This letter transmits four amended rules as a result of the five year review, as well as changes recommended from the Partners for Ohio's Families rule review that was completed in 2013 and included a collaboration of public and private agencies, as well as foster and adoptive parents. These rules will be effective October 1, 2015. The following is a brief explanation of the proposed changes:

OAC rule 5101:2-48-13, entitled "Non-discrimination requirements for adoptive placements" provides guidance to agencies regarding discriminating actions that are prohibited when making placement decisions, as well as required actions when race, color, or national origin is intended to be a factor in the decision making process. There were no substantive changes to this rule. Form effective dates were updated throughout the rule and language was changed for grammatical purposes.

OAC rule 5101:2-48-22, entitled "Adoptive family case record" provides guidance to agencies regarding the documentation requirements for the case record for each potential adoptive family. Language in paragraph (B)(5) was changed to align with the requirements in rule 5101:2-48-12 regarding falsification. Other changes were not substantive. Form effective dates were updated and language was revised for grammatical purposes.

OAC rule 5101:2-48-23, entitled "Preservation of adoptive child case record" provides guidance to custodial agencies regarding the documentation requirements to be placed in the adoptive child's case record. Language in paragraph (B)(4) was added to meet the requirements of ORC 3107.12. There were no other substantive changes. Form effective dates were updated throughout the rule.

OAC rule 5101:2-48-24, entitled "Agency adoption review procedures" provides guidance to agencies on the requirements of the review process when a complaint is received from adoptive applicants or families. Paragraph (B) was broken out into sub-paragraphs for the ease of the reader. The language in paragraph (G) was revised to align with the requirements in rule 5101:2-48-12 regarding falsification.

INSTRUCTIONS: The following chart identifies the material that should be removed from the Family, Children and Adult Services Manual (FCASM) and the material that should be added.