The purpose of this procedure letter is to provide guidance for boards of county commissioners on appointing county prevention specialists to child abuse and child neglect regional prevention councils.

Ohio’s Biennial Operating Budget (House Bill 64) included language creating a locally controlled regional model through which the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund (OCTF) will provide child abuse and child neglect prevention funds on a regional basis.  The language divides Ohio into eight child abuse and child neglect prevention regions, each consisting of several counties and it creates a child abuse and child neglect regional prevention council for each region.  Each board of county commissioners within a region may appoint up to two county prevention specialists to represent the county on the council.  Ohio Revised Code (ORC) section 3109.172 (A) lists the types of individuals that are considered county prevention specialists.

Council members appointed by boards of county commissioners are to serve two-year terms and may be reappointed for two consecutive terms only.  Boards of county commissioners may remove any of their appointed members from council service for misconduct, incompetence, or neglect of duty.

The HB 64 language included a provision requiring that the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) and the OCTF adopt rules regarding the manner in which boards of county commissioners are to appoint county prevention specialists to the regional prevention councils.

The OCTF and ODJFS have drafted these rules and are working to ensure a target effective date of January 1, 2016.

Boards of county commissioners that wish to exercise their statutory authority to appoint county prevention specialists to a regional prevention council should do so during the period between the September 29, 2015 effective date of the HB 64 language and the effective date of the rules by submitting written notification to the OCTF containing the following information for each appointed individual:

• Full name.
• Business address.
• City.
• State.
• Zip code.
• Phone number.
• Email address.
• One of the following: resume, curriculum vitae or short biography.

Please submit this information to the Trust Fund at:

Ohio Children’s Trust Fund
P.O. Box 183204
Columbus, Ohio 43218-3204
Ohio_Children’s_Trust_Fund@jfs.ohio.gov

The board of county commissioners will receive written confirmation of the appointment that includes the start and end dates of each appointee’s term of service on the regional prevention council. 

In addition, during the period between September 29, 2015 and the effective date of the rules, any board of county commissioner appointed member vacancies on a regional prevention council will be filled for the balance of the unexpired term in the same manner as outlined above.

INSTRUCTIONS:

The following chart identifies the material that should be added to the Children’s Trust Fund Manual (CTFMTL).