** Archive **
FCASPL 65 (Calculating 12 Months of 22 Months in Substitute Care - Archive)
Family, Children and Adult Services Procedure Letter No. 65
November 26, 1999
TO: All Family, Children and Adult Services Manual Holders
FROM: Jacqueline Romer- Sensky, Director
SUBJECT: Procedure for Calculating the Twelve or More Months of a Consecutive Twenty-Two Month Period a Child has Been in Substitute Care.

This letter transmits information on several changes to Ohio law that became effective on October 29, 1999 as a result of the enactment of Am. Sub. H.B. 176. Effective that day, amendments to sections 2151.413 and 2151.414 of the Revised Code (ORC) clarify how Public Children Services Agencies (PCSAs) and Private Child Placing Agencies (PCPAs) are to calculate the number of days a child has been in substitute care, for purposes of determining when it is appropriate for an agency to file a motion requesting termination of parental rights and requesting the child be committed to the permanent custody of the agency. These sections of law require an agency to file a motion requesting termination of parental rights on behalf of any child who has been in substitute care for 12 or more months of the most recent consecutive 22 month period, unless there are compelling reasons for the agency not to file the motion.

For purposes of calculating the 12 or more months of a consecutive 22 month period, a child is considered to have entered the temporary custody of an agency on the date that is the earlier of:

1.The date the child is adjudicated to be a child in need of substitute care as the result of an adjudicatory hearing held pursuant to section 2151.28 of the Revised Code, or

2.The date that is sixty days after the child was removed from his/her home and placed in substitute care.

Also, Am. Sub. H.B. 176 narrows one of the circumstances recently established where reasonable efforts are not required to reunify a child with a family. As previously enacted by H.B. 484 (effective March 18, 1999), reasonable efforts were not required when the parental rights were terminated with respect to a sibling of the child. Am. Sub. H.B. 176 has amended ORC sections 2151.414 and 2151.419 to clarify that reasonable efforts to reunify a child with the family are not required when parental rights have been involuntarily terminated. Therefore, reasonable efforts to reunify the child with the family are required in those situations where the parental rights with respect to a sibling of the child were voluntarily terminated, such as in a voluntary surrender for adoption.

ODHS will be making changes to the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rules governing these situations as quickly as possible. In the meantime, ODHS recognizes that the ORC takes precedent over the provisions in the OAC. This information is being provided while the department follows the regular rulemaking process in order for PCSAs and PCPAs to comply with the full intent of Ohio law. If you have any questions, please contact your Regional Office Technical Assistance Specialist.