This letter transmits amendments to the Ohio Administrative Code
(OAC) rules which address the Public Children Services Agency (PCSA)
requirements for the completion of assessments of safety and risk, safety plan
procedures, and reunification assessments. These rules have been amended to
provide clarity to PCSAs charged with the child protective services function.
All of the rules contained herein have been through the Partnership for Ohio's
Families (PFOF) Rule Review initiative which included the newly developed
Microburst on Rule Review Policy Hearings (MORRPH) initiative. The rules are a
product of the collaborative partnership between the Ohio Department of Job and
Family Services (ODJFS) and PCSAs. The presenting rule amendments were
developed by ODJFS in partnership with and approved by the Child Protective
Services Rule Review Team. The following OAC rules have been amended:
5101:2-37-01, 5101:2-37-02, 5101:2-37-03, 5101:2-37-04. These rules will become
effective July 5, 2020.
The following is a brief explanation of the changes to each
rule:
OAC Rule 5101:2-37-01 entitled PCSA Requirements for Completing
the Safety Assessment sets forth the PCSA requirements in
assessing the safety of children when responding to abuse, neglect, and
dependency reports. A clarification has been made that the completion of a
safety assessment does not apply to children in the permanent custody of a
PCSA. The form JFS 1401 is not up to date and does not reflect the current
CAPMIS safety assessment. The form number has been removed from the rule to
encourage PCSAs to utilize the SACWIS system. Requirements addressing the
completion of the safety assessment have been streamlined. Time frames to
complete the safety assessment have remained the same but the time to have them
approved by a supervisor and recorded in SACWIS have been developed.
Grammatical changes, restructuring the order of paragraphs and amendments to
requirements for consistent understanding have occurred throughout the rule.
OAC Rule 5101:2-37-02 entitled PCSA Requirements for Completing
the Safety Plan sets forth the PCSA requirements in developing a
safety plan for a child determined to be in immediate danger of serious harm.
The requirements regarding obtaining signatures and monitoring a safety plan
have been amended for clarity. A provision has been added to comply with the
federal Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) requirements. Requirements
addressing absent parent situations (primarily due to the increase in substance
abuse involved cases), verbal authorizations, extension to obtain a signature,
and waiving a signature have been included. Monitoring requirements have been
amended to allow caseworkers more time to spend with the family assessing
safety. Monitoring requirements have been amended to clarify when a PCSA should
consider alternative safety interventions. Two extra days were allotted to
record the safety plan in SACWIS to make it consistent with other rules in this
section. Grammatical changes, restructuring the order of paragraphs, and
consistency addressing the requirements and expectations have occurred
throughout.
OAC Rule 5101:2-37-03 entitled PCSA Requirements for Completing
the Family Assessment sets forth the PCSA requirements in
assessing safety and risk of families when responding to intra-familial abuse,
neglect, and dependency reports. Alternative response language has been removed
from this rule as one family assessment is completed for both alternative and
traditional response cases. Requirements to complete assessments involving an
individual residing in the home that has regular contact with the child were
included. A paragraph was included to clarify the expectation that plans of
safe care on CARA involved cases will be documented upon case closure in the
family assessment. Grammatical changes, restructuring the order of paragraphs,
and amendments to requirements for consistent understanding have occurred
throughout the rule. References to obsolete form numbers have been removed and
replaced with the proper name of each tool.
OAC Rule 5101:2-37-04 entitled PCSA Requirements for Completing
the Reunification Assessment sets forth the PCSA requirements to
reassess safety and risk of children who were determined to be in immediate
danger of serious harm. Requirements were amended to simplify when a
reunification assessment is required to be completed. The criteria that
requires the completion of a reunification assessment have been removed as it
was simply outlining the existing CAPMIS tool. Grammatical changes,
restructuring the order of paragraphs, and amendments to requirements for
consistent understanding have occurred throughout the rule.
INSTRUCTIONS: The following chart
indicates the materials that should be removed from the Family, Children and
Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and the materials that should be added.
LOCATION
|
REMOVE AND FILE AS OBSOLETE
|
INSERT/REPLACEMENT
|
SOCIAL SERVICES
| 5101:2‑37‑01 5101:2‑37‑02 5101:2‑37‑03 5101:2‑37‑04 | 5101:2‑37‑01 5101:2‑37‑02 5101:2‑37‑03 5101:2‑37‑04 |
TRANSMITTALS Transmittal Letters | |
FCASMTL No. 432
|