This letter transmits the following Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) rule changes relating to substitute care and children services licensing. OAC rule 5101:2-39-45 "Selection of substitute care placement setting" is being amended as a result of Am. Sub. H.B. 215, which added section 2151.55 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC), regarding placement of children in foster homes outside the county of their residence. New requirements include prior notification of the child's intended placement by the public children services agency (PCSA) or private child placing agency (PCPA) to: the intended foster caregiver; the juvenile court of the county in which the foster home is located; and, if the child will attend the school of the district in which the foster home is located, to the school district's board of education. The Supreme Court is required, pursuant to ORC section 2151.55, to adopt rules governing procedures that address the placement of a child in a foster home in a county other than the couty is which the child resided at the time of being removed from the home. Prior to implementing Paragraph (D) of OAC rule 5101:2-39-45 it is recommended the PCSA consult with their legal counsel (Refer to attached ORC section 2151.55).

OAC rule 5101:2-42-65 "Agency visits and contacts" was inadvertently omitted from Family, Children and Adult Services Manual Transmittal Letter No. 73 (September 16, 1997). This transmittal contains the aforementioned rule.

OAC rule 5101:2-5-20 "Application for an initial family foster home certificate" is being amended to permit private child placing agencies to act as a representative of the Ohio Department of Human Services in recommending family foster homes. This was an omission when the department revised the rule in September, 1996.