, or agency or attorney shall make or agree to make any disbursements in connection with the minor's permanent surrender, placement, or adoption other than for the following:

(1) Physician expenses incurred on behalf of the birth mother or minor in connection with prenatal care, delivery, and confinement prior to or following the minor's birth;

(2) Hospital or other medical facility expenses incurred on behalf of the birth mother or minor in connection with the minor's birth;

(3) Expenses charged by the attorney arranging the adoption for providing legal services in connection with the placement and adoption, including expenses incurred by the attorney pursuant to sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.081, 3107.082, 3107.09, 3107.101, and 3107.12 of the Revised Code;

(4) Expenses charged by the agency arranging the adoption for providing services in connection with the permanent surrender and adoption, including the agency's application fee and the expenses incurred by the agency pursuant to sections 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.09, 3107.101, 3107.12, 5103.151, and 5103.152 of the Revised Code;

(5) Temporary costs of routine maintenance and medical care for a minor required under section 5103.16 of the Revised Code if the person seeking to adopt the minor refuses to accept placement of the minor;

(6) Guardian ad litem fees incurred on behalf of the minor in any court proceedings;

(7) Foster care expenses incurred in connection with any temporary care and maintenance of the minor;

(8) Court expenses incurred in connection with the minor's permanent surrender, placement, and adoption.

(D) If a court determines from an accounting that an amount that is going to be disbursed for an expense listed in division (C) of this section is unreasonable, the court may order a reduction in the amount to be disbursed. If a court determines from an accounting that an unreasonable amount was disbursed for an expense listed in division (C) of this section, the court may order the person who received the disbursement to refund to the person who made the disbursement an amount the court orders.

If a court determines from an accounting that a disbursement for an expense not permitted by division (C) of this section is going to be made, the court may issue an injunction prohibiting the disbursement. If a court determines from an accounting that a disbursement for an expense not permitted by division (C) of this section was made, the court may order the person who received the disbursement to return it to the person who made the disbursement.

If a court determines that a final accounting does not completely report all the disbursements that are going to be made or have been made in connection with the minor's permanent surrender, placement, and adoption, the court shall order the agency or attorney to file with the court an accounting that completely reports all such disbursements.

The agency or attorney shall file the final accounting with the court not later than ten days prior to the date scheduled for the final hearing on the adoption. The court may not issue a final decree of adoption or finalize an interlocutory order of adoption of a minor until at least ten days after the agency or attorney files the final accounting.

(E) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent whose spouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the minor.

Sec. 3107.10.  (A)(1) A public children services agency arranging an adoption in a county other than the county where that public children services agency is located, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency, or an attorney arranging an adoption, shall notify the public children services agency in the county in which the prospective adoptive parent resides within ten days after initiation of a home study required under section 3107.031 of the Revised Code.

(2) After a public children services agency has received notification pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section, both the public children services agency arranging an adoption in a county other than the county where that public children services agency is located, private child placing agency, private noncustodial agency, or attorney arranging an adoption, and the public children services agency shall share relevant information regarding the prospective adoptive parent as soon as possible after initiation of the home study.

(B) A public children services agency arranging an adoption in a county other than the county where that public children services agency is located, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency, or an attorney arranging an adoption, shall notify the public children services agency in the county in which the prospective adoptive parent resides of an impending adoptive placement not later than ten days prior to that placement. Notification shall include a description of the special needs and the age of the prospective adoptive child and the name of the prospective adoptive parent and number of children that will be residing in the prospective adoptive home when the prospective adoptive child is placed in the prospective adoptive home.

(C) An agency or attorney sharing relevant information pursuant to this section is immune from liability in a civil action to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by any act or omission in connection with sharing relevant information unless the acts or omissions are with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.

(D) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation and execution of this section, including, but not limited to, a definition of "relevant information" for the purposes of division (A) of this section.

(E) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent whose spouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the minor to be adopted.

Sec. 3107.101.  (A) Not later than seven days after a minor to be adopted is placed in a prospective adoptive home pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code, the assessor providing placement or post placement services in the prospective adoptive home shall conduct a prospective adoptive home visit in that home, every thirty days, until the court issues a final decree of adoption. During the prospective adoptive home visits, the assessor shall evaluate the progression of the placement in the prospective adoptive home. The assessor shall include the evaluation in the prefinalization assessment required under section 3107.12 of the Revised Code.

(B) During the prospective home visit required under division (A) of this section, the assessor shall make face-to-face contact with the prospective adoptive parent and the minor to be adopted. The assessor shall make contact, as prescribed by rule under division (C) of this section, with all other children or adults residing in the prospective adoptive home.

(C) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation and execution of this section.

(D) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent whose spouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the minor to be adopted.

Sec. 3107.12.  (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, an assessor shall conduct a prefinalization assessment of a minor and petitioner before a court issues a final decree of adoption or finalizes an interlocutory order of adoption for the minor. On completion of the assessment, the assessor shall prepare a written report of the assessment and provide a copy of the report to the court before which the adoption petition is pending.

The report of a prefinalization assessment shall include all of the following:

(1) The adjustment of the minor and the petitioner to the adoptive placement;

(2) The present and anticipated needs of the minor and the petitioner, as determined by a review of the minor's medical and social history, for adoption-related services, including assistance under Title IV-E of the "Social Security Act," 94 Stat. 501 (1980), 42 U.S.C.A. 670, as amended, or section 5153.163 of the Revised Code and counseling, case management services, crisis services, diagnostic services, and therapeutic counseling.

(3) The physical, mental, and developmental condition of the minor;

(4) If known, the minor's biological family background, including identifying information about the biological or other legal parents;

(5) The reasons for the minor's placement with the petitioner, the petitioner's attitude toward the proposed adoption, and the circumstances under which the minor was placed in the home of the petitioner;

(6) The attitude of the minor toward the proposed adoption, if the minor's age makes this feasible;

(7) If the minor is an Indian child, as defined in 25 U.S.C.A. 1903(4), how the placement complies with the "Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978," 92 Stat. 3069, 25 U.S.C.A. 1901, as amended;

(8) If known, the minor's psychological background, including prior abuse of the child and behavioral problems of the child;

(9) If applicable, the documents or forms required under sections 3107.032, 3107.10, and 3107.101 of the Revised Code.

The assessor shall file the prefinalization report with the court not later than twenty days prior to the date scheduled for the final hearing on the adoption unless the court determines there is good cause for filing the report at a later date.

The assessor shall provide a copy of the written report of the assessment to the petitioner with the identifying information about the biological or other legal parents redacted.

(B) This section does not apply if the petitioner is the minor's stepparent, unless a court, after determining a prefinalization assessment is in the best interest of the minor, orders that an assessor conduct a prefinalization assessment.

(C) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code defining "counseling," "case management services," "crisis services," "diagnostic services," and "therapeutic counseling" for the purpose of this section.

Sec. 3107.14.  (A) The petitioner and the person sought to be adopted shall appear at the hearing on the petition, unless the presence of either is excused by the court for good cause shown.

(B) The court may continue the hearing from time to time to permit further observation, investigation, or consideration of any facts or circumstances affecting the granting of the petition, and may examine the petitioners separate and apart from each other.

(C) If, at the conclusion of the hearing, the court finds that the required consents have been obtained or excused and that the adoption is in the best interest of the person sought to be adopted as supported by the evidence, it may issue, subject to division (C)(1) of section 2151.86, section 3107.064, and division (E) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code, and any other limitations specified in this chapter, a final decree of adoption or an interlocutory order of adoption, which by its own terms automatically becomes a final decree of adoption on a date specified in the order, which, except as provided in division (B) of section 3107.13 of the Revised Code, shall not be less than six months or more than one year from the date of issuance of the order, unless sooner vacated by the court for good cause shown. In determining whether the adoption is in the best interest of the person sought to be adopted, the court shall not consider the age of the petitioner if the petitioner is old enough to adopt as provided by section 3107.03 of the Revised Code.

In an interlocutory order of adoption, the court shall provide for observation, investigation, and a further report on the adoptive home during the interlocutory period.

(D) If the requirements for a decree under division (C) of this section have not been satisfied or the court vacates an interlocutory order of adoption, or if the court finds that a person sought to be adopted was placed in the home of the petitioner in violation of law, the court shall dismiss the petition and may determine the agency or person to have temporary or permanent custody of the person, which may include the agency or person that had custody prior to the filing of the petition or the petitioner, if the court finds it is in the best interest of the person as supported by the evidence, or if the person is a minor, the court may certify the case to the juvenile court of the county where the minor is then residing for appropriate action and disposition.

(E) The issuance of a final decree or interlocutory order of adoption for an adult adoption under division (A)(4) of section 3107.02 of the Revised Code shall not disqualify that adult for services under section 2151.82 or 2151.83 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 3107.17.  (A) All hearings held under sections 3107.01 to 3107.19 of the Revised Code shall be held in closed court without the admittance of any person other than essential officers of the court, the parties, the witnesses of the parties, counsel, persons who have not previously consented to an adoption but who are required to consent, and representatives of the agencies present to perform their official duties.

(B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (B)(2) and (D) of this section and sections 3107.39 to 3107.44 and 3107.60 to 3107.68 of the Revised Code, no person or governmental entity shall knowingly reveal any information contained in a paper, book, or record pertaining to a placement under section 5103.16 of the Revised Code or to an adoption that is part of the permanent record of a court or maintained by the department of job and family services, an agency, or attorney without the consent of a court.

(2) An agency or attorney may examine the agency's or attorney's own papers, books, and records pertaining to a placement or an adoption without a court's consent for official administrative purposes. The department of job and family services may examine its own papers, books, and records pertaining to a placement or an adoption, or such papers, books, and records of an agency, without a court's consent for official administrative, certification, and eligibility determination purposes.

(C) The petition, the interlocutory order, the final decree of adoption, and other adoption proceedings shall be recorded in a book kept for such purposes and shall be separately indexed. The book shall be a part of the records of the court, and all consents, affidavits, and other papers shall be properly filed.

(D) All forms that pertain to the social or medical histories of the biological parents of an adopted person and that were completed pursuant to section 3107.09 or 3107.091 of the Revised Code shall be filed only in the permanent record kept by the court. During the minority of the adopted person, only the adoptive parents of the person may inspect the forms. When an adopted person reaches majority, only the adopted person may inspect the forms. Under the circumstances described in this division, an adopted person or the adoptive parents are entitled to inspect the forms upon requesting the clerk of the court to produce them.

(E)(1) The department of job and family services shall prescribe a form that permits any person who is authorized by division (D) of this section to inspect forms that pertain to the social or medical histories of the biological parents and that were completed pursuant to section 3107.09 or 3107.091 of the Revised Code to request notice if any correction or expansion of either such history, made pursuant to division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code, is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court. The form shall be designed to facilitate the provision of the information and statements described in division (E)(3) of this section. The department shall provide copies of the form to each court. A court shall provide a copy of the request form to each adoptive parent when a final decree of adoption is entered and shall explain to each adoptive parent at that time that an adoptive parent who completes and files the form will be notified of any correction or expansion of either the social or medical history of the biological parents of the adopted person made during the minority of the adopted person that is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, and that, during the adopted person's minority, the adopted person may inspect the forms that pertain to those histories. Upon request, the court also shall provide a copy of the request form to any adoptive parent during the minority of the adopted person and to an adopted person who has reached the age of majority.

(2) Any person who is authorized to inspect forms pursuant to division (D) of this section who wishes to be notified of corrections or expansions pursuant to division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code that are made a part of the permanent record kept by the court shall file with the court, on a copy of the form prescribed by the department of job and family services pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section, a request for such notification that contains the information and statements required by division (E)(3) of this section. A request may be filed at any time if the person who files the request is authorized at that time to inspect forms that pertain to the social or medical histories.

(3) A request for notification as described in division (E)(2) of this section shall contain all of the following information:

(a) The adopted person's name and mailing address at that time;

(b) The name of each adoptive parent, and if the adoptive person is a minor at the time of the filing of the request, the mailing address of each adoptive parent at that time;

(c) The adopted person's date of birth;

(d) The date of entry of the final decree of adoption;

(e) A statement requesting the court to notify the person who files the request, at the address provided in the request, if any correction or expansion of either the social or medical history of the biological parents is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court;

(f) A statement that the person who files the request is authorized, at the time of the filing, to inspect the forms that pertain to the social and medical histories of the biological parents;

(g) The signature of the person who files the request.

(4) Upon the filing of a request for notification in accordance with division (E)(2) of this section, the clerk of the court in which it is filed immediately shall insert the request in the permanent record of the case. A person who has filed the request and who wishes to update it with respect to a new mailing address may inform the court in writing of the new address. Upon its receipt, the court promptly shall insert the new address into the permanent record by attaching it to the request. Thereafter, any notification described in this division shall be sent to the new address.

(5) Whenever a social or medical history of a biological parent is corrected or expanded and the correction or expansion is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, the court shall ascertain whether a request for notification has been filed in accordance with division (E)(2) of this section. If such a request has been filed, the court shall determine whether, at that time, the person who filed the request is authorized, under division (D) of this section, to inspect the forms that pertain to the social or medical history of the biological parents. If the court determines that the person who filed the request is so authorized, it immediately shall notify the person that the social or medical history has been corrected or expanded, that it has been made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, and that the forms that pertain to the records may be inspected in accordance with division (D) of this section.

Sec. 3107.66.  (A) As used in this section, "adopted person," "adoptive parent," "birth parent," and "birth sibling" have the same meanings as in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Adopted person" includes both an "adopted person" as defined in section 3107.39 of the Revised Code and an "adopted person" as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Adoptive parent" means a person who adopted an adopted person.

(3) "Birth parent" means the biological parent of an adopted person.

(4) "Birth sibling" means a biological sibling of an adopted person.

(B) An adopted person age eighteen or older, an adoptive parent of an adopted person under age eighteen, or an adoptive family member of a deceased adopted person may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person's adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adopted person's adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member information about the adopted person's birth parent or birth sibling contained in the agency's, attorney's, or court's adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.

A birth parent of an adopted person, a birth sibling age eighteen or older, or a birth family member of a deceased birth parent may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person's adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member information about the adopted person or adoptive parent contained in the agency's, attorney's, or court's adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.

(C) An agency or attorney that has permanently ceased to arrange adoptions is not subject to division (B) of this section. If the adoption records of such an agency or attorney are held by a probate court, person, or other governmental entity pursuant to section 3107.67 of the Revised Code, the adopted person, adoptive parent, adoptive family member, birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member may submit the written request that otherwise would be submitted to the agency or attorney under division (B) of this section to the court, person, or other governmental entity that holds the records. On receipt of the request, the court, person, or other governmental entity shall provide the information that the agency or attorney would have been required to provide within a reasonable amount of time. The court, person, or other governmental entity may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.

(D) Prior to providing nonidentifying information pursuant to division (B) or (C) of this section, the person or governmental entity providing the information shall review the record to ensure that all identifying information about any person contained in the record is deleted.

Sec. 3109.16.  The children's trust fund board, upon the recommendation of the director of job and family services, shall approve the employment of an executive director who will administer the programs of the board. The department of job and family services shall provide budgetary, procurement, accounting, and other related management functions for the board and may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for these purposes. An amount not to exceed three per cent of the total amount of fees deposited in the children's trust fund in each fiscal year may be used for costs directly related to these administrative functions of the department. Each fiscal year, the board shall approve a budget for administrative expenditures for the next fiscal year.

The board shall meet at least quarterly at the call of the chairperson to conduct its official business. All business transactions of the board shall be conducted in public meetings. Eight members of the board constitute a quorum. A majority of the board members is required to adopt the state plan for the allocation of funds from the children's trust fund. A majority of the quorum is required to make all other decisions of the board.

The board may apply for and accept federal and other funds for the purpose of funding child abuse and child neglect prevention programs. In addition, the board may accept gifts and donations from any source, including individuals, philanthropic foundations or organizations, corporations, or corporation endowments. The acceptance and use of federal funds shall not entail any commitment or pledge of state funds, nor obligate the general assembly to continue the programs or activities for which the federal funds are made available. All funds received in the manner described in this section shall be transmitted to the treasurer of state, who shall credit them to the children's trust fund created in section 3109.14 of the Revised Code.

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. 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) 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 semi-annual 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)(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. 3313.64.  (A) As used in this section and in section 3313.65 of the Revised Code:

(1)(a) Except as provided in division (A)(1)(b) of this section, "parent" means either parent, unless the parents are separated or divorced or their marriage has been dissolved or annulled, in which case "parent" means the parent who is the residential parent and legal custodian of the child. When a child is in the legal custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent with residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. When a child is in the permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent, "parent" means the parent who was divested of parental rights and responsibilities for the care of the child and the right to have the child live with the parent and be the legal custodian of the child and all residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities.

(b) When a child is the subject of a power of attorney executed under sections 3109.51 to 3109.62 of the Revised Code, "parent" means the grandparent designated as attorney in fact under the power of attorney. When a child is the subject of a caretaker authorization affidavit executed under sections 3109.64 to 3109.73 of the Revised Code, "parent" means the grandparent that executed the affidavit.

(2) "Legal custody," "permanent custody," and "residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities" have the same meanings as in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.

(3) "School district" or "district" means a city, local, or exempted village school district and excludes any school operated in an institution maintained by the department of youth services.

(4) Except as used in division (C)(2) of this section, "home" means a home, institution, foster home, group home, or other residential facility in this state that receives and cares for children, to which any of the following applies:

(a) The home is licensed, certified, or approved for such purpose by the state or is maintained by the department of youth services.

(b) The home is operated by a person who is licensed, certified, or approved by the state to operate the home for such purpose.

(c) The home accepted the child through a placement by a person licensed, certified, or approved to place a child in such a home by the state.

(d) The home is a children's home created under section 5153.21 or 5153.36 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Agency" means all of the following:

(a) A public children services agency;

(b) An organization that holds a certificate issued by the Ohio department of job and family services in accordance with the requirements of section 5103.03 of the Revised Code and assumes temporary or permanent custody of children through commitment, agreement, or surrender, and places children in family homes for the purpose of adoption;

(c) Comparable agencies of other states or countries that have complied with applicable requirements of section 2151.39, or sections 5103.20 to 5103.28 5103.22 of the Revised Code.

(6) A child is placed for adoption if either of the following occurs:

(a) An agency to which the child has been permanently committed or surrendered enters into an agreement with a person pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code for the care and adoption of the child.

(b) The child's natural parent places the child pursuant to section 5103.16 of the Revised Code with a person who will care for and adopt the child.

(7) "Handicapped preschool child" means a handicapped child, as defined by division (A) of section 3323.01 of the Revised Code, who is at least three years of age but is not of compulsory school age, as defined in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code, and who is not currently enrolled in kindergarten.

(8) "Child," unless otherwise indicated, includes handicapped preschool children.

(9) "Active duty" means active duty pursuant to an executive order of the president of the United States, an act of the congress of the United States, or section 5919.29 or 5923.21 of the Revised Code.

(B) Except as otherwise provided in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code for admittance to kindergarten and first grade, a child who is at least five but under twenty-two years of age and any handicapped preschool child shall be admitted to school as provided in this division.

(1) A child shall be admitted to the schools of the school district in which the child's parent resides.

(2) A child who does not reside in the district where the child's parent resides shall be admitted to the schools of the district in which the child resides if any of the following applies:

(a) The child is in the legal or permanent custody of a government agency or a person other than the child's natural or adoptive parent.

(b) The child resides in a home.

(c) The child requires special education.

(3) A child who is not entitled under division (B)(2) of this section to be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides and who is residing with a resident of this state with whom the child has been placed for adoption shall be admitted to the schools of the district where the child resides unless either of the following applies:

(a) The placement for adoption has been terminated.

(b) Another school district is required to admit the child under division (B)(1) of this section.

Division (B) of this section does not prohibit the board of education of a school district from placing a handicapped child who resides in the district in a special education program outside of the district or its schools in compliance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code.

(C) A district shall not charge tuition for children admitted under division (B)(1) or (3) of this section. If the district admits a child under division (B)(2) of this section, tuition shall be paid to the district that admits the child as follows:

(1) If the child receives special education in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, the school district of residence, as defined in section 3323.01 of the Revised Code, shall pay tuition for the child in accordance with section 3323.091, 3323.13, 3323.14, or 3323.141 of the Revised Code regardless of who has custody of the child or whether the child resides in a home.

(2) For a child that does not receive special education in accordance with Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code, except as otherwise provided in division (C)(2)(d) of this section, if the child is in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent, tuition shall be paid by:

(a) The district in which the child's parent resided at the time the court removed the child from home or at the time the court vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first;

(b) If the parent's residence at the time the court removed the child from home or placed the child in the legal or permanent custody of the person or government agency is unknown, tuition shall be paid by the district in which the child resided at the time the child was removed from home or placed in legal or permanent custody, whichever occurred first;

(c) If a school district cannot be established under division (C)(2)(a) or (b) of this section, tuition shall be paid by the district determined as required by section 2151.357 of the Revised Code by the court at the time it vests custody of the child in the person or government agency;

(d) If at the time the court removed the child from home or vested legal or permanent custody of the child in the person or government agency, whichever occurred first, one parent was in a residential or correctional facility or a juvenile residential placement and the other parent, if living and not in such a facility or placement, was not known to reside in this state, tuition shall be paid by the district determined under division (D) of section 3313.65 of the Revised Code as the district required to pay any tuition while the parent was in such facility or placement;

(e) If the court has modified its order as to which district is responsible to bear the cost of educating the child pursuant to division (A)(2) of section 2151.357 of the Revised Code, the district determined to be responsible for that cost in the order so modified.

(3) If the child is not in the permanent or legal custody of a government agency or person other than the child's parent and the child resides in a home, tuition shall be paid by one of the following:

(a) The school district in which the child's parent resides;

(b) If the child's parent is not a resident of this state, the home in which the child resides.

(D) Tuition required to be paid under divisions (C)(2) and (3)(a) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.08 of the Revised Code. Tuition required to be paid under division (C)(3)(b) of this section shall be computed in accordance with section 3317.081 of the Revised Code. If a home fails to pay the tuition required by division (C)(3)(b) of this section, the board of education providing the education may recover in a civil action the tuition and the expenses incurred in prosecuting the action, including court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. If the prosecuting attorney or city director of law represents the board in such action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded by the court, based upon the prosecuting attorney's, director's, or one of their designee's time spent preparing and presenting the case, shall be deposited in the county or city general fund.

(E) A board of education may enroll a child free of any tuition obligation for a period not to exceed sixty days, on the sworn statement of an adult resident of the district that the resident has initiated legal proceedings for custody of the child.

(F) In the case of any individual entitled to attend school under this division, no tuition shall be charged by the school district of attendance and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the individual's attendance. Notwithstanding division (B), (C), or (E) of this section:

(1) All persons at least eighteen but under twenty-two years of age who live apart from their parents, support themselves by their own labor, and have not successfully completed the high school curriculum or the individualized education program developed for the person by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code, are entitled to attend school in the district in which they reside.

(2) Any child under eighteen years of age who is married is entitled to attend school in the child's district of residence.

(3) A child is entitled to attend school in the district in which either of the child's parents is employed if the child has a medical condition that may require emergency medical attention. The parent of a child entitled to attend school under division (F)(3) of this section shall submit to the board of education of the district in which the parent is employed a statement from the child's physician certifying that the child's medical condition may require emergency medical attention. The statement shall be supported by such other evidence as the board may require.

(4) Any child residing with a person other than the child's parent is entitled, for a period not to exceed twelve months, to attend school in the district in which that person resides if the child's parent files an affidavit with the superintendent of the district in which the person with whom the child is living resides stating all of the following:

(a) That the parent is serving outside of the state in the armed services of the United States;

(b) That the parent intends to reside in the district upon returning to this state;

(c) The name and address of the person with whom the child is living while the parent is outside the state.

(5) Any child under the age of twenty-two years who, after the death of a parent, resides in a school district other than the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death is entitled to continue to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parent's death for the remainder of the school year, subject to approval of that district board.

(6) A child under the age of twenty-two years who resides with a parent who is having a new house built in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the new house is being built. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:

(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being built, and stating the parent's intention to reside there upon its completion;

(b) A statement from the builder confirming that a new house is being built for the parent and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.

(7) A child under the age of twenty-two years residing with a parent who has a contract to purchase a house in a school district outside the district where the parent is residing and who is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan for the purchase of such house is entitled to attend school for a period of time in the district where the house is being purchased. In order to be entitled to such attendance, the parent shall provide the district superintendent with the following:

(a) A sworn statement explaining the situation, revealing the location of the house being purchased, and stating the parent's intent to reside there;

(b) A statement from a real estate broker or bank officer confirming that the parent has a contract to purchase the house, that the parent is waiting upon the date of closing of the mortgage loan, and that the house is at the location indicated in the parent's statement.

The district superintendent shall establish a period of time not to exceed ninety days during which the child entitled to attend school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section may attend without tuition obligation. A student attending a school under division (F)(6) or (7) of this section shall be eligible to participate in interscholastic athletics under the auspices of that school, provided the board of education of the school district where the student's parent resides, by a formal action, releases the student to participate in interscholastic athletics at the school where the student is attending, and provided the student receives any authorization required by a public agency or private organization of which the school district is a member exercising authority over interscholastic sports.

(8) A child whose parent is a full-time employee of a city, local, or exempted village school district, or of an educational service center, may be admitted to the schools of the district where the child's parent is employed, or in the case of a child whose parent is employed by an educational service center, in the district that serves the location where the parent's job is primarily located, provided the district board of education establishes such an admission policy by resolution adopted by a majority of its members. Any such policy shall take effect on the first day of the school year and the effective date of any amendment or repeal may not be prior to the first day of the subsequent school year. The policy shall be uniformly applied to all such children and shall provide for the admission of any such child upon request of the parent. No child may be admitted under this policy after the first day of classes of any school year.

(9) A child who is with the child's parent under the care of a shelter for victims of domestic violence, as defined in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code, is entitled to attend school free in the district in which the child is with the child's parent, and no other school district shall be required to pay tuition for the child's attendance in that school district.

The enrollment of a child in a school district under this division shall not be denied due to a delay in the school district's receipt of any records required under section 3313.672 of the Revised Code or any other records required for enrollment. Any days of attendance and any credits earned by a child while enrolled in a school district under this division shall be transferred to and accepted by any school district in which the child subsequently enrolls. The state board of education shall adopt rules to ensure compliance with this division.

(10) Any child under the age of twenty-two years whose parent has moved out of the school district after the commencement of classes in the child's senior year of high school is entitled, subject to the approval of that district board, to attend school in the district in which the child attended school at the time of the parental move for the remainder of the school year and for one additional semester or equivalent term. A district board may also adopt a policy specifying extenuating circumstances under which a student may continue to attend school under division (F)(10) of this section for an additional period of time in order to successfully complete the high school curriculum for the individualized education program developed for the student by the high school pursuant to section 3323.08 of the Revised Code.

(11) As used in this division, "grandparent" means a parent of a parent of a child. A child under the age of twenty-two years who is in the custody of the child's parent, resides with a grandparent, and does not require special education is entitled to attend the schools of the district in which the child's grandparent resides, provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, the board of education of the school district in which the child's grandparent resides and the board of education of the school district in which the child's parent resides enter into a written agreement specifying that good cause exists for such attendance, describing the nature of this good cause, and consenting to such attendance.

In lieu of a consent form signed by a parent, a board of education may request the grandparent of a child attending school in the district in which the grandparent resides pursuant to division (F)(11) of this section to complete any consent form required by the district, including any authorization required by sections 3313.712, 3313.713, and 3313.716 of the Revised Code. Upon request, the grandparent shall complete any consent form required by the district. A school district shall not incur any liability solely because of its receipt of a consent form from a grandparent in lieu of a parent.

Division (F)(11) of this section does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, a new cause of action or substantive legal right against a school district, a member of a board of education, or an employee of a school district. This section does not affect, and shall not be construed as affecting, any immunities from defenses to tort liability created or recognized by Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code for a school district, member, or employee.

(12) A child under the age of twenty-two years is entitled to attend school in a school district other than the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section provided that, prior to such attendance in any school year, both of the following occur:

(a) The superintendent of the district in which the child is entitled to attend school under division (B), (C), or (E) of this section contacts the superintendent of another district for purposes of this division;

(b) The superintendents of both districts enter into a written agreement that consents to the attendance and specifies that the purpose of such attendance is to protect the student's physical or mental well-being or to deal with other extenuating circumstances deemed appropriate by the superintendents.

While an agreement is in effect under this division for a student who is not receiving special education under Chapter 3323. of the Revised Code and notwithstanding Chapter 3327. of the Revised Code, the board of education of neither school district involved in the agreement is required to provide transportation for the student to and from the school where the student attends.

A student attending a school of a district pursuant to this division shall be allowed to participate in all student activities, including interscholastic athletics, at the school where the student is attending on the same basis as any student who has always attended the schools of that district while of compulsory school age.

(13) All school districts shall comply with the "McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act," 42 U.S.C.A. 11431 et seq., for the education of homeless children. Each city, local, and exempted village school district shall comply with the requirements of that act governing the provision of a free, appropriate public education, including public preschool, to each homeless child.

When a child loses permanent housing and becomes a homeless person, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11481(5), or when a child who is such a homeless person changes temporary living arrangements, the child's parent or guardian shall have the option of enrolling the child in either of the following:

(a) The child's school of origin, as defined in 42 U.S.C.A. 11432(g)(3)(C);

(b) The school that is operated by the school district in which the shelter where the child currently resides is located and that serves the geographic area in which the shelter is located.

(14) A child under the age of twenty-two years who resides with a person other than the child's parent is entitled to attend school in the school district in which that person resides if both of the following apply:

(a) That person has been appointed, through a military power of attorney executed under section 574(a) of the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1994," 107 Stat. 1674 (1993), 10 U.S.C. 1044b, or through a comparable document necessary to complete a family care plan, as the parent's agent for the care, custody, and control of the child while the parent is on active duty as a member of the national guard or a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States or because the parent is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is on a duty assignment away from the parent's residence.

(b) The military power of attorney or comparable document includes at least the authority to enroll the child in school.

The entitlement to attend school in the district in which the parent's agent under the military power of attorney or comparable document resides applies until the end of the school year in which the military power of attorney or comparable document expires.

(G) A board of education, after approving admission, may waive tuition for students who will temporarily reside in the district and who are either of the following:

(1) Residents or domiciliaries of a foreign nation who request admission as foreign exchange students;

(2) Residents or domiciliaries of the United States but not of Ohio who request admission as participants in an exchange program operated by a student exchange organization.

(H) Pursuant to sections 3311.211, 3313.90, 3319.01, 3323.04, 3327.04, and 3327.06 of the Revised Code, a child may attend school or participate in a special education program in a school district other than in the district where the child is entitled to attend school under division (B) of this section.

(I)(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, a child under twenty-two years of age may attend school in the school district in which the child, at the end of the first full week of October of the school year, was entitled to attend school as otherwise provided under this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code, if at that time the child was enrolled in the schools of the district but since that time the child or the child's parent has relocated to a new address located outside of that school district and within the same county as the child's or parent's address immediately prior to the relocation. The child may continue to attend school in the district, and at the school to which the child was assigned at the end of the first full week of October of the current school year, for the balance of the school year. Division (I)(1) of this section applies only if both of the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) The board of education of the school district in which the child was entitled to attend school at the end of the first full week in October and of the district to which the child or child's parent has relocated each has adopted a policy to enroll children described in division (I)(1) of this section.

(b) The child's parent provides written notification of the relocation outside of the school district to the superintendent of each of the two school districts.

(2) At the beginning of the school year following the school year in which the child or the child's parent relocated outside of the school district as described in division (I)(1) of this section, the child is not entitled to attend school in the school district under that division.

(3) Any person or entity owing tuition to the school district on behalf of the child at the end of the first full week in October, as provided in division (C) of this section, shall continue to owe such tuition to the district for the child's attendance under division (I)(1) of this section for the lesser of the balance of the school year or the balance of the time that the child attends school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section.

(4) A pupil who may attend school in the district under division (I)(1) of this section shall be entitled to transportation services pursuant to an agreement between the district and the district in which the child or child's parent has relocated unless the districts have not entered into such agreement, in which case the child shall be entitled to transportation services in the same manner as a pupil attending school in the district under interdistrict open enrollment as described in division (H) of section 3313.981 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the district has adopted an open enrollment policy as described in division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of section 3313.98 of the Revised Code.

(J) This division does not apply to a child receiving special education.

A school district required to pay tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount deducted under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. A school district entitled to receive tuition pursuant to division (C)(2) or (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code shall have an amount credited under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code equal to its own tuition rate for the same period of attendance. If the tuition rate credited to the district of attendance exceeds the rate deducted from the district required to pay tuition, the department of education shall pay the district of attendance the difference from amounts deducted from all districts' payments under division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code but not credited to other school districts under such division and from appropriations made for such purpose. The treasurer of each school district shall, by the fifteenth day of January and July, furnish the superintendent of public instruction a report of the names of each child who attended the district's schools under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code during the preceding six calendar months, the duration of the attendance of those children, the school district responsible for tuition on behalf of the child, and any other information that the superintendent requires.

Upon receipt of the report the superintendent, pursuant to division (F) of section 3317.023 of the Revised Code, shall deduct each district's tuition obligations under divisions (C)(2) and (3) of this section or section 3313.65 of the Revised Code and pay to the district of attendance that amount plus any amount required to be paid by the state.

(K) In the event of a disagreement, the superintendent of public instruction shall determine the school district in which the parent resides.

(L) Nothing in this section requires or authorizes, or shall be construed to require or authorize, the admission to a public school in this state of a pupil who has been permanently excluded from public school attendance by the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to sections 3301.121 and 3313.662 of the Revised Code.

(M) In accordance with division (B)(1) of this section, a child whose parent is a member of the national guard or a reserve unit of the armed forces of the United States and is called to active duty, or a child whose parent is a member of the armed forces of the United States and is ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, may continue to attend school in the district in which the child's parent lived before being called to active duty or ordered to a temporary duty assignment outside of the district, as long as the child's parent continues to be a resident of that district, and regardless of where the child lives as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment. However, the district is not responsible for providing transportation for the child if the child lives outside of the district as a result of the parent's active duty status or temporary duty assignment.

Sec. 5101.13. (A) The department of job and family services shall establish and maintain a uniform statewide automated child welfare information system in accordance with the requirements of 42 U.S.C.A. 674(a)(3)(C) and related federal regulations and guidelines. The information system shall contain records regarding any of the following:

(1) Investigations of children and families, and children's care in out-of-home care, in accordance with sections 2151.421 and 5153.16 of the Revised Code;

(2) Care and treatment provided to children and families;

(3) Any other information related to children and families that state or federal law, regulation, or rule requires the department or a public children services agency to maintain.

(B) The department shall plan implementation of the information system on a county by county basis and shall finalize statewide implementation not later than January 1, 2008.

(C) The department shall promptly notify all public children services agencies of the initiation and completion of statewide implementation of the statewide information system established under division (A) of this section.

(D) "Out-of-home care" has the same meaning as in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5101.131.  Except as provided in section 5101.132 of the Revised Code, information contained in or obtained from the information system established and maintained under section 5101.13 of the Revised Code is confidential and is not subject to disclosure pursuant to section 149.43 or 1347.08 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5101.132.  Information contained in the information system established and maintained under section 5101.13 of the Revised Code may be accessed only as follows:

(A) The department of job and family services and a public children services agency may access the information when either of the following is the case:

(1) The access is directly connected with assessment, investigation, or services regarding a child or family;

(2) The access is permitted by state or federal law, rule, or regulation.

(B) A person may access the information in a manner, to the extent, and for the purposes authorized by rules adopted by the department.

Sec. 5101.133.  No person shall access or use information contained in the information system established and maintained under section 5101.13 of the Revised Code other than in accordance with section 5101.132 of the Revised Code or rules authorized by that section.

No person shall disclose information obtained from the information system established and maintained under section 5101.13 of the Revised Code in a manner not specified by rules authorized by section 5101.134 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5101.134. (A) Notwithstanding any provision of the Revised Code that requires confidentiality of information that is contained in the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system established in section 5101.13 of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code regarding a private child placing agency's or private noncustodial agency's access, data entry, and use of information in the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system.

(B)(1) The department of job and family services may adopt rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code, as if they were internal management rules, as necessary to carry out the purposes of sections 5101.13 to 5101.133 of the Revised Code.

(2) The department may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to carry out the purposes of division (B) of section 5101.132 of the Revised Code.

(C) Public children services agencies shall implement and use the information system established pursuant to section 5101.13 of the Revised Code in accordance with rules adopted by the department.

Sec. 5101.141.  (A) As used in sections 5101.141 to 5101.1410 of the Revised Code, "Title IV-E" means Title IV-E of the "Social Security Act," 94 Stat. 501, 42 U.S.C. 670 (1980), as amended.

(B) The department of job and family services shall act as the single state agency to administer federal payments for foster care and adoption assistance made pursuant to Title IV-E. The director of job and family services shall adopt rules to implement this authority. Rules governing financial and administrative requirements applicable to public children services agencies and government entities that provide Title IV-E reimbursable placement services to children shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code, as if they were internal management rules. Rules governing requirements applicable to private child placing agencies and private noncustodial agencies and rules establishing eligibility, program participation, and other requirements concerning Title IV-E shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. A public children services agency to which the department distributes Title IV-E funds shall administer the funds in accordance with those rules.

(C)(1) The county, on behalf of each child eligible for foster care maintenance payments under Title IV-E, shall make payments to cover the cost of providing all of the following:

(a) The child's food, clothing, shelter, daily supervision, and school supplies;

(b) The child's personal incidentals;

(c) Reasonable travel to the child's home for visitation.

(2) In addition to payments made under division (C)(1) of this section, the county may, on behalf of each child eligible for foster care maintenance payments under Title IV-E, make payments to cover the cost of providing the following:

(a) Liability insurance with respect to the child;

(b) If the county is participating in the demonstration project established under division (A) of section 5101.142 of the Revised Code, services provided under the project.

(3) With respect to a child who is in a child-care institution, including any type of group home designed for the care of children or any privately operated program consisting of two or more certified foster homes operated by a common administrative unit, the foster care maintenance payments made by the county on behalf of the child shall include the reasonable cost of the administration and operation of the institution, group home, or program, as necessary to provide the items described in divisions (C)(1) and (2) of this section.

(D) To the extent that either foster care maintenance payments under division (C) of this section or Title IV-E adoption assistance payments for maintenance costs require the expenditure of county funds, the board of county commissioners shall report the nature and amount of each expenditure of county funds to the department.

(E) The department shall distribute to public children services agencies that incur and report such expenditures federal financial participation received for administrative and training costs incurred in the operation of foster care maintenance and adoption assistance programs. The department may withhold not more than three per cent of the federal financial participation received. The funds withheld may be used only to fund the Ohio child welfare training program established under section 5153.60 5103.30 of the Revised Code and the university partnership program for college and university students majoring in social work who have committed to work for a public children services agency upon graduation. The funds withheld shall be in addition to any administration and training cost for which the department is reimbursed through its own cost allocation plan.

(F) All federal financial participation funds received by a county pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the county's children services fund created pursuant to section 5101.144 of the Revised Code.

(G) The department shall periodically publish and distribute the maximum amounts that the department will reimburse public children services agencies for making payments on behalf of children eligible for foster care maintenance payments.

(H) The department, by and through its director, is hereby authorized to develop, participate in the development of, negotiate, and enter into one or more interstate compacts on behalf of this state with agencies of any other states, for the provision of medical assistance and other social services to children in relation to whom all of the following apply:

(1) They have special needs.

(2) This state or another state that is a party to the interstate compact is providing adoption assistance on their behalf.

(3) They move into this state from another state or move out of this state to another state.

Sec. 5101.29.  When contained in a record held by the department of job and family services or a county agency, the following are not public records for purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code:

(A) Names and other identifying information regarding children enrolled in or attending a child day-care center or home subject to licensure, certification, or registration under Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code;

(B) Names and other identifying information regarding children placed with an institution or association certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code;

(C) Names and other identifying information regarding a person who makes an oral or written complaint regarding a an institution, association, child day-care center, or home subject to licensure, certification, or registration to the department or other state or county entity responsible for enforcing Chapter 5103. or 5104. of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5101.35.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Agency" means the following entities that administer a family services program:

(a) The department of job and family services;

(b) A county department of job and family services;

(c) A public children services agency;

(d) A private or government entity administering, in whole or in part, a family services program for or on behalf of the department of job and family services or a county department of job and family services or public children services agency.

(2) "Appellant" means an applicant, participant, former participant, recipient, or former recipient of a family services program who is entitled by federal or state law to a hearing regarding a decision or order of the agency that administers the program.

(3) "Family services program" means assistance provided under a Title IV-A program as defined in section 5101.80 of the Revised Code or under Chapter 5104., 5111., or 5115. or section 173.35, 5101.141, 5101.46, 5101.461, 5101.54, 5153.163, or 5153.165 of the Revised Code, other than assistance provided under section 5101.46 of the Revised Code by the department of mental health, the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, a board of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services, or a county board of mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

(B) Except as provided by divisions (G) and (H) of this section, an appellant who appeals under federal or state law a decision or order of an agency administering a family services program shall, at the appellant's request, be granted a state hearing by the department of job and family services. This state hearing shall be conducted in accordance with rules adopted under this section. The state hearing shall be tape-recorded recorded, but neither the recording nor a transcript of the recording shall be part of the official record of the proceeding. A state hearing decision is binding upon the agency and department, unless it is reversed or modified on appeal to the director of job and family services or a court of common pleas.

(C) Except as provided by division (G) of this section, an appellant who disagrees with a state hearing decision may make an administrative appeal to the director of job and family services in accordance with rules adopted under this section. This administrative appeal does not require a hearing, but the director or the director's designee shall review the state hearing decision and previous administrative action and may affirm, modify, remand, or reverse the state hearing decision. Any person designated to make an administrative appeal decision on behalf of the director shall have been admitted to the practice of law in this state. An administrative appeal decision is the final decision of the department and is binding upon the department and agency, unless it is reversed or modified on appeal to the court of common pleas.

(D) An agency shall comply with a decision issued pursuant to division (B) or (C) of this section within the time limits established by rules adopted under this section. If a county department of job and family services or a public children services agency fails to comply within these time limits, the department may take action pursuant to section 5101.24 of the Revised Code. If another agency fails to comply within the time limits, the department may force compliance by withholding funds due the agency or imposing another sanction established by rules adopted under this section.

(E) An appellant who disagrees with an administrative appeal decision of the director of job and family services or the director's designee issued under division (C) of this section may appeal from the decision to the court of common pleas pursuant to section 119.12 of the Revised Code. The appeal shall be governed by section 119.12 of the Revised Code except that:

(1) The person may appeal to the court of common pleas of the county in which the person resides, or to the court of common pleas of Franklin county if the person does not reside in this state.

(2) The person may apply to the court for designation as an indigent and, if the court grants this application, the appellant shall not be required to furnish the costs of the appeal.

(3) The appellant shall mail the notice of appeal to the department of job and family services and file notice of appeal with the court within thirty days after the department mails the administrative appeal decision to the appellant. For good cause shown, the court may extend the time for mailing and filing notice of appeal, but such time shall not exceed six months from the date the department mails the administrative appeal decision. Filing notice of appeal with the court shall be the only act necessary to vest jurisdiction in the court.

(4) The department shall be required to file a transcript of the testimony of the state hearing with the court only if the court orders the department to file the transcript. The court shall make such an order only if it finds that the department and the appellant are unable to stipulate to the facts of the case and that the transcript is essential to a determination of the appeal. The department shall file the transcript not later than thirty days after the day such an order is issued.

(F) The department of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section, including rules governing the following:

(1) State hearings under division (B) of this section. The rules shall include provisions regarding notice of eligibility termination and the opportunity of an appellant appealing a decision or order of a county department of job and family services to request a county conference with the county department before the state hearing is held.

(2) Administrative appeals under division (C) of this section;

(3) Time limits for complying with a decision issued under division (B) or (C) of this section;

(4) Sanctions that may be applied against an agency under division (D) of this section.

(G) The department of job and family services may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing an appeals process for an appellant who appeals a decision or order regarding a Title IV-A program identified under division (A)(4)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of section 5101.80 of the Revised Code that is different from the appeals process established by this section. The different appeals process may include having a state agency that administers the Title IV-A program pursuant to an interagency agreement entered into under section 5101.801 of the Revised Code administer the appeals process.

(H) If an appellant receiving medicaid through a health insuring corporation that holds a certificate of authority under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code is appealing a denial of medicaid services based on lack of medical necessity or other clinical issues regarding coverage by the health insuring corporation, the person hearing the appeal may order an independent medical review if that person determines that a review is necessary. The review shall be performed by a health care professional with appropriate clinical expertise in treating the recipient's condition or disease. The department shall pay the costs associated with the review.

A review ordered under this division shall be part of the record of the hearing and shall be given appropriate evidentiary consideration by the person hearing the appeal.

(I) The requirements of Chapter 119. of the Revised Code apply to a state hearing or administrative appeal under this section only to the extent, if any, specifically provided by rules adopted under this section.

Sec. 5101.72.  The department of job and family services, to the extent of available funds, may reimburse county departments of job and family services for all or part of the costs they incur in implementing sections 5101.60 to 5101.71 of the Revised Code. The director of job and family services shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, internal management rules under in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code that provide for reimbursement of county departments of job and family services under this section.

The director shall adopt internal management rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code that do both of the following:

(A) Implement sections 5101.60 to 5101.71 of the Revised Code;

(B) Require the county departments to collect and submit to the department, or ensure that a designated agency collects and submits to the department, data concerning the implementation of sections 5101.60 to 5101.71 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5101.99.  (A) Whoever violates division (A) or (B) of section 5101.61 of the Revised Code shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars.

(B) Whoever violates division (A) of section 5101.27 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.

(C) Whoever violates section 5101.133 of the Revised Code is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree.

Sec. 5103.03.  (A) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules as necessary for the adequate and competent management of institutions or associations.

(B)(1) Except for facilities under the control of the department of youth services, places of detention for children established and maintained pursuant to sections 2152.41 to 2152.44 of the Revised Code, and child day-care centers subject to Chapter 5104. of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services every two years shall pass upon the fitness of every institution and association that receives, or desires to receive and care for children, or places children in private homes.

(2) When the department of job and family services is satisfied as to the care given such children, and that the requirements of the statutes and rules covering the management of such institutions and associations are being complied with, it shall issue to the institution or association a certificate to that effect. A certificate is valid for two years, unless sooner revoked by the department. When determining whether an institution or association meets a particular requirement for certification, the department may consider the institution or association to have met the requirement if the institution or association shows to the department's satisfaction that it has met a comparable requirement to be accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization.

(3) The department may issue a temporary certificate valid for less than one year authorizing an institution or association to operate until minimum requirements have been met.

(4) An institution or association that knowingly makes a false statement that is included as a part of certification under this section is guilty of the offense of falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code and the department shall not certify that institution or association.

(C) The department may revoke a certificate if it finds that the institution or association is in violation of law or rule. No juvenile court shall commit a child to an association or institution that is required to be certified under this section if its certificate has been revoked or, if after revocation, the date of reissue is less than fifteen months prior to the proposed commitment.

(D) Every two years, on a date specified by the department, each institution or association desiring certification or recertification shall submit to the department a report showing its condition, management, competency to care adequately for the children who have been or may be committed to it or to whom it provides care or services, the system of visitation it employs for children placed in private homes, and other information the department requires.

(E) The department shall, not less than once each year, send a list of certified institutions and associations to each juvenile court and certified association or institution.

(F) No person shall receive children or receive or solicit money on behalf of such an institution or association not so certified or whose certificate has been revoked.

(G) The director may delegate by rule any duties imposed on it by this section to inspect and approve family foster homes and specialized foster homes to public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, or private noncustodial agencies.

(H) If the director of job and family services determines that an institution or association that cares for children is operating without a certificate, the director may petition the court of common pleas in the county in which the institution or association is located for an order enjoining its operation. The court shall grant injunctive relief upon a showing that the institution or association is operating without a certificate.

(I) If both of the following are the case, the director of job and family services may petition the court of common pleas of any county in which an institution or association that holds a certificate under this section operates for an order, and the court may issue an order, preventing the institution or association from receiving additional children into its care or an order removing children from its care:

(1) The department has evidence that the life, health, or safety of one or more children in the care of the institution or association is at imminent risk.

(2) The department has issued a proposed adjudication order pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to deny renewal of or revoke the certificate of the institution or association.

Sec. 5103.031.  Except as provided in section 5103.033 of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services may not issue a certificate under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code to a foster home unless the prospective foster caregiver successfully completes the following amount of preplacement training through a preplacement training program operated approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.034 5103.038 of the Revised Code or 5153.60 preplacement training provided under division (B) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code:

(A) If the foster home is a family foster home, at least twenty-four hours;

(B) If the foster home is a specialized foster home, at least thirty-six hours.

Sec. 5103.033. (A) The department of job and family services may issue or renew a certificate under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code to a foster home for the care of a child who is in the custody of a public children services agency or private child placing agency pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 5103.15 of the Revised Code regarding a child who was less than six months of age on the date the agreement was executed if the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver successfully completes the following amount of training:

(1) For an initial certificate, at least twelve hours of preplacement training through a preplacement training program operated approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.034 5103.038 of the Revised Code or 5153.60 preplacement training provided under division (B) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code;

(2) For renewal of a certificate, at least twenty-four hours of continuing training in the preceding two-year period in accordance with the foster caregiver's needs assessment and continuing training plan developed and implemented under section 5103.035 of the Revised Code.

(B) A foster caregiver to whom either division (B)(1) or (2) of this section applies shall be given an additional amount of time within which to complete the continuing training required under division (A)(2) of this section in accordance with rules adopted by the department of job and family services:

(1) The foster caregiver has served in active duty outside this state with a branch of the armed forces of the United States for more than thirty days in the preceding two-year period.

(2) The foster caregiver has served in active duty as a member of the Ohio organized militia, as defined in section 5923.01 of the Revised Code, for more than thirty days in the preceding two-year period and that active duty relates to either an emergency in or outside of this state or to military duty in or outside of this state.

Sec. 5103.034. (A) A private Private child placing agency or agencies and private noncustodial agency agencies operating a preplacement training program or continuing training program approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.038 of the Revised Code or the Ohio child welfare training program operating a preplacement training program or continuing training program pursuant to section 5153.60 of the Revised Code shall make the program available to a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregivers. The agency or program shall make the programs available caregiver without regard to the type of recommending agency from which a the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver seeks a recommendation.

(B) A private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency operating a preplacement training program or continuing training program approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.038 of the Revised Code may condition the enrollment of a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver in a the program on either or both of the following:

(1) Availability of space in the training program;

(2) If applicable, payment Payment of an instruction or registration fee, if any, by the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver's recommending agency.

(C) The Ohio child welfare training program operating a preplacement training program or continuing training program pursuant to section 5153.60 of the Revised Code may condition the enrollment in a preplacement training program or continuing training program of a foster caregiver whose recommending agency is a private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency on either or both of the following:

(1) Availability of space in the training program;

(2) Assignment to the program by the foster caregiver's recommending agency of the allowance payable under section 5103.0313 of the Revised Code.

(D) A private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency may contract with an individual or a public or private entity to administer operating a preplacement training program or continuing training program operated by the agency and approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.038 of the Revised Code may contract with a person or governmental entity to administer the program.

Sec. 5103.035.  A public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency acting as a recommending agency for a foster caregiver holding a certificate issued under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code shall develop and implement a written needs assessment and continuing training plan for the foster caregiver. Each needs assessment and continuing training plan shall satisfy all of the following requirements:

(A) Be effective for the two-year period the foster caregiver's certificate is in effect;

(B) Be appropriate for the type of foster home the foster caregiver operates;

(C) Require the foster caregiver to successfully complete the training required by the department in rules adopted pursuant to section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code and any other courses the agency considers appropriate;

(D) Include criteria the agency is to use to determine whether the foster caregiver has successfully completed the courses;

(E) Guarantee that the courses the foster caregiver is required to complete are available to the foster caregiver at reasonable times and places;

(F) Specify whether the number of hours of continuing training, if any, the agency will waive any of the hours of continuing training the foster caregiver is required by pursuant to division (B) of section 5103.032 of the Revised Code to complete if the foster caregiver satisfies the conditions for the agency to issue a waiver. If the agency will issue a waiver, the agency shall state in the needs assessment and continuing training plan the number of hours of continuing training, not to exceed eight, that the agency will waive.

Sec. 5103.036. (A) For the purpose of determining whether a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver has satisfied the requirement of section 5103.031 or 5103.032 of the Revised Code, a recommending agency shall accept training obtained from a either of the following:

(1) Any preplacement training program or continuing training program operated approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.034 or 5153.60 5103.038 of the Revised Code;

(2) The Ohio child welfare training program pursuant to divisions (B) and (C) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code regardless of whether the program is operated by the recommending agency. The

(B) A recommending agency may require that the a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver successfully complete additional training as a condition of the agency recommending that the department of job and family services certify or recertify the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver's foster home under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5103.038.  (A) Every other year by a date specified in rules adopted under section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code, each private child placing agency and private noncustodial agency that seeks to operate a preplacement training program or continuing training program under section 5103.034 of the Revised Code shall submit to the department of job and family services a proposal outlining the program. The proposal may be the same as, a modification of, or different from, a model design developed under section 5103.037 of the Revised Code by the department.

(B) Not later than thirty days after receiving a proposal under division (A) of this section, the department shall either approve or disapprove the proposed program. The department shall approve a proposed preplacement training program if it complies with section 5103.039 or 5103.0311 of the Revised Code, as appropriate, and, in the case of a proposal submitted by an agency operating a preplacement training program at the time the proposal is submitted, the department is satisfied with the agency's operation of the program. The department shall approve a proposed continuing training program if it complies with rules adopted pursuant to division (C) of section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code and, in the case of a proposal submitted by an agency operating a continuing training program at the time the proposal is submitted, the department is satisfied with the agency's operation of the program. If the department disapproves a proposal, it shall provide the reason for disapproval to the agency that submitted the proposal and advise the agency of how to revise the proposal so that the department can approve it.

(C) The department's approval under division (B) of this section of a proposed preplacement training program or continuing training program is valid only for two years following the year the proposal for the program is submitted to the department under division (A) of this section.

Sec. 5103.039.  Except for preplacement training programs described in section 5103.0311 of the Revised Code, a preplacement training program shall consist of courses in the role of foster caregivers as a part of the care and treatment of foster children. A prospective foster caregiver shall complete all of the courses, which shall address all of the following:

(A) The legal rights and responsibilities of foster caregivers;

(B) Public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, and private noncustodial agencies' policies and procedures regarding foster caregivers;

(C) The department of job and family services' requirements for certifying foster homes;

(D) The effects placement, separation, and attachment issues have on children, their families, and foster caregivers;

(E) Foster caregivers' involvement in permanency planning for children and their families;

(F) The effects of physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and substance abuse on normal human growth and development;

(G) Behavior management techniques;

(H) Effects of caregiving on children's families;

(I) Cultural issues in placement;

(J) Prevention, recognition, and management of communicable diseases;

(K) Community health and social services available to children and their families;

(L) The substance of section 2152.72 of the Revised Code. A course addressing section 2152.72 of the Revised Code shall be not less than one hour long.

(M) In the case of a preplacement training program for a prospective foster caregiver seeking certification for a specialized foster home, additional issues specific to the types of children placed in specialized foster homes, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation and first aid, appropriate behavioral intervention techniques, such as de-escalation, self-defense, and physical restraint techniques and the appropriate use of such techniques.

Sec. 5103.0311.  (A) A preplacement training program for prospective foster caregivers described in section 5103.033 of the Revised Code shall consist of courses that address all of the following:

(1) The legal rights and responsibilities of foster caregivers;

(2) The policies and procedures of public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, and private noncustodial agencies regarding foster caregivers;

(3) The department of job and family services' requirements for certifying foster homes;

(4) Infant care;

(5) Early childhood development.

(B) A continuing training program for foster caregivers described in section 5103.033 of the Revised Code shall meet the requirements of rules adopted pursuant to section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5103.0312.  A public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency acting as a recommending agency for a foster caregivers who hold certificates issued under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code caregiver shall pay those the foster caregivers caregiver a stipend to reimburse them the foster caregiver for attending a preplacement training program or continuing training program operated under section 5103.034 or 5153.60 5103.30 of the Revised Code. The payment shall be based on a stipend rate established by the department of job and family services. The stipend rate shall be the same regardless of the type of recommending agency from which a the foster caregiver seeks a recommendation. The department shall, pursuant to rules adopted under section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code, reimburse the recommending agency for stipend payments it makes in accordance with this section. No payment shall be made to an individual for attending a preplacement training program if the individual fails to obtain a foster home certificate under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5103.0313.  The Except as provided in section 5103.303 of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services shall compensate a private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency for the cost of procuring or operating preplacement and continuing training programs approved by the department of job and family services under section 5103.034 5103.038 of the Revised Code for prospective foster caregivers and foster caregivers who are recommended for initial certification or recertification by the agency.

The compensation shall be paid to the agency in the form of an allowance for each hour of preplacement and continuing training provided or received.

Sec. 5103.0315.  The department of job and family services shall seek federal financial participation for the cost of making payments under section 5103.0312 of the Revised Code and allowances under section sections 5103.0313 and 5103.303 of the Revised Code. The department shall notify the governor, president of the senate, minority leader of the senate, speaker of the house of representatives, and minority leader of the house of representatives of any proposed federal legislation that endangers the federal financial participation.

Sec. 5103.07.  The department of job and family services shall administer funds received under Title IV-B of the "Social Security Act," 49 81 Stat. 620 821 (1935 1967), 42 U.S.C.A. 620, as amended, and the "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act," 88 Stat. 4 (1974), 42 U.S.C.A. 5101, as amended. In administering these funds, the department may establish a child welfare services program and a child abuse and neglect prevention and adoption reform program. The department has all powers necessary for the adequate administration of these funds and programs. The director of job and family services may adopt internal management rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

Sec. 5103.13.  (A) As used in this section, "HIV" has the same meaning as in section 3701.24 of the Revised Code and section 5103.131 of the Revised Code:

(1)(a) "Children's crisis care facility" means a facility that has as its primary purpose the provision of residential and other care to either or both of the following:

(i) One or more preteens voluntarily placed in the facility by the preteen's parent or other caretaker who is facing a crisis that causes the parent or other caretaker to seek temporary care for the preteen and referral for support services;

(ii) One or more preteens placed in the facility by a public children services agency or private child placing agency that has legal custody or permanent custody of the preteen and determines that an emergency situation exists necessitating the preteen's placement in the facility rather than an institution certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code or elsewhere.

(b) "Children's crisis care facility" does not include either of the following:

(i) Any organization, society, association, school, agency, child guidance center, detention or rehabilitation facility, or children's clinic licensed, regulated, approved, operated under the direction of, or otherwise certified by the department of education, a local board of education, the department of youth services, the department of mental health, or the department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities;

(ii) Any individual who provides care for only a single-family group, placed there by their parents or other relative having custody.

(2) "Legal custody" and "permanent custody" have the same meanings as in section 2151.011 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Preteen" means an individual under thirteen years of age.

(B) The No person shall operate a children's crisis care facility or hold a children's crisis care facility out as a certified children's crisis care facility unless there is a valid children's crisis care facility certificate issued under this section for the facility.

(C) A person seeking to operate a children's crisis care facility shall apply to the director of job and family services to obtain a certificate for the facility. The director shall certify the person's children's crisis care facility if the facility meets all of the certification standards established in rules adopted under division (F) of this section and the person complies with all of the rules governing the certification of children's crisis care facilities adopted under that division. The issuance of a children's crisis care facility certificate does not exempt the facility from a requirement to obtain another certificate or license mandated by law.

(D)(1) No certified children's crisis care facility shall do any of the following:

(a) Provide residential care to a preteen for more than one hundred twenty days in a calendar year;

(b) Subject to division (D)(1)(c) of this section and except as provided in division (D)(2) of this section, provide residential care to a preteen for more than sixty consecutive days;

(c) Except as provided in division (D)(3) of this section, provide residential care to a preteen for more than seventy-two consecutive hours if a public children services agency or private child placing agency placed the preteen in the facility;

(d) Fail to comply with section 2151.86 of the Revised Code.

(2) A certified children's crisis care facility may provide residential care to a preteen for up to ninety consecutive days, other than a preteen placed in the facility by a public children services agency or private child placing agency, if any of the following are the case:

(a) The preteen's parent or other caretaker is enrolled in an alcohol and drug addiction program certified under section 3793.06 of the Revised Code or a community mental health service certified under section 5119.611 of the Revised Code;

(b) The preteen's parent or other caretaker is an inpatient in a hospital;

(c) The preteen's parent or other caretaker is incarcerated;

(d) A physician has diagnosed the preteen's parent or other caretaker as medically incapacitated.

(3) A certified children's crisis care facility may provide residential care to a preteen placed in the facility by a public children services agency or private child placing agency for more than seventy-two consecutive hours if the director of job and family services or the director's designee issues the agency a waiver of the seventy-two consecutive hour limitation. The waiver may authorize the certified children's crisis care facility to provide residential care to the preteen for up to fourteen consecutive days.

(E) The director of job and family services may suspend or revoke a children's crisis care facility's certificate pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code if the facility violates division (D) of this section or ceases to meet any of the certification standards established in rules adopted under division (F) of this section or the facility's operator ceases to comply with any of the rules governing the certification of children's crisis care facilities adopted under that division.

(F) Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this amendment, the director of job and family services shall provide, by adopt rules adopted pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, for the licensure certification of children's crisis nurseries as either type A or type B crisis nurseries care facilities. The rules shall specify that a license certificate shall not be issued to an applicant for licensure as a crisis nursery if the conditions at any of its facilities the children's crisis care facility would jeopardize the health or safety of the children to whom it provides care preteens placed in the facility.

(C) A type A crisis nursery shall provide temporary shelter and other care for not more than twenty children at one time. Each child shall be under age six and drug-exposed, HIV-infected, or referred by a public children services agency. No child shall receive shelter or other care from a particular type A crisis nursery for a period exceeding sixty days.

(D) A type B crisis nursery shall provide, without charging a fee, temporary services and care to children under age thirteen who are abused and neglected, at high risk of abuse and neglect, or members of families receiving child protective services. A type B crisis nursery shall also provide referrals to support services. No child shall receive services or care from a type B crisis nursery for more than thirty days in any year.

Sec. 5103.131.  The department of job and family services may apply to the United States secretary of health and human services for a federal grant under the "Temporary Child Care for Children With Disabilities Abuse Prevention and Crisis Nurseries Treatment Act," 100 Stat. 907 (1986), 42 U.S.C. 5117 5116, to assist type B children's crisis nurseries licensed care facilities certified under section 5103.13 of the Revised Code in providing temporary services residential and other care to minors preteens.

Sec. 5103.16.  (A) Except Pursuant to section 5103.18 of the Revised Code and except as otherwise provided in this section, no child shall be placed or accepted for placement under any written or oral agreement or understanding that transfers or surrenders the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal parent, parents, or guardian of the child into the temporary or permanent custody of any association or institution that is not certified by the department of job and family services under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code, without the written consent of the office in the department that oversees the interstate compact on placement of children established under section 5103.20 of the Revised Code, or by a commitment of a juvenile court, or by a commitment of a probate court as provided in this section. A child may be placed temporarily without written consent or court commitment with persons related by blood or marriage or in a legally licensed boarding home.

(B)(1) Associations and institutions certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code for the purpose of placing children in free foster homes or for legal adoption shall keep a record of the temporary and permanent surrenders of children. This record shall be available for separate statistics, which shall include a copy of an official birth record and all information concerning the social, mental, and medical history of the children that will aid in an intelligent disposition of the children in case that becomes necessary because the parents or guardians fail or are unable to reassume custody.

(2) No child placed on a temporary surrender with an association or institution shall be placed permanently in a foster home or for legal adoption. All surrendered children who are placed permanently in foster homes or for adoption shall have been permanently surrendered, and a copy of the permanent surrender shall be a part of the separate record kept by the association or institution.

(C) Any agreement or understanding to transfer or surrender the legal rights, powers, or duties of the legal parent or parents and place a child with a person seeking to adopt the child under this section shall be construed to contain a promise by the person seeking to adopt the child to pay the expenses listed in divisions (C)(1), (2), and (4) of section 3107.10 3107.055 of the Revised Code and, if the person seeking to adopt the child refuses to accept placement of the child, to pay the temporary costs of routine maintenance and medical care for the child in a hospital, foster home, or other appropriate place for up to thirty days or until other custody is established for the child, as provided by law, whichever is less.

(D) No child shall be placed or received for adoption or with intent to adopt unless placement is made by a public children services agency, an institution or association that is certified by the department of job and family services under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code to place children for adoption, or custodians in another state or foreign country, or unless all of the following criteria are met:

(1) Prior to the placement and receiving of the child, the parent or parents of the child personally have applied to, and appeared before, the probate court of the county in which the parent or parents reside, or in which the person seeking to adopt the child resides, for approval of the proposed placement specified in the application and have signed and filed with the court a written statement showing that the parent or parents are aware of their right to contest the decree of adoption subject to the limitations of section 3107.16 of the Revised Code;

(2) The court ordered an independent home study of the proposed placement to be conducted as provided in section 3107.031 of the Revised Code, and after completion of the home study, the court determined that the proposed placement is in the best interest of the child;

(3) The court has approved of record the proposed placement.

In determining whether a custodian has authority to place children for adoption under the laws of a foreign country, the probate court shall determine whether the child has been released for adoption pursuant to the laws of the country in which the child resides, and if the release is in a form that satisfies the requirements of the immigration and naturalization service of the United States department of justice for purposes of immigration to this country pursuant to section 101(b)(1)(F) of the "Immigration and Nationality Act," 75 Stat. 650 (1961), 8 U.S.C. 1101 (b)(1)(F), as amended or reenacted.

If the parent or parents of the child are deceased or have abandoned the child, as determined under division (A) of section 3107.07 of the Revised Code, the application for approval of the proposed adoptive placement may be brought by the relative seeking to adopt the child, or by the department, board, or organization not otherwise having legal authority to place the orphaned or abandoned child for adoption, but having legal custody of the orphaned or abandoned child, in the probate court of the county in which the child is a resident, or in which the department, board, or organization is located, or where the person or persons with whom the child is to be placed reside. Unless the parent, parents, or guardian of the person of the child personally have appeared before the court and applied for approval of the placement, notice of the hearing on the application shall be served on the parent, parents, or guardian.

The consent to placement, surrender, or adoption executed by a minor parent before a judge of the probate court or an authorized deputy or referee of the court, whether executed within or outside the confines of the court, is as valid as though executed by an adult. A consent given as above before an employee of a children services agency that is licensed as provided by law, is equally effective, if the consent also is accompanied by an affidavit executed by the witnessing employee or employees to the effect that the legal rights of the parents have been fully explained to the parents, prior to the execution of any consent, and that the action was done after the birth of the child.

If the court approves a placement, the prospective adoptive parent with whom the child is placed has care, custody, and control of the child pending further order of the court.

(E) This section does not apply to an adoption by a stepparent, a grandparent, or a guardian.

Sec. 5103.162. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, a foster caregiver shall be immune from liability in a civil action to recover damages for injury, death, or loss to person or property allegedly caused by an act or omission in connection with a power, duty, responsibility, or authorization under this chapter or under rules adopted under authority of this chapter.

(B) The immunity described in division (A) of this section does not apply to a foster caregiver if, in relation to the act or omission in question, any of the following applies:

(1) The act or omission was manifestly outside the scope of the foster caregiver's power, duty, responsibility, or authorization.

(2) The act or omission was with malicious purpose, in bad faith, or in a wanton or reckless manner.

(3) Liability for the act or omission is expressly imposed by a section of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5103.18.  (A) Prior to placement under section 5103.16 of the Revised Code, an association or institution certified to place a child into a foster home shall include a summary report of a search of the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system established in section 5101.13 of the Revised Code with records required under division (B)(1) of section 5103.16 of the Revised Code.

(B)(1) The summary report required under division (A) of this section shall contain, if applicable, a chronological list of abuse and neglect determinations or allegations of which a person seeking to become a foster caregiver of a child is subject and in regards to which a public children services agency has done one of the following:

(a) Determined that abuse or neglect occurred;

(b) Initiated an investigation, and the investigation is ongoing;

(c) Initiated an investigation, and the agency was unable to determine whether abuse or neglect occurred.

(2) The summary report required under division (A) of this section shall not contain any of the following:

(a) An abuse and neglect determination of which a person seeking to become a foster caregiver of a child is subject and in regards to which a public children services agency determined that abuse or neglect did not occur;

(b) Information or reports the dissemination of which is prohibited by, or interferes with eligibility under, the "Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act," 88 Stat. 4 (1974), 42 U.S.C. 5101 et seq., as amended;

(c) The name of the person who or entity that made, or participated in the making of, the report of abuse or neglect.

(C)(1) A foster placement may be denied based on a summary report containing the information described under division (B)(1)(a) of this section, when considered within the totality of the circumstances.

(2) A foster placement shall not be denied solely based on a summary report containing the information described under division (B)(1)(b) or (c) of this section.

(D) Not later than January 1, 2008, the director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code necessary for the implementation and execution of this section.

Sec. 5103.20.  The interstate compact for the placement of children is hereby enacted into law and entered into with all other jurisdictions legally joining therein in form substantially as follows:

ARTICLE I.
PURPOSE

The purpose of this compact is to:

(A) Provide a process through which children subject to this compact are placed in safe and suitable homes in a timely manner.

(B) Facilitate ongoing supervision of a placement, the delivery of services, and communication between the states.

(C) Provide operating procedures that will ensure that children are placed in safe and suitable homes in a timely manner.

(D) Provide for the promulgation and enforcement of administrative rules implementing the provisions of this compact and regulating the covered activities of the member states.

(E) Provide for uniform data collection and information sharing between member states under this compact.

(F) Promote coordination between this compact, the Interstate Compacts for Juveniles, the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance and other compacts affecting the placement of and which provide services to children otherwise subject to this compact.

(G) Provide for a state's continuing legal jurisdiction and responsibility for placement and care of a child that it would have had if the placement were intrastate.

(H) Provide for the promulgation of guidelines, in collaboration with Indian tribes, for interstate cases involving Indian children as is or may be permitted by federal law.

ARTICLE II.
DEFINITIONS

As used in this compact:

(A) "Approved placement" means the receiving state has determined after an assessment that the placement is both safe and suitable for the child and is in compliance with the applicable laws of the receiving state governing the placement of children therein.

(B) "Assessment" means an evaluation of a prospective placement to determine whether the placement meets the individualized needs of the child, including but not limited to the child's safety and stability, health and well-being, and mental, emotional, and physical development.

(C) "Child" means an individual who has not attained the age of eighteen (18).

(D) "Default" means the failure of a member state to perform the obligations or responsibilities imposed upon it by this compact, the bylaws or rules of the Interstate Commission.

(E) "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians recognized as eligible for services provided to Indians by the Secretary of the Interior because of their status as Indians, including any Alaskan native village as defined in section 3 (c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act at 43 USC section 1602(c).

(F) "Interstate Commission for the Placement of Children" means the commission that is created under Article VIII of this compact and which is generally referred to as the Interstate Commission.

(G) "Jurisdiction" means the power and authority of a court to hear and decide matters.

(H) "Member state" means a state that has enacted this compact.

(I) "Non-custodial parent" means a person who, at the time of the commencement of court proceedings in the sending state, does not have sole legal custody of the child or has joint legal custody of a child, and who is not the subject of allegations or findings of child abuse or neglect.

(J) "Non-member state" means a state which has not enacted this compact.

(K) "Notice of residential placement" means information regarding a placement into a residential facility provided to the receiving state including, but not limited to the name, date, and place of birth of the child, the identity and address of the parent or legal guardian, evidence of authority to make the placement, and the name and address of the facility in which the child will be placed. Notice of residential placement shall also include information regarding a discharge and any unauthorized absence from the facility.

(L) "Placement" means the act by a public or private child placing agency intended to arrange for the care or custody of a child in another state.

(M) "Private child placing agency" means any private corporation, agency, foundation, institution, or charitable organization, or any private person or attorney that facilitates, causes, or is involved in the placement of a child from one state to another and that is not an instrumentality of the state or acting under color of state law.

(N) "Provisional placement" means that the receiving state has determined that the proposed placement is safe and suitable, and, to the extent allowable, the receiving state has temporarily waived its standards or requirements otherwise applicable to prospective foster or adoptive parents so as to not delay the placement. Completion of the receiving state requirements regarding training for prospective foster or adoptive parents shall not delay an otherwise safe and suitable placement.

(O) "Public child placing agency" means any government child welfare agency or child protection agency or a private entity under contract with such an agency, regardless of whether they act on behalf of a state, county, municipality, or other governmental unit and which facilitates, causes, or is involved in the placement of a child from one state to another.

(P) "Receiving state" means the state to which a child is sent, brought, or caused to be sent or brought.

(Q) "Relative" means someone who is related to the child as a parent, step-parent, sibling by half or whole blood or by adoption, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or first cousin or a non-relative with such significant ties to the child that they may be regarded as relatives as determined by the court in the sending state.

(R) "Residential Facility" means a facility providing a level of care that is sufficient to substitute for parental responsibility or foster care, and is beyond what is needed for assessment or treatment of an acute condition. For purposes of the compact, residential facilities do not include institutions primarily educational in character, hospitals, or other medical facilities.

(S) "Rule" means a written directive, mandate, standard, or principle issued by the Interstate Commission promulgated pursuant to Article XI of this compact that is of general applicability and that implements, interprets or prescribes a policy or provision of the compact. "Rule" has the force and effect of statutory law in a member state, and includes the amendment, repeal, or suspension of an existing rule.

(T) "Sending state" means the state from which the placement of a child is initiated.

(U) "Service member's permanent duty station" means the military installation where an active duty Armed Services member is currently assigned and is physically located under competent orders that do not specify the duty as temporary.

(V) "Service member's state of local residence" means the state in which the active duty Armed Services member is considered a resident for tax and voting purposes.

(W) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Marianas Islands and any other territory of the United States.

(X) "State court" means a judicial body of a state that is vested by law with responsibility for adjudicating cases involving abuse, neglect, deprivation, delinquency or status offenses of individuals who have not attained the age of eighteen (18).

(Y) "Supervision" means monitoring provided by the receiving state once a child has been placed in a receiving state pursuant to this compact.

ARTICLE III.
APPLICABILITY

(A) Except as otherwise provided in Article III, Section B, this compact shall apply to:

(1) The interstate placement of a child subject to ongoing court jurisdiction in the sending state, due to allegations or findings that the child has been abused, neglected, or deprived as defined by the laws of the sending state, provided, however, that the placement of such a child into a residential facility shall only require notice of residential placement to the receiving state prior to placement.

(2) The interstate placement of a child adjudicated delinquent or unmanageable based on the laws of the sending state and subject to ongoing court jurisdiction of the sending state if:

(a) The child is being placed in a residential facility in another member state and is not covered under another compact; or

(b) The child is being placed in another member state and the determination of safety and suitability of the placement and services required is not provided through another compact.

(3) The interstate placement of any child by a public child placing agency or private child placing agency as defined in this compact as a preliminary step to a possible adoption.

(B) The provisions of this compact shall not apply to:

(1) The interstate placement of a child with a non-relative in a receiving state by a parent with the legal authority to make such a placement provided, however, that the placement is not intended to effectuate an adoption.

(2) The interstate placement of a child by one relative with the lawful authority to make such a placement directly with a relative in a receiving state.

(3) The placement of a child, not subject to Article III, Section A, into a residential facility by his parent.

(4) The placement of a child with a non-custodial parent provided that:

(a) The non-custodial parent proves to the satisfaction of a court in the sending state a substantial relationship with the child; and

(b) The court in the sending state makes a written finding that placement with the non-custodial parent is in the best interests of the child; and

(c) The court in the sending state dismisses its jurisdiction over the child's case.

(5) A child entering the United States from a foreign country for the purpose of adoption or leaving the United States to go to a foreign country for the purpose of adoption in that country.

(6) Cases in which a U.S. citizen child living overseas with his family, at least one of whom is in the U.S. Armed Services, and who is stationed overseas, is removed and placed in a state.

(7) The sending of a child by a public child placing agency or a private child placing agency for a visit as defined by the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(C) For purposes of determining the applicability of this compact to the placement of a child with a family in the Armed Services, the public child placing agency or private child placing agency may choose the state of the service member's permanent duty station or the service member's declared legal residence.

(D) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prohibit the concurrent application of the provisions of this compact with other applicable interstate compacts including the Interstate Compact for Juveniles and the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance. The Interstate Commission may in cooperation with other interstate compact commissions having responsibility for the interstate movement, placement or transfer of children, promulgate like rules to ensure the coordination of services, timely placement of children, and the reduction of unnecessary or duplicative administrative or procedural requirements.

ARTICLE IV.
JURISDICTION

(A) The sending state shall retain jurisdiction over a child with respect to all matters of custody and disposition of the child which it would have had if the child had remained in the sending state. Such jurisdiction shall also include the power to order the return of the child to the sending state.

(B) When an issue of child protection or custody is brought before a court in the receiving state, such court shall confer with the court of the sending state to determine the most appropriate forum for adjudication.

(C) In accordance with its own laws, the court in the sending state shall have authority to terminate its jurisdiction if:

(1) The child is reunified with the parent in the receiving state who is the subject of allegations or findings of abuse or neglect, only with the concurrence of the public child placing agency in the receiving state; or

(2) The child is adopted; or

(3) The child reaches the age of majority under the laws of the sending state; or

(4) The child achieves legal independence pursuant to the laws of the sending state; or

(5) A guardianship is created by a court in the receiving state with the concurrence of the court in the sending state; or

(6) An Indian tribe has petitioned for and received jurisdiction from the court in the sending state; or

(7) The public child placing agency of the sending state requests termination and has obtained the concurrence of the public child placing agency in the receiving the state.

(D) When a sending state court terminates its jurisdiction, the receiving state child placing agency shall be notified.

(E) Nothing in this article shall defeat a claim of jurisdiction by a receiving state court sufficient to deal with an act of truancy, delinquency, crime or behavior involving a child as defined by the laws of the receiving state committed by the child in the receiving state which would be a violation of its laws.

(F) Nothing in this article shall limit the receiving state's ability to take emergency jurisdiction for the protection of the child.

ARTICLE V.
ASSESSMENTS

(A) Prior to sending, bringing, or causing a child to be sent or brought into a receiving state, the public child placing agency shall provide a written request for assessment to the receiving state.

(B) Prior to the sending, bringing, or causing a child to be sent or brought into a receiving state, the private child placing agency shall:

(1) Provide evidence that the applicable laws of the sending state have been complied with; and

(2) Certification that the consent or relinquishment is in compliance with applicable law of the birth parent's state of residence or, where permitted, the laws of the state of where the finalization of the adoption will occur; and

(3) Request through the public child placing agency in the sending state an assessment to be conducted in the receiving state; and

(4) Upon completion of the assessment, obtain the approval of the public child placing agency in the receiving state.

(C) The procedures for making and the request for an assessment shall contain all information and be in such form as provided for in the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(D) Upon receipt of a request from the public child welfare agency of the sending state, the receiving state shall initiate an assessment of the proposed placement to determine its safety and suitability. If the proposed placement is a placement with a relative, the public child placing agency of the sending state may request a determination of whether the placement qualifies as a provisional placement.

(E) The public child placing agency in the receiving state may request from the public child placing agency or the private child placing agency in the sending state, and shall be entitled to receive supporting or additional information necessary to complete the assessment.

(F) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall complete or arrange for the completion of the assessment within the timeframes established by the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(G) The Interstate Commission may develop uniform standards for the assessment of the safety and suitability of interstate placements.

ARTICLE VI.
PLACEMENT AUTHORITY

(A) Except as provided in Article VI, Section C, no child subject to this compact shall be placed into a receiving state until approval for such placement is obtained.

(B) If the public child placing agency in the receiving state does not approve the proposed placement then the child shall not be placed. The receiving state shall provide written documentation of any such determination in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission. Such determination is not subject to judicial review in the sending state.

(C) If the proposed placement is not approved, any interested party shall have standing to seek an administrative review of the receiving state's determination.

(1) The administrative review and any further judicial review associated with the determination shall be conducted in the receiving state pursuant to its applicable administrative procedures.

(2) If a determination not to approve the placement of the child in the receiving state is overturned upon review, the placement shall be deemed approved, provided however that all administrative or judicial remedies have been exhausted or the time for such remedies has passed.

ARTICLE VII.
STATE RESPONSIBILITY

(A) For the interstate placement of a child made by a public child placing agency or state court:

(1) The public child placing agency in the sending state shall have financial responsibility for:

(a) The ongoing support and maintenance for the child during the period of the placement, unless otherwise provided for in the receiving state; and

(b) As determined by the public child placing agency in the sending state, services for the child beyond the public services for which the child is eligible in the receiving state.

(2) The receiving state shall only have financial responsibility for:

(a) Any assessment conducted by the receiving state; and

(b) Supervision conducted by the receiving state at the level necessary to support the placement as agreed upon by the public child placing agencies of the receiving and sending state.

(3) Nothing in this provision shall prohibit public child placing agencies in the sending state from entering into agreements with licensed agencies or persons in the receiving state to conduct assessments and provide supervision.

(B) For the placement of a child by a private child placing agency preliminary to a possible adoption, the private child placing agency shall be:

(1) Legally responsible for the child during the period of placement as provided for in the law of the sending state until the finalization of the adoption.

(2) Financially responsible for the child absent a contractual agreement to the contrary.

(C) A private child placing agency shall be responsible for any assessment conducted in the receiving state and any supervision conducted by the receiving state at the level required by the laws of the receiving state or the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(D) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall provide timely assessments, as provided for in the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(E) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall provide, or arrange for the provision of, supervision and services for the child, including timely reports, during the period of the placement.

(F) Nothing in this compact shall be construed as to limit the authority of the public child placing agency in the receiving state from contracting with a licensed agency or person in the receiving state for an assessment or the provision of supervision or services for the child or otherwise authorizing the provision of supervision or services by a licensed agency during the period of placement.

(G) Each member state shall provide for coordination among its branches of government concerning the state's participation in, and compliance with, the compact and Interstate Commission activities, through the creation of an advisory council or use of an existing body or board.

(H) Each member state shall establish a central state compact office, which shall be responsible for state compliance with the compact and the rules of the Interstate Commission.

(I) The public child placing agency in the sending state shall oversee compliance with the provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (25 USC 1901 et seq.) for placements subject to the provisions of this compact, prior to placement.

(J) With the consent of the Interstate Commission, states may enter into limited agreements that facilitate the timely assessment and provision of services and supervisions of placements under this compact.

ARTICLE VIII.
INTERSTATE COMMISSION FOR THE PLACEMENT OF CHILDREN

The member states hereby establish, by way of this compact, a commission known as the "Interstate Commission for the Placement of Children." The activities of the Interstate Commission are the formation of public policy and are a discretionary state function. The Interstate Commission shall:

(A) Be joint commission of the member states and shall have the responsibilities, powers and duties set forth herein, and such additional powers as may be conferred upon it by subsequent concurrent action of the respective legislatures of the member states.

(B) Consist of one commissioner from each member state who shall be appointed by the executive head of the state human services administration with ultimate responsibility for the child welfare program. The appointed commissioner shall have the legal authority to vote on policy related matters governed by this compact binding the state.

(1) Each member state represented at a meeting of the Interstate Commission is entitled to one vote.

(2) A majority of the member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the Interstate Commission.

(3) A representative shall not delegate a vote to another member state.

(4) A representative may delegate voting authority to another person from their state for a specified meeting.

(C) In addition to the commissioners of each member state, the Interstate Commission shall include persons who are members of interested organizations as defined in the bylaws or rules of the Interstate Commission. Such members shall be ex officio and shall not be entitled to vote on any matter before the Interstate Commission.

(D) Establish an executive committee which shall have the authority to administer the day-to-day operations and administration of the Interstate Commission. It shall not have the power to engage in rulemaking.

ARTICLE IX.
POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

The Interstate Commission shall have the following powers:

(A) To promulgate rules and take all necessary actions to effect the goals, purposes, and obligations as enumerated in this compact.

(B) To provide for dispute resolution among member states.

(C) To issue, upon request of a member state, advisory opinions concerning the meaning or interpretation of the interstate compact, its bylaws, rules, or actions.

(D) To enforce compliance with this compact or the bylaws or rules of the Interstate Commission pursuant to Article XII.

(E) Collect standardized data concerning the interstate placement of children subject to this compact as directed through its rules which shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection, and data exchange and reporting requirements.

(F) To establish and maintain offices as may be necessary for the transacting of its business.

(G) To purchase and maintain insurance and bonds.

(H) To hire or contract for services of personnel or consultants as necessary to carry out its functions under the compact and establish personnel qualification policies, and rates of compensation.

(I) To establish and appoint committees and officers including, but not limited to, an executive committee as required by Article X.

(J) To accept any and all donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services, and to receive, utilize, and dispose thereof.

(K) To lease, purchase, accept contributions or donations of, or otherwise to own, hold, improve or use any property, real, personal, or mixed.

(L) To sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed.

(M) To establish a budget and make expenditures.

(N) To adopt a seal and bylaws governing the management and operation of the Interstate Commission.

(O) To report annually to the legislatures, governors, the judiciary, and state advisory councils of the member states concerning the activities of the Interstate Commission during the preceding year. Such reports shall also include any recommendations that may have been adopted by the Interstate Commission.

(P) To coordinate and provide education, training, and public awareness regarding the interstate movement of children for officials involved in such activity.

(Q) To maintain books and records in accordance with the bylaws of the Interstate Commission.

(R) To perform such functions as may be necessary or appropriate to achieve the purposes of this compact.

ARTICLE X.
ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

(A) Bylaws:

(1) Within 12 months after the first Interstate Commission meeting, the Interstate Commission shall adopt bylaws to govern its conduct as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the compact.

(2) The Interstate Commission's bylaws and rules shall establish conditions and procedures under which the Interstate Commission shall make its information and official records available to the public for inspection or copying. The Interstate Commission may exempt from disclosure information or official records to the extent they would adversely affect personal privacy rights or proprietary interests.

(B) Meetings:

(1) The Interstate Commission shall meet at least once each calendar year. The chairperson may call additional meetings and, upon the request of a simple majority of the member states shall call additional meetings.

(2) Public notice shall be given by the Interstate Commission of all meetings and all meetings shall be open to the public, except as set forth in the rules or as otherwise provided in the compact. The Interstate Commission and its committees may close a meeting, or portion thereof, where it determines by two-thirds vote that an open meeting would be likely to:

(a) Relate solely to the Interstate Commission's internal personnel practices and procedures; or

(b) Disclose matters specifically exempted from disclosure by federal law; or

(c) Disclose financial or commercial information which is privileged, proprietary, or confidential in nature; or

(d) Involve accusing a person of a crime, or formally censuring a person; or

(e) Disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy or physically endanger one or more persons; or

(f) Disclose investigative records compiled for law enforcement purposes; or

(g) Specifically relate to the Interstate Commission's participation in a civil action or other legal proceeding.

(3) For a meeting, or portion of a meeting, closed pursuant to this provision, the Interstate Commission's legal counsel or designee shall certify that the meeting may be closed and shall reference each relevant exemption provision. The Interstate Commission shall keep minutes which shall fully and clearly describe all matters discussed in a meeting and shall provide a full and accurate summary of actions taken, and the reasons therefore, including a description of the views expressed and the record of a roll call vote. All documents considered in connection with an action shall be identified in such minutes. All minutes and documents of a closed meeting shall remain under seal, subject to release by a majority vote of the Interstate Commission or by court order.

(4) The bylaws may provide for meetings of the Interstate Commission to be conducted by telecommunication or other electronic communication.

(C) Officers and Staff:

(1) The Interstate Commission may, through its executive committee, appoint or retain a staff director for such period, upon such terms and conditions and for such compensation as the Interstate Commission may deem appropriate. The staff director shall serve as secretary to the Interstate Commission, but shall not have a vote. The staff director may hire and supervise such other staff as may be authorized by the Interstate Commission.

(2) The Interstate Commission shall elect, from among its members, a chairperson and a vice chairperson of the executive committee and other necessary officers, each of whom shall have such authority and duties as may be specified in the bylaws.

(D) Qualified Immunity, Defense and Indemnification:

(1) The Interstate Commission's staff director and its employees shall be immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official capacity, for a claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil liability caused or arising out of or relating to an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred, or that such person had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities; provided, that such person shall not be protected from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by a criminal act or the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person.

(a) The liability of the Interstate Commission's staff director and employees or Interstate Commission representatives, acting within the scope of such person's employment or duties for acts, errors, or omissions occurring within such person's state may not exceed the limits of liability set forth under the Constitution and laws of that state for state officials, employees, and agents. The Interstate Commission is considered to be an instrumentality of the states for the purposes of any such action. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to protect such person from suit or liability for damage, loss, injury, or liability caused by a criminal act or the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of such person.

(b) The Interstate Commission shall defend the staff director and its employees and, subject to the approval of the Attorney General or other appropriate legal counsel of the member state shall defend the commissioner of a member state in a civil action seeking to impose liability arising out of an actual or alleged act, error or omission that occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties or responsibilities, or that the defendant had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from intentional or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such person.

(c) To the extent not covered by the state involved, member state, or the Interstate Commission, the representatives or employees of the Interstate Commission shall be held harmless in the amount of a settlement or judgment, including attorney's fees and costs, obtained against such persons arising out of an actual or alleged act, error, or omission that occurred within the scope of Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, or that such persons had a reasonable basis for believing occurred within the scope of the Interstate Commission employment, duties, or responsibilities, provided that the actual or alleged act, error, or omission did not result from intentional or willful and wanton misconduct on the part of such persons.

ARTICLE XI.
RULEMAKING FUNCTIONS OF THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION

(A) The Interstate Commission shall promulgate and publish rules in order to effectively and efficiently achieve the purposes of the compact.

(B) Rulemaking shall occur pursuant to the criteria set forth in this article and the bylaws and rules adopted pursuant thereto. Such rulemaking shall substantially conform to the principles of the "Model State Administrative Procedures Act," 1981 Act, Uniform Laws Annotated, Vol. 15, p.1 (2000), or such other administrative procedure acts as the Interstate Commission deems appropriate consistent with due process requirements under the United States Constitution as now or hereafter interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court. All rules and amendments shall become binding as of the date specified, as published with the final version of the rule as approved by the Interstate Commission.

(C) When promulgating a rule, the Interstate Commission shall, at a minimum:

(1) Publish the proposed rule's entire text stating the reason(s) for that proposed rule; and

(2) Allow and invite any and all persons to submit written data, facts, opinions and arguments, which information shall be added to the record, and be made publicly available; and

(3) Promulgate a final rule and its effective date, if appropriate, based on input from state or local officials, or interested parties.

(D) Rules promulgated by the Interstate Commission shall have the force and effect of statutory law and shall supersede any state law, rule or regulation to the extent of any conflict.

(E) Not later than 60 days after a rule is promulgated, an interested person may file a petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia or in the Federal District Court where the Interstate Commission's principal office is located for judicial review of such rule. If the court finds that the Interstate Commission's action is not supported by substantial evidence in the rulemaking record, the court shall hold the rule unlawful and set it aside.

(F) If a majority of the legislatures of the member states rejects a rule, those states may by enactment of a statute or resolution in the same manner used to adopt the compact cause that such rule shall have no further force and effect in any member state.

(G) The existing rules governing the operation of the Interstate Company on the Placement of Children superseded by this act shall be null and void no less than 12, but no more than 24 months after the first meeting of the Interstate Commission created hereunder, as determined by the members during the first meeting.

(H) Within the first 12 months of operation, the Interstate Commission shall promulgate rules addressing the following:

(1) Transition rules;

(2) Forms and procedures;

(3) Time lines;

(4) Data collection and reporting;

(5) Rulemaking;

(6) Visitation;

(7) Progress reports/supervision;

(8) Sharing of information/confidentiality;

(9) Financing of the Interstate Commission;

(10) Mediation, arbitration and dispute resolution;

(11) Education, training and technical assistance;

(12) Enforcement;

(13) Coordination with other interstate compacts.

(I) Upon determination by a majority of the members of the Interstate Commission that an emergency exists:

(1) The Interstate Commission may promulgate an emergency rule only if it is required to:

(a) Protect the children covered by this compact from an imminent threat to their health, safety and well-being; or

(b) Prevent loss of federal or state funds; or

(c) Meet a deadline for the promulgation of an administrative rule required by federal law.

(2) An emergency rule shall become effective immediately upon adoption, provided that the usual rulemaking procedures provided hereunder shall be retroactively applied to said rule as soon as reasonably possible, but no later than 90 days after the effective date of the emergency rule.

(3) An emergency rule shall be promulgated as provided for in the rules of the Interstate Commission.

ARTICLE XII.
OVERSIGHT, DISPUTE RESOLUTION, ENFORCEMENT

(A) Oversight:

(1) The Interstate Commission shall oversee the administration and operations of the compact.

(2) The executive, legislative and judicial branches of state government in each member state shall enforce this compact and the rules of the Interstate Commission and shall take all actions necessary and appropriate to effectuate the compact's purposes and intent. The compact and its rules shall supercede state law, rules or regulations to the extent of any conflict therewith.

(3) All courts shall take judicial notice of the compact and the rules in any judicial or administrative proceeding in a member state pertaining to the subject matter of this compact.

(4) The Interstate Commission shall be entitled to receive service of process in any action in which the validity of a compact provision or rule is the issue for which a judicial determination has been sought and shall have standing to intervene in any proceedings. Failure to provide service of process to the Interstate Commission shall render any judgment, order or other determination, however so captioned or classified, void as to the Interstate Commission, this compact, its bylaws or rules of the Interstate Commission.

(B) Dispute Resolution:

(1) The Interstate Commission shall attempt, upon the request of a member state, to resolve disputes which are subject to the compact and which may arise among member states and between member and non-member states.

(2) The Interstate Commission shall promulgate a rule providing for both mediation and binding dispute resolution for disputes among compacting states. The costs of such mediation or dispute resolution shall be the responsibility of the parties to the dispute.

(C) Enforcement:

(1) If the Interstate Commission determines that a member state has defaulted in the performance of its obligations or responsibilities under this compact, its bylaws or rules, the Interstate Commission may:

(a) Provide remedial training and specific technical assistance; or

(b) Provide written notice to the defaulting state and other member states, of the nature of the default and the means of curing the default. The Interstate Commission shall specify the conditions by which the defaulting state must cure its default; or

(c) By majority vote of the members, initiate against a defaulting member state legal action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or, at the discretion of the Interstate Commission, in the federal district where the Interstate Commission has its principal offices, to enforce compliance with the provisions of the compact, its bylaws or rules. The relief sought may include both injunctive relief and damages. In the event judicial enforcement is necessary the prevailing party shall be awarded all costs of such litigation including reasonable attorney's fees; or

(d) Avail itself of any other remedies available under state law or the regulation of official or professional conduct.

ARTICLE XIII.
FINANCING OF THE COMMISSION

(A) The Interstate Commission shall pay, or provide for the payment of the reasonable expenses of its establishment, organization and ongoing activities.

(B) The Interstate Commission may levy on and collect an annual assessment from each member state to cover the cost of the operations and activities of the Interstate Commission and its staff which must be in a total amount sufficient to cover the Interstate Commission's annual budget as approved by its members each year. The aggregate annual assessment amount shall be allocated based upon a formula to be determined by the Interstate Commission which shall promulgate a rule binding upon all member states.

(C) The Interstate Commission shall not incur obligations of any kind prior to securing the funds adequate to meet the same; nor shall the Interstate Commission pledge the credit of any of the member states, except by and with the authority of the member state.

(D) The Interstate Commission shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements. The receipts and disbursements of the Interstate Commission shall be subject to the audit and accounting procedures established under its bylaws. However, all receipts and disbursements of funds handled by the Interstate Commission shall be audited yearly by a certified or licensed public accountant and the report of the audit shall be included in and become part of the annual report of the Interstate Commission.

ARTICLE XIV.
MEMBER STATES, EFFECTIVE DATE AND AMENDMENT

(A) Any state is eligible to become a member state.

(B) The compact shall become effective and binding upon legislative enactment of the compact into law by no less than 35 states. The effective date shall be the later of July 1, 2007 or upon enactment of the compact into law by the 35th state. Thereafter it shall become effective and binding as to any other member state upon enactment of the compact into law by that state. The governors of non-member states or their designees shall be invited to participate in the activities of the Interstate Commission on a non-voting basis prior to adoption of the compact by all states.

(C) The Interstate Commission may propose amendments to the compact for enactment by the member states. No amendment shall become effective and binding on the member states unless and until it is enacted into law by unanimous consent of the member states.

ARTICLE XV.
WITHDRAWAL AND DISSOLUTION

(A) Withdrawal:

(1) Once effective, the compact shall continue in force and remain binding upon each and every member state; provided that a member state may withdraw from the compact specifically repealing the statute which enacted the compact into law.

(2) Withdrawal from this compact shall be by the enactment of a statute repealing the same. The effective date of withdrawal shall be the effective date of the repeal of the statute.

(3) The withdrawing state shall immediately notify the president of the Interstate Commission in writing upon the introduction of legislation repealing this compact in the withdrawing state. The Interstate Commission shall then notify the other member states of the withdrawing state's intent to withdraw.

(4) The withdrawing state is responsible for all assessments, obligations and liabilities incurred through the effective date of withdrawal.

(5) Reinstatement following withdrawal of a member state shall occur upon the withdrawing stated reenacting the compact or upon such later date as determined by the members of the Interstate Commission.

(B) Dissolution of Compact:

(1) This compact shall dissolve effective upon the date of the withdrawal or default of the member state which reduces the membership in the compact to one member state.

(2) Upon the dissolution of this compact, the compact becomes null and void and shall be of no further force or effect, and the business and affairs of the Interstate Commission shall be concluded and surplus funds shall be distributed in accordance with the bylaws.

ARTICLE XVI.
SEVERABILITY AND CONSTRUCTION

(A) The provisions of this compact shall be severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence or provision is deemed unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the compact shall be enforceable.

(B) The provisions of this compact shall be liberally construed to effectuate its purposes.

(C) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prohibit the concurrent applicability of other interstate compacts to which the states are members.

ARTICLE XVII.
BINDING EFFECT OF COMPACT AND OTHER LAWS

(A) Other Laws:

(1) Nothing herein prevents the enforcement of any other law of a member state that is not inconsistent with this compact.

(2) All member states' laws conflicting with this compact or its rules are superseded to the extent of the conflict.

(B) Binding Effect of the Compact:

(1) All lawful actions of the Interstate Commission, including all rules and bylaws promulgated by the Interstate Commission, are binding upon the member states.

(2) All agreements between the Interstate Commission and the member states are binding in accordance with their terms.

(3) In the event any provision of the compact exceeds the constitutional limits imposed on the legislature of any member state, such provision shall be ineffective to the extent of the conflict with the constitutional provision in question in that member state.

ARTICLE XVIII.
INDIAN TRIBES

Notwithstanding any other provision in this compact, the Interstate Commission may promulgate guidelines to permit Indian tribes to utilize the compact to achieve any or all of the purposes of the compact as specified in Article I. The Interstate Commission shall make reasonable efforts to consult with Indian tribes in promulgating guidelines to reflect the diverse circumstances of the various Indian tribes.

Sec. 5103.21.  The department of job and family services may adopt rules necessary for the implementation of section 5103.20 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5103.22.  As used in division (B) of Article VIII of section 5103.20 of the Revised Code, "state human services administration" means the department of job and family services.

Sec. 5153.60 5103.30. (A) The Ohio child welfare training program is hereby established in the department of job and family services shall establish as a statewide program that provides. The program shall provide all of the following:

(1)(A) The training that section 3107.014 of the Revised Code requires an assessor to complete;

(B) The preplacement training that sections 5103.031 and 5103.033 of the Revised Code require a prospective foster caregiver to complete;

(C) The continuing training that sections 5103.032 and 5103.033 of the Revised Code require a foster caregiver to complete;

(D) The training that section 5153.122 of the Revised Code requires public children services agency caseworkers and supervisors a PCSA caseworker to complete;

(2) The preplacement and continuing training described in sections 5103.034, 5103.039, and 5103.0311 of the Revised Code that foster caregivers are required by sections 5103.031, 5103.032, and 5103.033 of the Revised Code to obtain;

(3) The education programs for adoption assessors required by section 3107.014 of the Revised Code (E) The training that section 5153.123 of the Revised Code requires a PCSA caseworker supervisor to complete.

(B) The program established pursuant to division (A) of this section shall be called the "Ohio child welfare training program."

Sec. 5103.301.  The Ohio child welfare training program shall make its preplacement and continuing training provided under divisions (B) and (C) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code available to a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver without regard to the type of recommending agency from which the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver seeks a recommendation.

Sec. 5103.302.  The Ohio child welfare training program may condition a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver's enrollment in its preplacement and continuing training provided under divisions (B) and (C) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code on the availability of space in the training if the prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver's recommending agency is a private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency.

Sec. 5103.303.  When the Ohio child welfare training program provides preplacement or continuing training to a prospective foster caregiver or foster caregiver whose recommending agency is a private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency, the department of job and family services shall not pay the Ohio child welfare training program the allowance the department would otherwise pay to the private child placing agency or private noncustodial agency under section 5103.0313 of the Revised Code for the training.

Sec. 5103.31.  Training provided under section 5103.30 of the Revised Code shall provide the knowledge, skill, and ability needed to do the jobs that the training is for. The Ohio child welfare training program coordinator shall identify the competencies needed to do the jobs that the training is for so that the training helps the development of those competencies. In addition, the training shall do all of the following:

(A) In the case of the training provided under division (A) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code, comply with the rules adopted under section 3107.015 of the Revised Code;

(B) In the case of the preplacement training provided under division (B) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code, comply with section 5103.039 of the Revised Code and division (A) of section 5103.0311 of the Revised Code;

(C) In the case of the continuing training provided under division (C) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code, comply with rules adopted under division (C) of section 5103.0316 of the Revised Code;

(D) In the case of the training provided under divisions (D) and (E) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code, comply with rules adopted under section 5153.124 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.78 5103.32.  (A) As used in this section:

(1) "Title IV-B" means Title IV-B of the "Social Security Act of 1967," 81 Stat. 821, 42 U.S.C. 620, as amended.

(2) "Title IV-E" means Title IV-E of the "Social Security Act," 94 Stat. 501, 42 U.S.C. 670(1980).

(3) "Title XX" has the same meaning as in section 5101.46 of the Revised Code.

(B) For purposes of adequately funding the Ohio child welfare training program, the department of job and family services may use any of the following:

(1) The federal financial participation funds withheld pursuant to division (E) of section 5101.141 of the Revised Code in an amount determined by the department;

(2) Funds available under Title XX, Title IV-B, and Title IV-E to pay for training costs;

(3) Other available state or federal funds;

(4) Funds that a person, including a foundation, makes available for the program.

Sec. 5103.33.  The director of job and family services shall adopt rules under Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to implement the Ohio child welfare training program.

Sec. 5103.34.  The department of job and family services shall monitor and evaluate the Ohio child welfare training program to ensure that the program satisfies all of the requirements established by law enacted by the general assembly regarding the program and rules adopted under section 5103.33 of the Revised Code. As part of the monitoring and evaluation, the department shall ensure that the training provided under section 5103.30 of the Revised Code meets all of the requirements of section 5103.31 of the Revised Code, including the requirement that the training be competency based.

Sec. 5153.61 5103.35.  Each fiscal biennium, the department of job and family services shall contract with an entity to serve as the training coordinator for the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator. The training coordinator shall develop, implement, and manage the training program. The department shall select the entity with which to contract from the candidates selected pursuant to entities that submit a proposal that meets, as determined under section 5103.362 of the Revised Code, the requirements of the request for proposals issued under section 5153.63 5103.36 of the Revised Code. A The department may contract with the entity the department contracted with the previous fiscal biennium even though no request for proposals is issued if, as specified in section 5103.361 of the Revised Code, a request for proposals is not required for the upcoming fiscal biennium.

A contract entered into under this section shall be effective on the first day of the fiscal biennium for which it is entered into and terminate on the last day of that fiscal biennium. The contract shall require the coordinator to perform the duties specified in section 5103.37 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.62 5103.36.  Before the beginning of each fiscal biennium, the The department of job and family services shall develop and issue or cause to be issued a request for proposals for the development, implementation, and management, as training coordinator, of an entity to serve as the Ohio child welfare training program during the biennium coordinator. The department shall develop the request for proposals in consultation with individuals designated solicited under section 5153.64 5103.365 of the Revised Code. The request for proposals shall explain the types of duties of the coordinator.

Sec. 5103.361.  (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, the request for proposals required by section 5103.36 of the Revised Code shall be developed and issued before the beginning of each fiscal biennium.

(B) The department is not required to develop and issue or cause to be issued the request for proposals before the beginning of a fiscal biennium if both of the following are the case:

(1) The department developed and issued or caused to be issued such a request for proposals before at least one of the three previous fiscal biennia;

(2) The department and entity under contract to serve as the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator contract for that entity to continue serving as the coordinator for the upcoming fiscal biennium.

Sec. 5153.63 5103.362.  Before the beginning of each fiscal biennium, After considering recommendations from the individuals designated solicited under section 5153.64 5103.363 of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services shall review all responses to the determine which of the proposals received in response to a request for proposals issued under section 5153.62 5103.36 of the Revised Code for the biennium and recommend to the department of job and family services those entities that meet the requirements of the request.

Sec. 5153.64 5103.363.  The director of job and family services shall select solicit representatives from all of the following organizations to perform the consultation and recommendation duties under sections 5153.62 5103.36 and 5153.63 5103.362 of the Revised Code:

(A) Regional training centers established under section 5153.72 5103.42 of the Revised Code;

(B) Staff of public children services agencies;

(C) Staff of the state department of job and family services;

(D) A statewide organization that represents the interests of public children services agencies.

Sec. 5153.65 5103.37.  The entity contracted with to serve as the training coordinator for the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator shall do all the following as part of its duties under pursuant to the contract entered into under section 5103.35 of the Revised Code:

(A) Administer Manage, coordinate, and evaluate all of the program's training program activities under the program provided under section 5103.30 of the Revised Code;

(B) Develop training curriculum, resources, and products for the training;

(C) Provide fiscal management and technical assistance to regional training centers established under section 5153.72 5103.42 of the Revised Code;

(D) Cooperate with the regional training centers to schedule training sessions for the training, provide notices of the training sessions, and provide training materials for the sessions;

(E) Employ and compensate training session instructors for the training;

(F) Create individual training needs assessment forms assessments for use pursuant to sections 5153.75 5153.125 and 5153.76 5153.126 of the Revised Code;

(G) Provide staff for the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee established under section 5103.39 of the Revised Code;

(H) Conduct any other activities necessary for the development, implementation, and management of the training program as specified in the contract.

Sec. 5153.70 5103.38.  The department of job and family services shall oversee the operation of the entity contracted with under section 5153.61 of the Revised Code regarding the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator's development, implementation, and management of the Ohio child welfare training program.

Sec. 5153.66 5103.39.  The director of job and family services shall establish the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee. Sections 101.82 to 101.87 of the Revised Code do not apply to the committee.

Sec. 5153.67 5103.391.  (A) The director of job and family services shall appoint all of the following to serve on the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee:

(1)(A) Employees of the department of job and family services;

(2) Representatives (B) One representative of each of the regional training centers established under section 5153.72 5103.42 of the Revised Code;

(3) A (C) One representative of an a statewide organization that represents the interests of public children services agencies;

(4) A (D) One representative of the entity contracted with to serve as the training coordinator for the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator;

(5) Two employees (E) Employees of public children services agencies.

(B) All initial appointments required to be made under this section shall be made no later than thirty days after the effective date of this section.

The representative of an entity contracted with to serve as the training coordinator shall serve on the committee until the department of job and family services contracts with a different entity to serve as the training coordinator.

The entity under contract on the effective date of this section to coordinate training for caseworkers and supervisors in the state shall be considered the entity that contracts with the department to serve as the training coordinator for the Ohio child welfare training program.

Sec. 5103.40.  The Ohio child welfare training program steering committee shall do all of the following:

(A) Following procedures the committee shall establish, adopt, amend, and rescind by-laws as necessary regarding the committee's governance, frequency of meetings, and other matters concerning the committee's operation;

(B) Conduct strategic planning activities regarding the Ohio child welfare training program;

(C) Provide the department of job and family services and Ohio child welfare training program coordinator recommendations regarding the program's operation;

(D) After reviewing individual training needs assessments completed under sections 5153.125 and 5153.126 of the Revised Code, consult with the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator on the design and content of the training that the program provides pursuant to divisions (D) and (E) of section 5103.30 of the Revised Code;

(E) Review curricula created for the training provided under section 5103.30 of the Revised Code;

(F) Provide the department recommendations regarding the curricula reviewed under division (E) of this section as the committee determines necessary for the training to be relevant to the needs of the child welfare field;

(G) Evaluate the training and provide the department recommendations as the committee determines necessary for the training to be able to enable all of the following:

(1) Assessors to satisfy the training requirement of section 3107.014 of the Revised Code;

(2) Prospective foster caregivers and foster caregivers to satisfy the preplacement and continuing training requirements of sections 5103.031, 5103.032, and 5103.033 of the Revised Code;

(3) PCSA caseworkers to satisfy the training requirements of section 5153.122 of the Revised Code;

(4) PCSA caseworker supervisors to satisfy the training requirements of section 5153.123 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.71 5103.41.  Prior to the beginning of the fiscal biennium that first follows the effective date of this section October 5, 2000, the department of job and family services, in consultation with the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee, shall designate eight training regions in the state. The department, at times it selects, shall review the composition of the training regions. The committee, at times it selects, shall also review the training regions' composition and provide the department recommendations on changes. The department may change the composition of the training regions as needed the department considers necessary. Each training region shall contain only one regional training center established and maintained under section 5153.72 5103.42 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.72 5103.42.  Prior to the beginning of the fiscal biennium that first follows October 5, 2000, the public children services agencies of Athens, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Greene, Guernsey, Hamilton, Lucas, and Summit counties shall each establish and maintain a regional training center. At any time after the beginning of that biennium, the department of job and family services, on the recommendation of the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee, may direct a public children services agency to establish and maintain a training center to replace the center established by an agency under this section. There may be no more and no less than eight centers in existence at any time. The department may make a grant to a public children services agency that establishes and maintains a regional training center under this section for the purpose of wholly or partially subsidizing the operation of the center. The department shall specify in the grant all of the center's duties, including the duties specified in section 5103.422 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.73 5103.421.  The executive director of each public children services agency required to establish and maintain a regional training center shall appoint a manager to operate the training center in accordance with section 5153.74 5103.422 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.74 5103.422.  A regional training center's responsibilities shall include all of the following:

(A) Secure Securing facilities suitable for conducting the training programs and sessions provided under section 5103.30 of the Revised Code;

(B) Provide Providing administrative services and pay paying all administrative costs related to the conduct of the training programs and sessions;

(C) Maintain Maintaining a database of the data contained in the individual training needs assessments for each PCSA caseworker and PCSA caseworker supervisor employed by a public children services agency located in the training region served by the center;

(D) Assess Analyzing training needs of PCSA caseworkers and PCSA caseworker supervisors employed by a public children services agency located in the training region served by the center;

(E) Cooperate with Coordinating the entity contracted with under section 5153.61 of the Revised Code in coordinating training programs and sessions at the center with the Ohio child welfare training program coordinator.

Sec. 5104.01.  As used in this chapter:

(A) "Administrator" means the person responsible for the daily operation of a center or type A home. The administrator and the owner may be the same person.

(B) "Approved child day camp" means a child day camp approved pursuant to section 5104.22 of the Revised Code.

(C) "Authorized provider" means a person authorized by a county director of job and family services to operate a certified type B family day-care home.

(D) "Border state child care provider" means a child care provider that is located in a state bordering Ohio and that is licensed, certified, or otherwise approved by that state to provide child care.

(E) "Caretaker parent" means the father or mother of a child whose presence in the home is needed as the caretaker of the child, a person who has legal custody of a child and whose presence in the home is needed as the caretaker of the child, a guardian of a child whose presence in the home is needed as the caretaker of the child, and any other person who stands in loco parentis with respect to the child and whose presence in the home is needed as the caretaker of the child.

(F) "Certified type B family day-care home" and "certified type B home" mean a type B family day-care home that is certified by the director of the county department of job and family services pursuant to section 5104.11 of the Revised Code to receive public funds for providing child care pursuant to this chapter and any rules adopted under it.

(G) "Chartered nonpublic school" means a school that meets standards for nonpublic schools prescribed by the state board of education for nonpublic schools pursuant to section 3301.07 of the Revised Code.

(H) "Child" includes an infant, toddler, preschool child, or school child.

(I) "Child care block grant act" means the "Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990," established in section 5082 of the "Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990," 104 Stat. 1388-236 (1990), 42 U.S.C. 9858, as amended.

(J) "Child day camp" means a program in which only school children attend or participate, that operates for no more than seven hours per day, that operates only during one or more public school district's regular vacation periods or for no more than fifteen weeks during the summer, and that operates outdoor activities for each child who attends or participates in the program for a minimum of fifty per cent of each day that children attend or participate in the program, except for any day when hazardous weather conditions prevent the program from operating outdoor activities for a minimum of fifty per cent of that day. For purposes of this division, the maximum seven hours of operation time does not include transportation time from a child's home to a child day camp and from a child day camp to a child's home.

(K) "Child care" means administering to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school children outside of school hours by persons other than their parents or guardians, custodians, or relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption for any part of the twenty-four-hour day in a place or residence other than a child's own home.

(L) "Child day-care center" and "center" mean any place in which child care or publicly funded child care is provided for thirteen or more children at one time or any place that is not the permanent residence of the licensee or administrator in which child care or publicly funded child care is provided for seven to twelve children at one time. In counting children for the purposes of this division, any children under six years of age who are related to a licensee, administrator, or employee and who are on the premises of the center shall be counted. "Child day-care center" and "center" do not include any of the following:

(1) A place located in and operated by a hospital, as defined in section 3727.01 of the Revised Code, in which the needs of children are administered to, if all the children whose needs are being administered to are monitored under the on-site supervision of a physician licensed under Chapter 4731. of the Revised Code or a registered nurse licensed under Chapter 4723. of the Revised Code, and the services are provided only for children who, in the opinion of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian, are exhibiting symptoms of a communicable disease or other illness or are injured;

(2) A child day camp;

(3) A place that provides child care, but not publicly funded child care, if all of the following apply:

(a) An organized religious body provides the child care;

(b) A parent, custodian, or guardian of at least one child receiving child care is on the premises and readily accessible at all times;

(c) The child care is not provided for more than thirty days a year;

(d) The child care is provided only for preschool and school children.

(M) "Child care resource and referral service organization" means a community-based nonprofit organization that provides child care resource and referral services but not child care.

(N) "Child care resource and referral services" means all of the following services:

(1) Maintenance of a uniform data base of all child care providers in the community that are in compliance with this chapter, including current occupancy and vacancy data;

(2) Provision of individualized consumer education to families seeking child care;

(3) Provision of timely referrals of available child care providers to families seeking child care;

(4) Recruitment of child care providers;

(5) Assistance in the development, conduct, and dissemination of training for child care providers and provision of technical assistance to current and potential child care providers, employers, and the community;

(6) Collection and analysis of data on the supply of and demand for child care in the community;

(7) Technical assistance concerning locally, state, and federally funded child care and early childhood education programs;

(8) Stimulation of employer involvement in making child care more affordable, more available, safer, and of higher quality for their employees and for the community;

(9) Provision of written educational materials to caretaker parents and informational resources to child care providers;

(10) Coordination of services among child care resource and referral service organizations to assist in developing and maintaining a statewide system of child care resource and referral services if required by the department of job and family services;

(11) Cooperation with the county department of job and family services in encouraging the establishment of parent cooperative child care centers and parent cooperative type A family day-care homes.

(O) "Child-care staff member" means an employee of a child day-care center or type A family day-care home who is primarily responsible for the care and supervision of children. The administrator may be a part-time child-care staff member when not involved in other duties.

(P) "Drop-in child day-care center," "drop-in center," "drop-in type A family day-care home," and "drop-in type A home" mean a center or type A home that provides child care or publicly funded child care for children on a temporary, irregular basis.

(Q) "Employee" means a person who either:

(1) Receives compensation for duties performed in a child day-care center or type A family day-care home;

(2) Is assigned specific working hours or duties in a child day-care center or type A family day-care home.

(R) "Employer" means a person, firm, institution, organization, or agency that operates a child day-care center or type A family day-care home subject to licensure under this chapter.

(S) "Federal poverty line" means the official poverty guideline as revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the "Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981," 95 Stat. 511, 42 U.S.C. 9902, as amended, for a family size equal to the size of the family of the person whose income is being determined.

(T) "Head start program" means a comprehensive child development program that receives funds distributed under the "Head Start Act," 95 Stat. 499 (1981), 42 U.S.C.A. 9831, as amended, and is licensed as a child day-care center.

(U) "Income" means gross income, as defined in section 5107.10 of the Revised Code, less any amounts required by federal statutes or regulations to be disregarded.

(V) "Indicator checklist" means an inspection tool, used in conjunction with an instrument-based program monitoring information system, that contains selected licensing requirements that are statistically reliable indicators or predictors of a child day-care center or type A family day-care home's compliance with licensing requirements.

(W) "Infant" means a child who is less than eighteen months of age.

(X) "In-home aide" means a person who does not reside with the child but provides care in the child's home and is certified by a county director of job and family services pursuant to section 5104.12 of the Revised Code to provide publicly funded child care to a child in a child's own home pursuant to this chapter and any rules adopted under it.

(Y) "Instrument-based program monitoring information system" means a method to assess compliance with licensing requirements for child day-care centers and type A family day-care homes in which each licensing requirement is assigned a weight indicative of the relative importance of the requirement to the health, growth, and safety of the children that is used to develop an indicator checklist.

(Z) "License capacity" means the maximum number in each age category of children who may be cared for in a child day-care center or type A family day-care home at one time as determined by the director of job and family services considering building occupancy limits established by the department of commerce, number of available child-care staff members, amount of available indoor floor space and outdoor play space, and amount of available play equipment, materials, and supplies.

(AA) "Licensed preschool program" or "licensed school child program" means a preschool program or school child program, as defined in section 3301.52 of the Revised Code, that is licensed by the department of education pursuant to sections 3301.52 to 3301.59 of the Revised Code.

(BB) "Licensee" means the owner of a child day-care center or type A family day-care home that is licensed pursuant to this chapter and who is responsible for ensuring its compliance with this chapter and rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(CC) "Operate a child day camp" means to operate, establish, manage, conduct, or maintain a child day camp.

(DD) "Owner" includes a person, as defined in section 1.59 of the Revised Code, or government entity.

(EE) "Parent cooperative child day-care center," "parent cooperative center," "parent cooperative type A family day-care home," and "parent cooperative type A home" mean a corporation or association organized for providing educational services to the children of members of the corporation or association, without gain to the corporation or association as an entity, in which the services of the corporation or association are provided only to children of the members of the corporation or association, ownership and control of the corporation or association rests solely with the members of the corporation or association, and at least one parent-member of the corporation or association is on the premises of the center or type A home during its hours of operation.

(FF) "Part-time child day-care center," "part-time center," "part-time type A family day-care home," and "part-time type A home" mean a center or type A home that provides child care or publicly funded child care for no more than four hours a day for any child.

(GG) "Place of worship" means a building where activities of an organized religious group are conducted and includes the grounds and any other buildings on the grounds used for such activities.

(HH) "Preschool child" means a child who is three years old or older but is not a school child.

(II) "Protective child care" means publicly funded child care for the direct care and protection of a child to whom either of the following applies:

(1) A case plan prepared and maintained for the child pursuant to section 2151.412 of the Revised Code indicates a need for protective care and the child resides with a parent, stepparent, guardian, or another person who stands in loco parentis as defined in rules adopted under section 5104.38 of the Revised Code;

(2) The child and the child's caretaker either temporarily reside in a facility providing emergency shelter for homeless families or are determined by the county department of job and family services to be homeless, and are otherwise ineligible for publicly funded child care.

(JJ) "Publicly funded child care" means administering to the needs of infants, toddlers, preschool children, and school children under age thirteen during any part of the twenty-four-hour day by persons other than their caretaker parents for remuneration wholly or in part with federal or state funds, including funds available under the child care block grant act, Title IV-A, and Title XX, distributed by the department of job and family services.

(KK) "Religious activities" means any of the following: worship or other religious services; religious instruction; Sunday school classes or other religious classes conducted during or prior to worship or other religious services; youth or adult fellowship activities; choir or other musical group practices or programs; meals; festivals; or meetings conducted by an organized religious group.

(LL) "School child" means a child who is enrolled in or is eligible to be enrolled in a grade of kindergarten or above but is less than fifteen years old.

(MM) "School child day-care center," "school child center," "school child type A family day-care home," and "school child type A family home" mean a center or type A home that provides child care for school children only and that does either or both of the following:

(1) Operates only during that part of the day that immediately precedes or follows the public school day of the school district in which the center or type A home is located;

(2) Operates only when the public schools in the school district in which the center or type A home is located are not open for instruction with pupils in attendance.

(NN) "State median income" means the state median income calculated by the department of development pursuant to division (A)(1)(g) of section 5709.61 of the Revised Code.

(OO) "Title IV-A" means Title IV-A of the "Social Security Act," 110 Stat. 2113 (1996), 42 U.S.C. 601, as amended.

(PP) "Title XX" means Title XX of the "Social Security Act," 88 Stat. 2337 (1974), 42 U.S.C. 1397, as amended.

(QQ) "Toddler" means a child who is at least eighteen months of age but less than three years of age.

(RR) "Type A family day-care home" and "type A home" mean a permanent residence of the administrator in which child care or publicly funded child care is provided for seven to twelve children at one time or a permanent residence of the administrator in which child care is provided for four to twelve children at one time if four or more children at one time are under two years of age. In counting children for the purposes of this division, any children under six years of age who are related to a licensee, administrator, or employee and who are on the premises of the type A home shall be counted. "Type A family day-care home" does not include a residence in which the needs of children are administered to, if all of the children whose needs are being administered to are siblings of the same immediate family and the residence is the home of the siblings. "Type A family day-care home" and "type A home" do not include any child day camp.

(SS) "Type B family day-care home" and "type B home" mean a permanent residence of the provider in which child care is provided for one to six children at one time and in which no more than three children are under two years of age at one time. In counting children for the purposes of this division, any children under six years of age who are related to the provider and who are on the premises of the type B home shall be counted. "Type B family day-care home" does not include a residence in which the needs of children are administered to, if all of the children whose needs are being administered to are siblings of the same immediate family and the residence is the home of the siblings. "Type B family day-care home" and "type B home" do not include any child day camp.

Sec. 5104.11.  (A)(1) Every person desiring to receive certification for a type B family day-care home to provide publicly funded child care shall apply for certification to the county director of job and family services on such forms as the director of job and family services prescribes. The county director shall provide at no charge to each applicant a copy of rules for certifying type B family day-care homes adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(2) Except as provided in division (G)(1) of section 5104.011 of the Revised Code, after receipt of an application for certification from a type B family day-care home, the county director of job and family services shall inspect the home. If it complies with this chapter and any applicable rules adopted under this chapter, the county department shall certify the type B family day-care home to provide publicly funded child care pursuant to this chapter and any rules adopted under it. The director of job and family services or a county director of job and family services may contract with a government entity or a private nonprofit entity for that entity to inspect and certify type B family day-care homes pursuant to this section. The county department of job and family services, government entity, or nonprofit entity shall conduct the inspection prior to the issuance of a certificate for the type B home and, as part of that inspection, ensure that the type B home is safe and sanitary.

(3)(a) On receipt of an application for certification for a type B family day-care home to provide publicly funded child care or for renewal of such certification, the county department shall request from the public children services agency both of the following information concerning any abuse or neglect report made pursuant to section 2151.421 of the Revised Code of which the applicant, any other adult residing in the applicant's home, or a person designated by the applicant to be an emergency or substitute caregiver for the applicant is the subject. The:

(i) The public children services agency, until the county department is notified by the department of job and family services that the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system has been finalized statewide;

(ii) Upon receipt of notification under division (D) of section 5101.13 of the Revised Code that the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system has been implemented statewide, the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system via the department.

(b) The county department shall consider any information provided by the agency or the department pursuant to section 5153.175 of the Revised Code. If the county department determines that the information, when viewed within the totality of the circumstances, reasonably leads to the conclusion that the applicant may directly or indirectly endanger the health, safety, or welfare of children, the county department shall deny the application for certification or renewal of certification, or revoke the certification of an authorized provider.

(c) As used in division (A)(3) of this section, "public children services agency" means either an entity separate from the county department or the part of the county department that serves as the county's public children services agency, as appropriate.

(4) Except as provided in division (A)(5) of this section, an authorized provider of a type B family day-care home that receives a certificate pursuant to this section to provide publicly funded child care is an independent contractor and is not an employee of the county department of job and family services that issues the certificate.

(5) For purposes of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code, determinations concerning the employment of an authorized provider of a type B family day-care home that receives a certificate pursuant to this section shall be determined under Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code.

(B) If the county director of job and family services determines that the type B family day-care home complies with this chapter and any rules adopted under it, the county director shall issue to the provider a certificate to provide publicly funded child care, which certificate is valid for twelve months, unless revoked earlier. The county director may revoke the certificate after determining that revocation is necessary. The authorized provider shall post the certificate in a conspicuous place in the certified type B home that is accessible to parents, custodians, or guardians at all times. The certificate shall state the name and address of the authorized provider, the maximum number of children who may be cared for at any one time in the certified type B home, the expiration date of the certification, and the name and telephone number of the county director who issued the certificate.

(C)(1) The county director shall inspect every certified type B family day-care home at least twice within each twelve-month period of the operation of the certified type B home. A minimum of one inspection shall be unannounced and all inspections may be unannounced. Upon receipt of a complaint, the county director shall investigate the certified type B home, and division (C)(2) of this section applies regarding the complaint. The authorized provider shall permit the county director to inspect any part of the certified type B home. The county director shall prepare a written inspection report and furnish one copy to the authorized provider within a reasonable time after the inspection.

(2) Upon receipt of a complaint as described in division (C)(1) of this section, in addition to the investigation that is required under that division, both of the following apply:

(a) If the complaint alleges that a child suffered physical harm while receiving child care at the certified type B family day-care home or that the noncompliance with law or act alleged in the complaint involved, resulted in, or poses a substantial risk of physical harm to a child receiving child care at the home, the county director shall inspect the home.

(b) If division (C)(2)(a) of this section does not apply regarding the complaint, the county director may inspect the certified type B family day-care home.

(3) Division (C)(2) of this section does not limit, restrict, or negate any duty of the county director to inspect a certified type B family day-care home that otherwise is imposed under this section, or any authority of the county director to inspect a home that otherwise is granted under this section when the county director believes the inspection is necessary and it is permitted under the grant.

(D) The county director of job and family services, in accordance with rules adopted pursuant to section 5104.052 of the Revised Code regarding fire safety and fire prevention, shall inspect each type B home that applies to be certified that is providing or is to provide publicly funded child care.

(E) All materials that are supplied by the department of job and family services to type A family day-care home providers, type B family day-care home providers, in-home aides, persons who desire to be type A family day-care home providers, type B family day-care home providers, or in-home aides, and caretaker parents shall be written at no higher than the sixth grade reading level. The department may employ a readability expert to verify its compliance with this division.

Sec. 5104.31. (A) Publicly funded child care may be provided only by the following:

(A)(1) A child day-care center or type A family day-care home, including a parent cooperative child day-care center or parent cooperative type A family day-care home, licensed by the department of job and family services pursuant to section 5104.03 of the Revised Code;

(B)(2) A type B family day-care home certified by the county department of job and family services pursuant to section 5104.11 of the Revised Code;

(C)(3) A type B family day-care home that has received a limited certification pursuant to rules adopted under division (G)(1) of section 5104.011 of the Revised Code;

(D)(4) An in-home aide who has been certified by the county department of job and family services pursuant to section 5104.12 of the Revised Code;

(E)(5) A child day camp approved pursuant to section 5104.22 of the Revised Code;

(F)(6) A licensed preschool program;

(G)(7) A licensed school child program;

(H)(8) A border state child care provider, except that a border state child care provider may provide publicly funded child care only to an individual who resides in an Ohio county that borders the state in which the provider is located.

(B) Publicly funded child day-care may be provided in a child's own home only by an in-home aide.

Sec. 5153.01.  (A) As used in the Revised Code, "public children services agency" means an entity specified in section 5153.02 of the Revised Code that has assumed the powers and duties of the children services function prescribed by this chapter for a county.

(B) As used in this chapter:

(1) "Certified foster home" means a foster home, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Certified organization" means any organization holding a certificate issued pursuant to section 5103.03 of the Revised Code that is in full force and effect.

(3) "Child" means any person under eighteen years of age or a mentally or physically handicapped person, as defined by rule adopted by the director of job and family services, under twenty-one years of age.

(4) "Executive director" means the person charged with the responsibility of administering the powers and duties of a public children services agency appointed pursuant to section 5153.10 of the Revised Code.

(5) "Organization" means any public, semipublic, or private institution, including maternity homes and day nurseries, and any private association, society, or agency, located or operating in this state, incorporated or unincorporated, having among its functions the furnishing of protective services or care for children or the placement of children in certified foster homes or elsewhere.

(6) "PCSA caseworker" means an individual employed by a public children services agency as a caseworker.

(7) "PCSA caseworker supervisor" means an individual employed by a public children services agency to supervise PCSA caseworkers.

Sec. 5153.111.  (A)(1) The executive director of a public children services agency shall request the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation to conduct a criminal records check with respect to any applicant who has applied to the agency for employment as a person responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child. If the applicant does not present proof that the applicant has been a resident of this state for the five-year period immediately prior to the date upon which the criminal records check is requested or does not provide evidence that within that five-year period the superintendent has requested information about the applicant from the federal bureau of investigation in a criminal records check, the executive director shall request that the superintendent obtain information from the federal bureau of investigation as a part of the criminal records check for the applicant. If the applicant presents proof that the applicant has been a resident of this state for that five-year period, the executive director may request that the superintendent include information from the federal bureau of investigation in the criminal records check.

(2) Any person required by division (A)(1) of this section to request a criminal records check shall provide to each applicant a copy of the form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, provide to each applicant a standard impression sheet to obtain fingerprint impressions prescribed pursuant to division (C)(2) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code, obtain the completed form and impression sheet from each applicant, and forward the completed form and impression sheet to the superintendent of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation at the time the person requests a criminal records check pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section.

(3) Any applicant who receives pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section a copy of the form prescribed pursuant to division (C)(1) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code and a copy of an impression sheet prescribed pursuant to division (C)(2) of that section and who is requested to complete the form and provide a set of fingerprint impressions shall complete the form or provide all the information necessary to complete the form and shall provide the impression sheet with the impressions of the applicant's fingerprints. If an applicant, upon request, fails to provide the information necessary to complete the form or fails to provide impressions of the applicant's fingerprints, that agency shall not employ that applicant for any position for which a criminal records check is required by division (A)(1) of this section.

(B)(1) Except as provided in rules adopted by the director of job and family services in accordance with division (E) of this section, no public children services agency shall employ a person as a person responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child if the person previously has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the following:

(a) A violation of section 2903.01, 2903.02, 2903.03, 2903.04, 2903.11, 2903.12, 2903.13, 2903.16, 2903.21, 2903.34, 2905.01, 2905.02, 2905.05, 2907.02, 2907.03, 2907.04, 2907.05, 2907.06, 2907.07, 2907.08, 2907.09, 2907.21, 2907.22, 2907.23, 2907.25, 2907.31, 2907.32, 2907.321, 2907.322, 2907.323, 2909.02, 2909.03, 2911.01, 2911.02, 2911.11, 2911.12, 2919.12, 2919.22, 2919.24, 2919.25, 2923.12, 2923.13, 2923.161, 2925.02, 2925.03, 2925.04, 2925.05, 2925.06, or 3716.11 of the Revised Code, a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, a violation of section 2919.23 of the Revised Code that would have been a violation of section 2905.04 of the Revised Code as it existed prior to July 1, 1996, had the violation occurred prior to that date, a violation of section 2925.11 of the Revised Code that is not a minor drug possession offense, or felonious sexual penetration in violation of former section 2907.12 of the Revised Code;

(b) A violation of an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to any of the offenses or violations described in division (B)(1)(a) of this section.

(2) A public children services agency may employ an applicant conditionally until the criminal records check required by this section is completed and the agency receives the results of the criminal records check. If the results of the criminal records check indicate that, pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, the applicant does not qualify for employment, the agency shall release the applicant from employment.

(C)(1) Each public children services agency shall pay to the bureau of criminal identification and investigation the fee prescribed pursuant to division (C)(3) of section 109.572 of the Revised Code for each criminal records check conducted in accordance with that section upon the request pursuant to division (A)(1) of this section of the executive director of the agency.

(2) A public children services agency may charge an applicant a fee for the costs it incurs in obtaining a criminal records check under this section. A fee charged under this division shall not exceed the amount of fees the agency pays under division (C)(1) of this section. If a fee is charged under this division, the agency shall notify the applicant at the time of the applicant's initial application for employment of the amount of the fee and that, unless the fee is paid, the agency will not consider the applicant for employment.

(D) The report of any criminal records check conducted by the bureau of criminal identification and investigation in accordance with section 109.572 of the Revised Code and pursuant to a request under division (A)(1) of this section is not a public record for the purposes of section 149.43 of the Revised Code and shall not be made available to any person other than the applicant who is the subject of the criminal records check or the applicant's representative, the public children services agency requesting the criminal records check or its representative, and any court, hearing officer, or other necessary individual involved in a case dealing with the denial of employment to the applicant.

(E) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to implement this section, including rules specifying circumstances under which a public children services agency may hire a person who has been convicted of an offense listed in division (B)(1) of this section but who meets standards in regard to rehabilitation set by the department.

(F) Any person required by division (A)(1) of this section to request a criminal records check shall inform each person, at the time of the person's initial application for employment, that the person is required to provide a set of impressions of the person's fingerprints and that a criminal records check is required to be conducted and satisfactorily completed in accordance with section 109.572 of the Revised Code if the person comes under final consideration for appointment or employment as a precondition to employment for that position.

(G) As used in this section:

(1) "Applicant" means a person who is under final consideration for appointment or employment in a position with the agency as a person responsible for the care, custody, or control of a child.

(2) "Criminal records check" has the same meaning as in section 109.572 of the Revised Code.

(3) "Minor drug possession offense" has the same meaning as in section 2925.01 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.122.  (A) Each PCSA caseworker hired by a public children services agency after January 1, 2007, shall complete at least ninety one hundred two hours of in-service training during the first year of the caseworker's continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker, except that the executive director of the public children services agency may waive the training requirement for a school of social work graduate who participated in the university partnership program described in division (D) of section 5101.141 of the Revised Code. The training shall consist of courses in recognizing, accepting reports of, and preventing child abuse and, neglect, and dependency; assessing risks, child safety; assessing risks; interviewing persons,; investigating cases,; intervening,; providing services to children and their families,; the importance of and need for accurate data; preparation for court; maintenance of case record information; and other topics relevant to child abuse and, neglect, and dependency. The training shall also include courses in the legal duties of PCSA caseworkers to protect the constitutional and statutory rights of children and families from the initial time of contact during investigation through treatment that shall include instruction regarding parents' rights and the limitations that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution places upon caseworkers and their investigations.

After the a PCSA caseworker's first year of continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker, each the caseworker annually shall complete thirty-six hours of training in areas relevant to the caseworker's assigned duties.

(B) Each supervisor hired by a public children services agency shall complete at least sixty hours of in-service training during the first year of the supervisor's continuous employment in that position. After the first year of continuous employment as a supervisor, the supervisor annually shall complete thirty hours of training in areas relevant to the supervisor's assigned duties.

(C) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to implement the training requirements of this section.

During the first two years of continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker, each PCSA caseworker shall complete at least twelve hours of training in recognizing the signs of domestic violence and its relationship to child abuse as established in rules the director of job and family services shall adopt pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The twelve hours may be in addition to the ninety hours of training required during the caseworker's first year of employment or part of the thirty-six hours of training required during the second year of employment.

Sec. 5153.123.  Each PCSA caseworker supervisor shall complete at least sixty hours of in-service training during the first year of the supervisor's continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker supervisor. The training shall include courses in screening reports of child abuse, neglect, or dependency. After a PCSA caseworker supervisor's first year of continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker supervisor, the supervisor annually shall complete thirty hours of training in areas relevant to the supervisor's assigned duties. During the first two years of continuous employment as a PCSA caseworker supervisor, each PCSA caseworker supervisor shall complete at least twelve hours of training in recognizing the signs of domestic violence and its relationship to child abuse as established in rules the director of job and family services shall adopt pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The twelve hours may be in addition to the sixty hours of training required during the supervisor's first year of employment or part of the thirty hours of training required during the second year of employment.

Sec. 5153.124. (A) The director of job and family services shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the training requirements of sections 5153.122 and 5153.123 of the Revised Code.

(B) Notwithstanding sections 5103.33 to 5103.422 and sections 5153.122 to 5153.127 of the Revised Code, the department of job and family services may require additional training for PCSA caseworkers and PCSA caseworker supervisors as necessary to comply with federal requirements.

Sec. 5153.75 5153.125.  Each PCSA caseworker supervisor employed by a public children services agency that supervises the work of a caseworker employed by the agency shall work with the each PCSA caseworker the supervisor supervises to determine the caseworker's training needs in accordance with, and ensure the caseworker's compliance with, the training requirements of section 5153.122 of the Revised Code. Once every two years, each PCSA caseworker and the caseworker's supervisor shall jointly complete an the caseworker's individual training needs assessment form created under section 5153.65 5103.37 of the Revised Code for each caseworker.

Sec. 5153.76 5153.126.  The executive director of each public children services agency or a person designated by the executive director shall work with each PCSA caseworker supervisor employed by the agency to determine the supervisor's training needs in accordance with, and ensure the supervisor's compliance with, the training requirements of section 5153.122 5153.123 of the Revised Code. Once every two years, each PCSA caseworker supervisor and the executive director of the public children services agency employing the supervisor, or designated the person designated by the executive director, shall jointly complete an the supervisor's individual training needs assessment form created under section 5153.65 5103.37 of the Revised Code for each supervisor.

Sec. 5153.77 5153.127.  The executive director of each public children services agency or a person designated by the executive director shall collect and maintain the data from individual training needs assessment forms assessments completed under sections 5153.75 5153.125 and 5153.76 5153.126 of the Revised Code for each PCSA caseworker and PCSA caseworker supervisor and case worker employed by the agency. The executive director or designated person shall compile and forward the data collected from the completed assessment forms assessments to the regional training center located in established under section 5103.42 of the Revised Code for the same training region as the agency is located in.

Sec. 5153.16.  (A) Except as provided in section 2151.422 of the Revised Code, in accordance with rules of the department of job and family services adopted under section 5153.166 of the Revised Code, and on behalf of children in the county whom the public children services agency considers to be in need of public care or protective services, the public children services agency shall do all of the following:

(1) Make an investigation concerning any child alleged to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child;

(2) Enter into agreements with the parent, guardian, or other person having legal custody of any child, or with the department of job and family services, department of mental health, department of mental retardation and developmental disabilities, other department, any certified organization within or outside the county, or any agency or institution outside the state, having legal custody of any child, with respect to the custody, care, or placement of any child, or with respect to any matter, in the interests of the child, provided the permanent custody of a child shall not be transferred by a parent to the public children services agency without the consent of the juvenile court;

(3) Accept custody of children committed to the public children services agency by a court exercising juvenile jurisdiction;

(4) Provide such care as the public children services agency considers to be in the best interests of any child adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child the agency finds to be in need of public care or service;

(5) Provide social services to any unmarried girl adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child who is pregnant with or has been delivered of a child;

(6) Make available to the bureau for children with medical handicaps of the department of health at its request any information concerning a crippled child found to be in need of treatment under sections 3701.021 to 3701.028 of the Revised Code who is receiving services from the public children services agency;

(7) Provide temporary emergency care for any child considered by the public children services agency to be in need of such care, without agreement or commitment;

(8) Find certified foster homes, within or outside the county, for the care of children, including handicapped children from other counties attending special schools in the county;

(9) Subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners and the state department of job and family services, establish and operate a training school or enter into an agreement with any municipal corporation or other political subdivision of the county respecting the operation, acquisition, or maintenance of any children's home, training school, or other institution for the care of children maintained by such municipal corporation or political subdivision;

(10) Acquire and operate a county children's home, establish, maintain, and operate a receiving home for the temporary care of children, or procure certified foster homes for this purpose;

(11) Enter into an agreement with the trustees of any district children's home, respecting the operation of the district children's home in cooperation with the other county boards in the district;

(12) Cooperate with, make its services available to, and act as the agent of persons, courts, the department of job and family services, the department of health, and other organizations within and outside the state, in matters relating to the welfare of children, except that the public children services agency shall not be required to provide supervision of or other services related to the exercise of parenting time rights granted pursuant to section 3109.051 or 3109.12 of the Revised Code or companionship or visitation rights granted pursuant to section 3109.051, 3109.11, or 3109.12 of the Revised Code unless a juvenile court, pursuant to Chapter 2151. of the Revised Code, or a common pleas court, pursuant to division (E)(6) of section 3113.31 of the Revised Code, requires the provision of supervision or other services related to the exercise of the parenting time rights or companionship or visitation rights;

(13) Make investigations at the request of any superintendent of schools in the county or the principal of any school concerning the application of any child adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child for release from school, where such service is not provided through a school attendance department;

(14) Administer funds provided under Title IV-E of the "Social Security Act," 94 Stat. 501 (1980), 42 U.S.C.A. 671, as amended, in accordance with rules adopted under section 5101.141 of the Revised Code;

(15) In addition to administering Title IV-E adoption assistance funds, enter into agreements to make adoption assistance payments under section 5153.163 of the Revised Code;

(16) Implement a system of safety and risk assessment, in accordance with rules adopted by the director of job and family services, to assist the public children services agency in determining the risk of abuse or neglect to a child;

(17) Enter into a plan of cooperation with the board of county commissioners under section 307.983 of the Revised Code and comply with each fiscal agreement the board enters into under section 307.98 of the Revised Code that include family services duties of public children services agencies and contracts the board enters into under sections 307.981 and 307.982 of the Revised Code that affect the public children services agency;

(18) Make reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child from the child's home, eliminate the continued removal of the child from the child's home, or make it possible for the child to return home safely, except that reasonable efforts of that nature are not required when a court has made a determination under division (A)(2) of section 2151.419 of the Revised Code;

(19) Make reasonable efforts to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan approved under division (E) of section 2151.417 of the Revised Code and to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child;

(20) Administer a Title IV-A program identified under division (A)(4)(c) or (f) of section 5101.80 of the Revised Code that the department of job and family services provides for the public children services agency to administer under the department's supervision pursuant to section 5101.801 of the Revised Code;

(21) Administer the kinship permanency incentive program created under section 5101.802 of the Revised Code under the supervision of the director of job and family services;

(22) Provide independent living services pursuant to sections 2151.81 to 2151.84 of the Revised Code.

(B) The public children services agency shall use the system implemented pursuant to division (B)(A)(16) of this section in connection with an investigation undertaken pursuant to division (F)(1) of section 2151.421 of the Revised Code and may use the system at any other time the agency is involved with any child when the agency determines that risk assessment is necessary to assess both of the following:

(1) The ongoing safety of the child;

(2) The appropriateness of the intensity and duration of the services provided to meet child and family needs throughout the duration of a case.

(C) Except as provided in section 2151.422 of the Revised Code, in accordance with rules of the director of job and family services, and on behalf of children in the county whom the public children services agency considers to be in need of public care or protective services, the public children services agency may do the following:

(1) Provide or find, with other child serving systems, specialized foster care for the care of children in a specialized foster home, as defined in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code, certified under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code;

(2)(a) Except as limited by divisions (C)(2)(b) and (c) of this section, contract with the following for the purpose of assisting the agency with its duties:

(i) County departments of job and family services;

(ii) Boards of alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health services;

(iii) County boards of mental retardation and developmental disabilities;

(iv) Regional councils of political subdivisions established under Chapter 167. of the Revised Code;

(v) Private and government providers of services;

(vi) Managed care organizations and prepaid health plans.

(b) A public children services agency contract under division (C)(2)(a) of this section regarding the agency's duties under section 2151.421 of the Revised Code may not provide for the entity under contract with the agency to perform any service not authorized by the department's rules.

(c) Only a county children services board appointed under section 5153.03 of the Revised Code that is a public children services agency may contract under division (C)(2)(a) of this section. If an entity specified in division (B) or (C) of section 5153.02 of the Revised Code is the public children services agency for a county, the board of county commissioners may enter into contracts pursuant to section 307.982 of the Revised Code regarding the agency's duties.

Sec. 5153.166. In addition to other rules specifically authorized by the Revised Code, the director of job and family services may adopt rules governing public children services agencies' performance of their family services duties, including the family services duties that public children services agencies have under sections 5153.16 to 5153.19 of the Revised Code.

Sec. 5153.17.  The public children services agency shall prepare and keep written records of investigations of families, children, and foster homes, and of the care, training, and treatment afforded children, and shall prepare and keep such other records as are required by the department of job and family services. Such records shall be confidential, but, except as provided by division (B) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code, shall be open to inspection by the agency, the director of job and family services, and the director of the county department of job and family services, and by other persons, upon the written permission of the executive secretary director.

Sec. 5153.20.  The (A)(1) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, the cost of care furnished by the public children services agency or the board of county commissioners to any child having a legal residence in another county shall be charged to the county of legal residence. No expense shall be incurred by the agency or the board of county commissioners, on account of such care, except for temporary or emergency care, without the consent of the agency or board of county commissioners, or as provided by this section. If such consent cannot be obtained the board of county commissioners may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the county in which the child is found for a determination of legal residence of such child. Summons in such a proceeding shall be served, as in other civil actions, upon the board of county commissioners and the executive director of the agency of the county alleged to be the county of legal residence, but the answer day shall be the tenth day after the issuance of such summons. The return day shall be the fifth day after issuance of the summons. The cause shall be set for hearing not less than ten nor more than thirty days after the issuance of the summons. The finding and determination by the court upon such application, subject to the right of appeal, shall be final and conclusive as to the county chargeable under this section with the costs of the care of such child. The board of county commissioners out of its general funds shall reimburse the agency furnishing such care, upon receipt of itemized statements.

(2) Any moneys received by the agency furnishing such care from persons liable for the cost of any part of such care, by agreement or otherwise, shall be credited to the county of legal residence.

(3) The agency may remove and deliver any child, having legal residence in another county in Ohio and deemed to be in need of public care, to the public children services agency of the county of legal residence. All cost incidental to the transportation of such child and of any escort required shall be paid by the public children services agency which delivers back the child. With the approval of the department of job and family services, any child whose legal residence has been found to be in another state or country may be transferred to the department for return to the place of legal residence, or such child may be returned by the agency. All costs incidental to the transportation of such child and of any escort required shall be paid by the department of job and family services if it returns the child, otherwise the cost shall be paid by the agency, subject in either case to such reimbursement as may be obtained from the responsible persons or authorities of the place of legal residence. The department of job and family services may enter into agreements with the authorities of other states relative to the placement and return of children.

(B)(1) If a court determines that reasonable efforts have been made to prevent removal of an adopted child from the child's home pursuant to section 2151.419 of the Revised Code and an adopted child is placed in the temporary or permanent custody of a public children services agency or a private child placing agency within thirty-six months of the date that the child's adoption was finalized, the agency that previously held permanent custody of the child when the child was placed with the adoptive parent shall be given opportunity to participate in planning for the child's care and treatment and shall assume fifty per cent of the financial responsibility for the care and treatment. Shared planning and financial responsibility shall cease on the first day of the thirty-seventh month after the date that the child's adoption was finalized and, on this date, the custodial agency shall then assume full planning and financial responsibility. The custodial agency and the agency that previously held permanent custody of the child may enter into a written agreement for shared financial responsibility that differs from the responsibilities allocated in this division.

(2) Division (B)(1) of this section does not apply to any of the following:

(a) An adoption by a stepparent whose spouse is a biological or adoptive parent of the child;

(b) An international adoption;

(c) An adoption where either the custodial agency or agency that previously held permanent custody of the child is not in this state.

(3) Nothing in division (B) of this section shall prevent a court or a child support enforcement agency from issuing a child support order.

SECTION 2. That existing sections 109.57, 109.572, 109.60, 1347.08, 1717.14, 2101.11, 2151.011, 2151.23, 2151.281, 2151.353, 2151.39, 2151.416, 2151.421, 3107.011, 3107.014, 3107.015, 3107.016, 3107.02, 3107.031, 3107.032, 3107.10, 3107.12, 3107.14, 3107.17, 3107.66, 3109.16, 3109.17, 3313.64, 5101.141, 5101.29, 5101.35, 5101.72, 5101.99, 5103.03, 5103.031, 5103.033, 5103.034, 5103.035, 5103.036, 5103.038, 5103.039, 5103.0311, 5103.0312, 5103.0313, 5103.0315, 5103.07, 5103.13, 5103.131, 5103.16, 5104.01, 5104.11, 5104.31, 5153.01, 5153.111, 5153.122, 5153.16, 5153.17, 5153.20, 5153.60, 5153.61, 5153.62, 5153.63, 5153.64, 5153.65, 5153.66, 5153.67, 5153.70, 5153.71, 5153.72, 5153.73, 5153.74, 5153.75, 5153.76, 5153.77, and 5153.78 and sections 5103.037, 5103.20, 5103.21, 5103.22, 5103.23, 5103.24, 5103.25, 5103.26, 5103.27, 5103.28, 5153.68, and 5153.69 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

SECTION 3.  The Department of Job and Family Services shall develop, implement, oversee, and evaluate, on a pilot basis, an "Alternative Response" approach to reports of child abuse, neglect, and dependency. The pilot program shall be implemented in not more than ten counties that are selected by the Department and that agree to participate in the pilot program.

The pilot program shall last eighteen months, not including time expended in preparation for the implementation of the pilot program and any post-pilot program evaluation activity.

The Department shall assure that the Alternative Response pilot is independently evaluated with respect to outcomes for children and families, costs, worker satisfaction, and any other criteria the Department determines will be useful in the consideration of statewide implementation of an Alternative Response approach to child protection. The measure associated with the eighteen-month pilot program shall, for the purposes of the evaluation, be compared with those same measures in the pilot counties during the eighteen-month period immediately preceding the beginning of the pilot-program period.

The Department may adopt rules in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code, as if they were internal management rules, as necessary to carry out the purposes of this section.

SECTION 4. The General Assembly hereby respectfully requests that the Supreme Court adopt rules regarding the standards, qualifications, and service of guardians ad litem.

SECTION 5. Not later than September 30, 2006, the Director of Job and Family Services shall adopt rules as necessary for the state to comply with 42 U.S.C. 607(i)(2). If necessary to bring the state into compliance with 42 U.S.C. 607(i)(2), the rules may deviate from Chapter 5107. of the Revised Code. Rules adopted under this section that govern financial and other administrative requirements applicable to the Department of Job and Family Services and county departments of job and family services shall be adopted in accordance with section 111.15 of the Revised Code as if they were internal management rules. All other rules adopted under this section shall be adopted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

The Director shall prepare a report that contains recommendations for codifying in the Revised Code the substance of the rules adopted under this section. The Director shall submit the report not later than January 1, 2007, to the Governor, the Director of Budget and Management, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, and the President and Minority Leader of the Senate.

SECTION 6.  (A) There is hereby created the Task Force on Implementing the Federal Domestic Violence Option in the Ohio Works First Program. The Task Force shall consist of the following members:

(1) Three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, not more than two of whom shall belong to the same political party as the President of the Senate;

(2) Three members of the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, not more than two of whom shall belong to the same political party as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(3) The Director of Job and Family Services, or the Director's designee;

(4) The following individuals, to be appointed by the Governor:

(a) Two individuals representing the Ohio Empowerment Coalition;

(b) Two individuals representing domestic violence prevention organizations;

(c) One individual who has been a victim of domestic violence;

(d) One individual from a county department of job and family services;

(e) One county prosecuting attorney.

Initial appointments to the Task Force shall be made not later than forty-five days after the effective date of this section. Vacancies shall be filled in the manner provided for initial appointments.

(B) The Task Force shall convene for its first meeting not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section. The Task Force shall organize by electing a chairperson from among its members. A majority of the members constitutes a quorum for the conduct of meetings and transaction of business.

(C) The Task Force shall do all of the following:

(1) Study issues surrounding the implementation of the federal domestic violence option as an exemption to the work and time limit requirements for benefits under the Ohio Works First program, as authorized by the "Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996," 100 Stat. 2105, 42 U.S.C. 602(A)(7);

(2) Assess the current status of domestic violence services in each county, including counseling and screening;

(3) Review the application and implementation of the federal domestic violence option in other states;

(4) Conduct public meetings in different parts of the state throughout its existence.

(D) Not later than December 31, 2006, the Task Force shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor, the President and Minority Leader of the Senate, and the Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. The report shall include recommendations on how to implement the federal domestic violence option within the Ohio Works First Program. On submission of the report, the Task Force shall cease to exist.

SECTION 7.  Section 2151.011 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by both Am. Sub. H.B. 11 and Am. Sub. H.B. 106 of the 125th General Assembly. Section 5103.03 of the Revised Code is presented in this act as a composite of the section as amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 117 of the 125th General Assembly and Sub. S.B. 179 of the 123rd General Assembly. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the composites are the resulting version of the sections in effect prior to the effective dates of the sections as presented in this act.

Please send questions and comments to the Webmaster.
© 2024 Legislative Information Systems | Disclaimer