130th Ohio General Assembly
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Sub. H. B. No. 352  As Passed by the House
As Passed by the House

130th General Assembly
Regular Session
2013-2014
Sub. H. B. No. 352


Representatives Hayes, Thompson 

Cosponsors: Representatives McClain, Derickson, Amstutz, Wachtmann, Buchy, Hill, Huffman, Retherford, Ruhl, Sears, Terhar 



A BILL
To amend sections 2151.011, 2151.421, and 5103.02 and to enact sections 5103.50, 5103.51, 5103.52, 5103.53, 5103.54, and 5103.55 of the Revised Code to license private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camps.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1.  That sections 2151.011, 2151.421, and 5103.02 be amended and sections 5103.50, 5103.51, 5103.52, 5103.53, 5103.54, and 5103.55 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
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) "Alternative response" means the public children services agency's response to a report of child abuse or neglect that engages the family in a comprehensive evaluation of child safety, risk of subsequent harm, and family strengths and needs and that does not include a determination as to whether child abuse or neglect occurred.
(5) "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.
(6) "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.
(7) "Child day camp," "child care," "child day-care center," "part-time child day-care center," "type A family day-care home," "licensed type B family day-care home," "type B family day-care home," "administrator of a child day-care center," "administrator of a type A family day-care home," and "in-home aide" have the same meanings as in section 5104.01 of the Revised Code.
(8) "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 developmental disabilities, or the early childhood programs of the department of education.
(9) "Chronic truant" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(10) "Commit" means to vest custody as ordered by the court.
(11) "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.
(12) "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.
(13) "Delinquent child" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(14) "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.
(15) "Developmental disability" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.
(16) "Differential response approach" means an approach that a public children services agency may use to respond to accepted reports of child abuse or neglect with either an alternative response or a traditional response.
(17) "Foster caregiver" has the same meaning as in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code.
(18) "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.
(19) "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.
(20) "Juvenile traffic offender" has the same meaning as in section 2152.02 of the Revised Code.
(21) "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.
(22) 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.
(23) "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.
(24) "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.
(25) "Mentally retarded person" has the same meaning as in section 5123.01 of the Revised Code.
(26) "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.
(27) "Of compulsory school age" has the same meaning as in section 3321.01 of the Revised Code.
(28) "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.
(29) "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, type B family day-care homes, child care provided by in-home aides, group home providers, group homes, institutions, state institutions, residential facilities, residential care facilities, residential camps, day camps, private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness 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.
(30) "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.
(31) "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.
(32) "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.
(33) "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.
(34) "Person" means an individual, association, corporation, or partnership and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies.
(35) "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; licensed 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.
(36) "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.
(37) "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.
(38) "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.
(39) "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.
(40) "Practice of social work" and "practice of professional counseling" have the same meanings as in section 4757.01 of the Revised Code.
(41) "Private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp" has the same meaning as in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code.
(42) "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.
(42)(43) "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.
(43)(44) "Psychiatrist" has the same meaning as in section 5122.01 of the Revised Code.
(44)(45) "Psychologist" has the same meaning as in section 4732.01 of the Revised Code.
(45)(46) "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.
(46)(47) "Residential care facility" means an institution, residence, or facility that is licensed by the department of mental health and addiction services under section 5119.34 of the Revised Code and that provides care for a child.
(47)(48) "Residential facility" means a home or facility that is licensed by the department of developmental disabilities under section 5123.19 of the Revised Code and in which a child with a developmental disability resides.
(48)(49) "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.
(49)(50) "School day" means the school day established by the board of education of the applicable school district pursuant to section 3313.481 of the Revised Code.
(50)(51) "School year" has the same meaning as in section 3313.62 of the Revised Code.
(51)(52) "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.
(52)(53) "Sexual activity" has the same meaning as in section 2907.01 of the Revised Code.
(53)(54) "Shelter" means the temporary care of children in physically unrestricted facilities pending court adjudication or disposition.
(54)(55) "Shelter for victims of domestic violence" has the same meaning as in section 3113.33 of the Revised Code.
(55)(56) "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.
(56)(57) "Traditional response" means a public children services agency's response to a report of child abuse or neglect that encourages engagement of the family in a comprehensive evaluation of the child's current and future safety needs and a fact-finding process to determine whether child abuse or neglect occurred and the circumstances surrounding the alleged harm or risk of harm.
(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. 2151.421.  (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, or private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness 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; employee of a county department of job and family services who is a professional and who works with children and families; superintendent, board member, or employee of a county board of developmental disabilities; investigative agent contracted with by a county board of developmental disabilities; employee of the department of 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 the uniform statewide automated child welfare information system that the department of job and family services shall maintain in 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 (N) 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. Nothing in this division shall preclude the use of reports of other incidents of known or suspected abuse or neglect in a civil action or proceeding brought pursuant to division (M) of this section against a person who is alleged to have violated division (A)(1) of this section, provided that any information in a report that would identify the child who is the subject of the report or the maker of the report, if the maker of the report is not the defendant or an agent or employee of the defendant, has been redacted. 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.
(5) The clerk of the court of common pleas in the county may sign the memorandum of understanding prepared under division (J)(1) of this section. If the clerk signs the memorandum of understanding, the clerk shall execute all relevant responsibilities as required of officials specified in the memorandum.
(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) Whoever violates division (A) of this section is liable for compensatory and exemplary damages to the child who would have been the subject of the report that was not made. A person who brings a civil action or proceeding pursuant to this division against a person who is alleged to have violated division (A)(1) of this section may use in the action or proceeding reports of other incidents of known or suspected abuse or neglect, provided that any information in a report that would identify the child who is the subject of the report or the maker of the report, if the maker is not the defendant or an agent or employee of the defendant, has been redacted.
(N)(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.
(O) As used in this section, "investigation" means the public children services agency's response to an accepted report of child abuse or neglect through either an alternative response or a traditional response.
Sec. 5103.02.  As used in sections 5103.03 to 5103.17 of the Revised Code:
(A)(1) "Association" or "institution" includes all of the following:
(a) Any incorporated or unincorporated organization, society, association, or agency, public or private, that receives or cares for children for two or more consecutive weeks;
(b) Any individual, including the operator of a foster home, who, for hire, gain, or reward, receives or cares for children for two or more consecutive weeks, unless the individual is related to them by blood or marriage;
(c) Any individual not in the regular employ of a court, or of an institution or association certified in accordance with section 5103.03 of the Revised Code, who in any manner becomes a party to the placing of children in foster homes, unless the individual is related to such children by blood or marriage or is the appointed guardian of such children.
(2) "Association" or "institution" does not include any of the following:
(a) 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 and addiction services, or the department of developmental disabilities;
(b) Any individual who provides care for only a single-family group, placed there by their parents or other relative having custody;
(c) A private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp.
(B) "Family foster home" means a foster home that is not a specialized foster home.
(C) "Foster caregiver" means a person holding a valid foster home certificate issued under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code.
(D) "Foster home" means a private residence in which children are received apart from their parents, guardian, or legal custodian, by an individual reimbursed for providing the children nonsecure care, supervision, or training twenty-four hours a day. "Foster home" does not include care provided for a child in the home of a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian while the parent, guardian, or legal custodian is temporarily away. Family foster homes and specialized foster homes are types of foster homes.
(E) "Medically fragile foster home" means a foster home that provides specialized medical services designed to meet the needs of children with intensive health care needs who meet all of the following criteria:
(1) Under rules adopted by the medicaid director governing medicaid payments for long-term care services, the children require a skilled level of care.
(2) The children require the services of a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine at least once a week due to the instability of their medical conditions.
(3) The children require the services of a registered nurse on a daily basis.
(4) The children are at risk of institutionalization in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or intermediate care facility for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
(F) "Private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp" means a structured, alternative residential setting for children who are experiencing emotional, behavioral, moral, social, or learning difficulties at home or school in which all of the following are the case:
(1) The children spend the majority of their time, including overnight, either outdoors or in a primitive structure.
(2) The children have been placed there by their parents or another relative having custody.
(3) The camp accepts no public funds for use in its operations.
(G) "Recommending agency" means a public children services agency, private child placing agency, or private noncustodial agency that recommends that the department of job and family services take any of the following actions under section 5103.03 of the Revised Code regarding a foster home:
(1) Issue a certificate;
(2) Deny a certificate;
(3) Renew a certificate;
(4) Deny renewal of a certificate;
(5) Revoke a certificate.
(G)(H) "Specialized foster home" means a medically fragile foster home or a treatment foster home.
(H)(I) "Treatment foster home" means a foster home that incorporates special rehabilitative services designed to treat the specific needs of the children received in the foster home and that receives and cares for children who are emotionally or behaviorally disturbed, chemically dependent, mentally retarded, developmentally disabled, or who otherwise have exceptional needs.
Sec. 5103.50.  (A) As used in this section and sections 5103.51 to 5103.55 of the Revised Code, "private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp" has the same meaning as in section 5103.02 of the Revised Code.
(B) The director of job and family services shall issue a license to a private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp that meets the minimum standards for such camps specified in division (C) of this section and applies to the director for a license on a form prescribed by the director.
(C) Both of the following apply as the minimum standards to be met by a private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp:
(1) The camp shall develop and implement a written policy that establishes all of the following:
(a) Standards for hiring, training, and supervising staff;
(b) Standards for behavioral intervention, including standards prohibiting the use of prone restraint and governing the use of other restraints or isolation;
(c) Standards for recordkeeping, including specifying information that must be included in each child's record, who may access records, confidentiality, maintenance, security, and disposal of records;
(d) A procedure for handling complaints about the camp from the children attending the camp, their families, staff, and the public;
(e) Standards for emergency and disaster preparedness, including procedures for emergency evacuation and standards requiring that a method of emergency communication be accessible at all times;
(f) Standards that ensure the protection of children's civil rights;
(g) Standards for the admission and discharge of children attending the camp, including standards for emergency discharge.
(2) The camp shall cooperate with any request from the director for an inspection or for access to records or written policies of the camp.
Sec. 5103.51.  A license issued under section 5103.50 of the Revised Code is valid for five years, unless earlier revoked by the director of job and family services. The license may be renewed.
Each private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp seeking license renewal shall submit to the director an application for license renewal on such form as the director prescribes. If the camp meets the minimum standards specified in section 5103.50 of the Revised Code, the director shall renew the license.
Sec. 5103.52.  (A) The director of job and family services may inspect a private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp at any time. The director may delegate this authority to a county department of job and family services.
(B) The director may request access to the camp's records or to the written policies adopted by the camp pursuant to section 5103.50 of the Revised Code. The director may delegate this authority to a county department of job and family services.
Sec. 5103.53.  A private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp shall not operate without a license issued under section 5103.50 of the Revised Code. If the director of job and family services determines that a camp is operating without a license, the director may petition the court of common pleas in the county in which the camp is located for an order enjoining its operation. The court shall grant injunctive relief upon a showing that the camp is operating without a license.
Sec. 5103.54.  If a licensed private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp fails to meet the minimum standards set forth in section 5103.50 of the Revised Code, the director of job and family services shall notify the camp that the director intends to revoke the license. Unless the violation poses an imminent risk to the life, health, or safety of one or more children attending the camp, the director shall give the camp ninety days to meet the minimum standards. If the violation poses an imminent risk to the life, health, or safety of one or more children attending the camp or the camp fails to meet the minimum standards within ninety days of receipt of the notice of revocation, the director shall revoke the license. An order of revocation under this section may be appealed in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.
Sec. 5103.55.  A parent of a child attending a private, nonprofit therapeutic wilderness camp is not relieved of the parent's obligations regarding compulsory school attendance pursuant to section 3321.04 of the Revised Code.
Section 2.  That existing sections 2151.011, 2151.421, and 5103.02 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3.  The amendments to divisions (B)(49) and (50) of section 2151.011 of the Revised Code by Am. Sub. H.B. 59 of the 130th General Assembly, which appear in this act and are to take effect on July 1, 2014, are not accelerated by their inclusion in this act.
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