Section 5153.16 | Duties of agency.

A new version of Section 5153.16 exists that takes effect January 1, 2025View New Version

• Effective: October 3, 2023
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly

(A) Except as provided in section 2151.422 of the Revised Code, in accordance with rules 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 and addiction services, department of 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) Enter into a contract with an agency providing prevention services in an effort to prevent neglect or abuse, to enhance a child's welfare, and to preserve the family unit intact.

(4) Accept custody of children committed to the public children services agency by a court exercising juvenile jurisdiction;

(5) 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;

(6) 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;

(7) Make available to the children with medical handicaps program of the department of health at its request any information concerning a child with a disability 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;

(8) 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;

(9) Find certified foster homes, within or outside the county, for the care of children, including children with disabilities from other counties attending special schools in the county;

(10) 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;

(11) 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;

(12) 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;

(13) 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;

(14) 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;

(15) 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;

(16) 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;

(17) 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;

(18) 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;

(19) 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;

(20) 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;

(21) Administer a Title IV-A program identified under division (A)(4)(c) or (h) 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;

(22) 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;

(23) Provide independent living services pursuant to sections 2151.81 to 2151.84 of the Revised Code;

(24) File a missing child report with a local law enforcement agency upon becoming aware that a child in the custody of the public children services agency is or may be missing.

(B) The public children services agency shall use the system implemented pursuant to division (A)(17) of this section in connection with an investigation undertaken pursuant to division (G)(1) of section 2151.421 of the Revised Code 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 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.

Last updated September 19, 2023 at 2:19 PM

Available Versions of this Section

• September 29, 2013 – House Bill 59 - 130th General Assembly
• March 14, 2017 – House Bill 493 - 131st General Assembly
• April 6, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 281 - 134th General Assembly
• October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly
• January 1, 2025 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly