(A)The public
children services agency (PCSA) shall develop and implement written policies
for receiving, reviewing and resolving both of the following:
(1)Complaints
concerning the provision of services from parents, custodians, legal guardians,
foster caregivers, kinship caretakers, applicants or providers of approved
adult-supervised living arrangements, and children.
(2)Report
disposition appeals by alleged perpetrators who disagree with the PCSA report
disposition of a report of child abuse or neglect.
(B)The complaint
review and report disposition appeal policies shall, at a minimum, identify all
of the following information:
(1)Operational
procedures for conducting both complaint reviews and report disposition appeal
hearings including the PCSA's method of review and response to complaint
reviews and report disposition appeals.
(2)The office or
individual(s) involved in conducting complaint reviews and report disposition
appeal hearings.
(3)Reasonable
time frames for both of the following:
(a)Allowing the
parties identified in paragraph (A) of this rule to request a complaint review
or report disposition appeal.
(b)Conducting the
review or hearing and issuing a finding.
(4)The method by
which the PCSA will provide and communicate the policies related to complaint
reviews and report disposition appeals to individuals who are hearing or
visually impaired or who have limited English proficiency.
(C)Upon request,
the PCSA shall provide written copies of the PCSA's complaint review and report
disposition appeal policies to an individual within three working days from the
date of the request.
(D)The PCSA
personnel conducting complaint reviews and hearings regarding report
disposition appeals cannot be involved in the case, including the
assessment/investigation of the incident or the approval of the report
disposition.
(E)The PCSA
personnel conducting complaint reviews shall document in the case record the
complaint, the complaint review process and the findings of the complaint
review.
(F)The PCSA
hearing personnel shall facilitate the report disposition appeal hearing and
consider the totality of the information including the assessment/investigation
information contained in the case record which led to the report disposition as
well as any information presented by the PCSA and the appellant.
(G)The PCSA
hearing personnel shall change the report disposition if any of the following
circumstances occur:
(1)The report
disposition was made in error.
(2)The appellant
did not engage in conduct constituting child abuse or neglect as defined in
sections 2151.03 and 2151.031 of the Revised Code.
(3)The report
disposition is not supported by the totality of the information presented by
the appellant or the PCSA or contained in the case record.
(H)The decision
of the PCSA regarding the report disposition appeals shall be final and the decisions
are not subject to state hearing review under section 5101.35 of the Revised
Code.
(I)When an
appeal of a PCSA report disposition of a report of child abuse or neglect is
heard, the PCSA shall do all of the following:
(1)Document the
report disposition appeal hearing process and findings in the case record.
(2)Update the
statewide automated child welfare information system according to procedures
contained in rule 5101:2-33-05 of the Administrative Code and notify the
principals of the report in writing as to the revised report disposition if a
report disposition appeal hearing results in the revision of the disposition.
(3)Maintain all
documents submitted or reviewed during the report disposition appeal hearing in
the case record.
Effective: 8/15/2020
Five Year Review (FYR) Dates: 5/12/2020 and 08/15/2025
Certification: CERTIFIED ELECTRONICALLY
Date: 08/05/2020
Promulgated Under: 119.03
Statutory Authority: 5153.166
Rule Amplifies: 5153.16
Prior Effective Dates: 07/16/1981, 01/17/1983, 09/28/1987,
03/17/1994, 12/15/1995 (Emer.), 03/31/1997, 06/30/1997 (Emer.), 09/29/1997,
12/30/1997, 05/01/2001, 02/01/2003, 03/01/2006, 10/01/2009, 07/01/2014