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PCSAO reflects on 134th General Assembly as new legislative session begins

PCSAO reflects on 134th General Assembly as new legislative session begins

As the 135th Ohio General Assembly gets off the ground, PCSAO looks back at public policy issues affecting children services during the 134th session of the legislature that concluded in December.

The PCSAO Legislative Committee reviewed and recommended action on a number of bills during the 134th, and while many of those did not pass, the following children services-related bills did pass.

SB 4, Exempt EMS Line Operators-Public Records

Sponsor: Sen. Kristina Roegner | Signed by Gov. DeWine on June 8, 2021; effective Sept. 7, 2021

Expands “designated public service worker” status to emergency service telecommunicators, certain Ohio National Guard members, protective service workers, forensic mental health providers, mental health evaluation providers, and regional psychiatric hospital employees, making these individuals eligible for the following protections:

  • Residential and familial information is exempted from disclosure under the Public Records Law
  • May request the individual’s address be redacted from any record of a public office that is publicly available on the internet in which the individual’s residential and familial information appears, except for the records of a county auditor
  • May request that the county auditor replace the designated public service worker’s or the worker’s spouse’s name with their initials on records publicly available on the internet or in a publicly accessible database

The bill defines protective services workers as “employees of agencies responsible for child protective services, child support services or adult protective services”. As a result, PCSA, CSEA, and JFS employees are now eligible for these protections.

SB 30, Designate Ohio Overdose Awareness Day

Sponsor: Sen. Matt Dolan | Signed by Gov. DeWine on June 8, 2021; effective Sept. 7, 2021.

Aug. 31 is designated as Ohio Overdose Awareness Day; state flags at public buildings must be flown at half-staff on this date.

This provides an opportunity for PCSAO and PCSAs to call attention to the addiction epidemic’s impact on children and families, and to highlight Ohio START.

SB 202, Prohibit disability from being used to deny, limit parenting

Sponsors: Sen. Bob Hackett and Sen. Nickie Antonio | Signed by Gov. DeWine on Jan. 1, 2023; effective April 1, 2023

The intent of SB 202 as introduced was to prohibit a person’s disability from being the basis to deny or limit custody, parenting time, visitation, adoption, or service as a guardian or foster caregiver. During lame-duck session, several non-children services-related provisions from other bills were amended into SB 202 which are not included in this summary.

Specific to the bill’s original intent:

A court, public children services agency (PCSA), private child placing agency (PCPA), or private noncustodial agency (PNA) is prohibited from denying or limiting a person from any of the following solely on the basis that the person has a disability:

  • Exercising custody, parenting time, or visitation rights with a minor
  • Adopting a minor
  • Serving as a foster caregiver for a minor
  • Appointment as a guardian for a minor

However, the bill specifies that this provision cannot be construed to guarantee or grant a person with a disability a right to conduct the activities or exercise the authority as described above. At this time, we are not aware of rule revisions related to this legislation.

SB 239, Regards adoption and foster home assessor qualifications

Sponsor: Sen. Lou Blessing III | Signed by Gov. DeWine on June 14, 2022; effective Sept. 13, 2022

Removes the requirement that professional treatment staff employed by private child placing agencies (PCPAs) and private noncustodial agencies (PNAs) be licensed. Instead, requires that they meet the same educational qualifications and training requirements as required of PCSA caseworkers in existing law, except that in the first year of continuous employment:

  • Staff only have to complete certain courses specified by the bill, rather than all of the required courses specified under existing law
  • Staff only need to undergo training for the number of hours that are needed to complete the specified courses, instead of the at least 120 hours of in-service training that is required for PCSA caseworkers under existing law for all the courses

HB 4, Regards child abuse and neglect reporting

Sponsors: Rep. Phil Plummer and Rep. Susan Manchester | Signed by Gov. DeWine on Feb. 26, 2022; effective May 30, 2022

HB4 includes a number of provisions related to children services:

  • Establishes the Youth and Family Ombudsman Office under ODJFS
  • Adds, as an individual qualified to perform foster care and adoption home studies: (1) a current or former PCSA caseworker, (2) a current or former PCSA caseworker supervisor, and (3) an individual with at least a bachelor’s degree in any of the specified human services fields and has at least one year of experience working with families and children
  • Establishes new requirements regarding the local MOU, including:
    • Additional information that must be included in the MOU
    • A new approval and review process at the county commissioner level
    • A new approval and review process at the state level through ODJFS
    • Requires biennial review and approval of the MOU, with the first review and approval due by Dec. 31, 2024
  • Requires PCSAs to notify/forward reports of child abuse and certain categories of neglect to law enforcement agencies
  • Requires, if the reporter provides the reporter’s name and contact information on making the report, the PCSA that received the report to send both of the following written notices to the reporter, via U.S. mail or email, in accordance with the reporter’s preference:
    • Not later than seven calendar days after receipt of the report, a notice providing the status of the PCSA’s investigation into the report made, who the reporter may contact for further information, and a description of the reporter’s rights
    • Not later than seven calendar days after the PCSA closes the investigation into the case reported, a notice that the PCSA has closed the investigation

Rules that were amended as a result of this legislation include (effective date Sept. 15, 2022):

  • 5101:2-33-26, the county child abuse and neglect memorandum of understanding
  • 5101:2-36-12, PCSA requirement for cross-referring reports of child abuse and/or neglect

HB 92, Require specified reporting of child abuse in military families

Sponsors: Rep. Cindy Abrams and Rep. Mike Loychik | Signed by Gov. DeWine and became effective immediately on Sept. 29, 2021

Because HB 92 was used as a vehicle to pass redistricting reform measures, the bill passed with emergency status and became effective immediately. Only children services-related provisions of the bill are included in this summary.

HB 92 requires a PCSA to determine, as soon as practicable, if a parent, guardian, or custodian of a child who is subject to a child abuse or neglect investigation is in the armed forces. If the PCSA determines that the parent, guardian, or custodian is in the armed forces, the PCSA must notify the appropriate authority of that armed force in which the parent, guardian, or custodian serves, in accordance with the memorandum of understanding established by that authority, that a child abuse or neglect investigation is being made that relates to that parent, guardian, or custodian.

ODJFS is negotiating a statewide MOU with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Once that is in place, rules will be revised and more guidance will be provided.

HB 140, Enact ballot uniformity and transparency act

Sponsor: Rep. Derek Merrin | Signed by Gov. DeWine on June 14, 2022; effective Sept. 13, 2022

This bill:

  • Requires property tax election notices and ballot language to display a property tax levy’s rate in dollars for each $100,000 of the county auditor’s appraised value (i.e., true value), instead of in dollars for each $100 of taxable value, in the following manner:
    • For a levy that is a renewal, decrease, increase, or expansion of an existing tax, the levy’s effective tax rate for property classified as residential/agricultural
    • For all other levies, the levy’s voted millage rate
  • Requires most election notices and ballot language to state the estimated amount the levy would collect annually
  • Prohibits any portion of a property tax question from being printed on the ballot in boldface type or with differing font size, with some exceptions
  • Modifies the deadline for the county auditor’s certification of a fixed-sum emergency levy or growth levy

PCSAO joined other entities that rely on local property taxes to oppose HB 140; those efforts failed. Our main concerns were that the bill takes a “one-size-fits-all” approach even though only residential and agricultural property is assessed for taxation at 35% of appraised value. Different percentages are applied to agricultural property qualified for current agricultural use value (CAUV), commercial/industrial property, forested land, manufactured homes and public utility personal property, among others.

In addition, the bill does not acknowledge rollbacks and the recently expanded homestead exemption. These provisions likely will lead to voter confusion and reduce, rather than increase, transparency.

Action on selected bills introduced in the new General Assembly session can be tracked on the legislation webpage. Contact Director of Public Policy Mary Wachtel with any questions.