Bill Text: OH SB23 | 2013-2014 | 130th General Assembly | Enrolled
Bill Title: Regarding access to adoption records.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2014-03-20 - Effective Date [SB23 Detail]
Download: Ohio-2013-SB23-Enrolled.html
To amend sections 149.43, 1347.08, 2101.16, 2101.162, 2101.24, 3107.071, 3107.081, 3107.082, 3107.083, 3107.09, 3107.091, 3107.141, 3107.17, 3107.18, 3107.19, 3107.38, 3107.45, 3107.66, 3705.07, 3705.08, 3705.12, 3705.23, 3705.241, 3705.29, 5103.151, and 5103.152, to enact new section 3107.39 and sections 3107.171, 3107.381, 3107.391, 3107.392, 3107.393, 3107.394, 3705.121, 3705.122, 3705.123, 3705.124, 3705.125, and 3705.126, and to repeal sections 3107.39, 3107.40, 3107.41, 3107.42, 3107.43, and 3107.44 of the Revised Code regarding access to adoption records.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio:
SECTION 1. That sections 149.43, 1347.08, 2101.16, 2101.162, 2101.24, 3107.071, 3107.081, 3107.082, 3107.083, 3107.09, 3107.091, 3107.141, 3107.17, 3107.18, 3107.19, 3107.38, 3107.45, 3107.66, 3705.07, 3705.08, 3705.12, 3705.23, 3705.241, 3705.29, 5103.151, and 5103.152 be amended and new section 3107.39 and sections 3107.171, 3107.381, 3107.391, 3107.392, 3107.393, 3107.394, 3705.121, 3705.122, 3705.123, 3705.124, 3705.125, and 3705.126 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 149.43. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Public record" means records kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units, and records pertaining to the delivery of educational services by an alternative school in this state kept by the nonprofit or for-profit entity operating the alternative school pursuant to section 3313.533 of the Revised Code. "Public record" does not mean any of the following:
(a) Medical records;
(b) Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings or to proceedings related to the imposition of community control sanctions and post-release control sanctions;
(c) Records pertaining to actions under section 2151.85 and division (C) of section 2919.121 of the Revised Code and to appeals of actions arising under those sections;
(d) Records pertaining to adoption proceedings, including the
contents of an adoption file maintained by the department of
health under section sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of the Revised
Code;
(e) Information in a record contained in the putative father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the department of job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a child support enforcement agency;
(f) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of
the Revised Code;
(g) Trial preparation records;
(h) Confidential law enforcement investigatory records;
(i) Records containing information that is confidential under section 2710.03 or 4112.05 of the Revised Code;
(j) DNA records stored in the DNA database pursuant to section 109.573 of the Revised Code;
(k) Inmate records released by the department of rehabilitation and correction to the department of youth services or a court of record pursuant to division (E) of section 5120.21 of the Revised Code;
(l) Records maintained by the department of youth services pertaining to children in its custody released by the department of youth services to the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to section 5139.05 of the Revised Code;
(m) Intellectual property records;
(n) Donor profile records;
(o) Records maintained by the department of job and family services pursuant to section 3121.894 of the Revised Code;
(p) Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation residential and familial information;
(q) In the case of a county hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 339. of the Revised Code or a municipal hospital operated pursuant to Chapter 749. of the Revised Code, information that constitutes a trade secret, as defined in section 1333.61 of the Revised Code;
(r) Information pertaining to the recreational activities of a person under the age of eighteen;
(s) Records provided to, statements made by review board members during meetings of, and all work products of a child fatality review board acting under sections 307.621 to 307.629 of the Revised Code, and child fatality review data submitted by the child fatality review board to the department of health or a national child death review database, other than the report prepared pursuant to division (A) of section 307.626 of the Revised Code;
(t) Records provided to and statements made by the executive director of a public children services agency or a prosecuting attorney acting pursuant to section 5153.171 of the Revised Code other than the information released under that section;
(u) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that the board of executives of long-term services and supports administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts under that section with a private or government entity to administer;
(v) Records the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law;
(w) Proprietary information of or relating to any person that is submitted to or compiled by the Ohio venture capital authority created under section 150.01 of the Revised Code;
(x) Financial statements and data any person submits for any purpose to the Ohio housing finance agency or the controlling board in connection with applying for, receiving, or accounting for financial assistance from the agency, and information that identifies any individual who benefits directly or indirectly from financial assistance from the agency;
(y) Records listed in section 5101.29 of the Revised Code;
(z) Discharges recorded with a county recorder under section 317.24 of the Revised Code, as specified in division (B)(2) of that section;
(aa) Usage information including names and addresses of specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally owned or operated public utility;
(bb) Records described in division (C) of section 187.04 of the Revised Code that are not designated to be made available to the public as provided in that division.
(2) "Confidential law enforcement investigatory record" means any record that pertains to a law enforcement matter of a criminal, quasi-criminal, civil, or administrative nature, but only to the extent that the release of the record would create a high probability of disclosure of any of the following:
(a) The identity of a suspect who has not been charged with the offense to which the record pertains, or of an information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised;
(b) Information provided by an information source or witness to whom confidentiality has been reasonably promised, which information would reasonably tend to disclose the source's or witness's identity;
(c) Specific confidential investigatory techniques or procedures or specific investigatory work product;
(d) Information that would endanger the life or physical safety of law enforcement personnel, a crime victim, a witness, or a confidential information source.
(3) "Medical record" means any document or combination of documents, except births, deaths, and the fact of admission to or discharge from a hospital, that pertains to the medical history, diagnosis, prognosis, or medical condition of a patient and that is generated and maintained in the process of medical treatment.
(4) "Trial preparation record" means any record that contains information that is specifically compiled in reasonable anticipation of, or in defense of, a civil or criminal action or proceeding, including the independent thought processes and personal trial preparation of an attorney.
(5) "Intellectual property record" means a record, other than a financial or administrative record, that is produced or collected by or for faculty or staff of a state institution of higher learning in the conduct of or as a result of study or research on an educational, commercial, scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issue, regardless of whether the study or research was sponsored by the institution alone or in conjunction with a governmental body or private concern, and that has not been publicly released, published, or patented.
(6) "Donor profile record" means all records about donors or potential donors to a public institution of higher education except the names and reported addresses of the actual donors and the date, amount, and conditions of the actual donation.
(7) "Peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation residential and familial information" means any information that discloses any of the following about a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation:
(a) The address of the actual personal residence of a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or an investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation, except for the state or political subdivision in which the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation resides;
(b) Information compiled from referral to or participation in an employee assistance program;
(c) The social security number, the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone number of, or any medical information pertaining to, a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation;
(d) The name of any beneficiary of employment benefits, including, but not limited to, life insurance benefits, provided to a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation by the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's employer;
(e) The identity and amount of any charitable or employment benefit deduction made by the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's employer from the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's compensation unless the amount of the deduction is required by state or federal law;
(f) The name, the residential address, the name of the employer, the address of the employer, the social security number, the residential telephone number, any bank account, debit card, charge card, or credit card number, or the emergency telephone number of the spouse, a former spouse, or any child of a peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation;
(g) A photograph of a peace officer who holds a position or has an assignment that may include undercover or plain clothes positions or assignments as determined by the peace officer's appointing authority.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "peace officer" has the same meaning as in section 109.71 of the Revised Code and also includes the superintendent and troopers of the state highway patrol; it does not include the sheriff of a county or a supervisory employee who, in the absence of the sheriff, is authorized to stand in for, exercise the authority of, and perform the duties of the sheriff.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section,
"correctional employee" means any employee of the department of
rehabilitation and correction who in the course of performing the
employee's job duties has or has had contact with inmates and
persons under supervision.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(5)(9) of this section,
"youth services employee" means any employee of the department of
youth services who in the course of performing the employee's job
duties has or has had contact with children committed to the
custody of the department of youth services.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "firefighter" means any regular, paid or volunteer, member of a lawfully constituted fire department of a municipal corporation, township, fire district, or village.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "EMT" means EMTs-basic, EMTs-I, and paramedics that provide emergency medical services for a public emergency medical service organization. "Emergency medical service organization," "EMT-basic," "EMT-I," and "paramedic" have the same meanings as in section 4765.01 of the Revised Code.
As used in divisions (A)(7) and (B)(9) of this section, "investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation" has the meaning defined in section 2903.11 of the Revised Code.
(8) "Information pertaining to the recreational activities of a person under the age of eighteen" means information that is kept in the ordinary course of business by a public office, that pertains to the recreational activities of a person under the age of eighteen years, and that discloses any of the following:
(a) The address or telephone number of a person under the age of eighteen or the address or telephone number of that person's parent, guardian, custodian, or emergency contact person;
(b) The social security number, birth date, or photographic image of a person under the age of eighteen;
(c) Any medical record, history, or information pertaining to a person under the age of eighteen;
(d) Any additional information sought or required about a person under the age of eighteen for the purpose of allowing that person to participate in any recreational activity conducted or sponsored by a public office or to use or obtain admission privileges to any recreational facility owned or operated by a public office.
(9) "Community control sanction" has the same meaning as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.
(10) "Post-release control sanction" has the same meaning as in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code.
(11) "Redaction" means obscuring or deleting any information that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or copying from an item that otherwise meets the definition of a "record" in section 149.011 of the Revised Code.
(12) "Designee" and "elected official" have the same meanings as in section 109.43 of the Revised Code.
(B)(1) Upon request and subject to division (B)(8) of this section, all public records responsive to the request shall be promptly prepared and made available for inspection to any person at all reasonable times during regular business hours. Subject to division (B)(8) of this section, upon request, a public office or person responsible for public records shall make copies of the requested public record available at cost and within a reasonable period of time. If a public record contains information that is exempt from the duty to permit public inspection or to copy the public record, the public office or the person responsible for the public record shall make available all of the information within the public record that is not exempt. When making that public record available for public inspection or copying that public record, the public office or the person responsible for the public record shall notify the requester of any redaction or make the redaction plainly visible. A redaction shall be deemed a denial of a request to inspect or copy the redacted information, except if federal or state law authorizes or requires a public office to make the redaction.
(2) To facilitate broader access to public records, a public office or the person responsible for public records shall organize and maintain public records in a manner that they can be made available for inspection or copying in accordance with division (B) of this section. A public office also shall have available a copy of its current records retention schedule at a location readily available to the public. If a requester makes an ambiguous or overly broad request or has difficulty in making a request for copies or inspection of public records under this section such that the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record cannot reasonably identify what public records are being requested, the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record may deny the request but shall provide the requester with an opportunity to revise the request by informing the requester of the manner in which records are maintained by the public office and accessed in the ordinary course of the public office's or person's duties.
(3) If a request is ultimately denied, in part or in whole, the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record shall provide the requester with an explanation, including legal authority, setting forth why the request was denied. If the initial request was provided in writing, the explanation also shall be provided to the requester in writing. The explanation shall not preclude the public office or the person responsible for the requested public record from relying upon additional reasons or legal authority in defending an action commenced under division (C) of this section.
(4) Unless specifically required or authorized by state or federal law or in accordance with division (B) of this section, no public office or person responsible for public records may limit or condition the availability of public records by requiring disclosure of the requester's identity or the intended use of the requested public record. Any requirement that the requester disclose the requestor's identity or the intended use of the requested public record constitutes a denial of the request.
(5) A public office or person responsible for public records may ask a requester to make the request in writing, may ask for the requester's identity, and may inquire about the intended use of the information requested, but may do so only after disclosing to the requester that a written request is not mandatory and that the requester may decline to reveal the requester's identity or the intended use and when a written request or disclosure of the identity or intended use would benefit the requester by enhancing the ability of the public office or person responsible for public records to identify, locate, or deliver the public records sought by the requester.
(6) If any person chooses to obtain a copy of a public record in accordance with division (B) of this section, the public office or person responsible for the public record may require that person to pay in advance the cost involved in providing the copy of the public record in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the copy under this division. The public office or the person responsible for the public record shall permit that person to choose to have the public record duplicated upon paper, upon the same medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record keeps it, or upon any other medium upon which the public office or person responsible for the public record determines that it reasonably can be duplicated as an integral part of the normal operations of the public office or person responsible for the public record. When the person seeking the copy makes a choice under this division, the public office or person responsible for the public record shall provide a copy of it in accordance with the choice made by the person seeking the copy. Nothing in this section requires a public office or person responsible for the public record to allow the person seeking a copy of the public record to make the copies of the public record.
(7) Upon a request made in accordance with division (B) of this section and subject to division (B)(6) of this section, a public office or person responsible for public records shall transmit a copy of a public record to any person by United States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission within a reasonable period of time after receiving the request for the copy. The public office or person responsible for the public record may require the person making the request to pay in advance the cost of postage if the copy is transmitted by United States mail or the cost of delivery if the copy is transmitted other than by United States mail, and to pay in advance the costs incurred for other supplies used in the mailing, delivery, or transmission.
Any public office may adopt a policy and procedures that it will follow in transmitting, within a reasonable period of time after receiving a request, copies of public records by United States mail or by any other means of delivery or transmission pursuant to this division. A public office that adopts a policy and procedures under this division shall comply with them in performing its duties under this division.
In any policy and procedures adopted under this division, a public office may limit the number of records requested by a person that the office will transmit by United States mail to ten per month, unless the person certifies to the office in writing that the person does not intend to use or forward the requested records, or the information contained in them, for commercial purposes. For purposes of this division, "commercial" shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.
(8) A public office or person responsible for public records is not required to permit a person who is incarcerated pursuant to a criminal conviction or a juvenile adjudication to inspect or to obtain a copy of any public record concerning a criminal investigation or prosecution or concerning what would be a criminal investigation or prosecution if the subject of the investigation or prosecution were an adult, unless the request to inspect or to obtain a copy of the record is for the purpose of acquiring information that is subject to release as a public record under this section and the judge who imposed the sentence or made the adjudication with respect to the person, or the judge's successor in office, finds that the information sought in the public record is necessary to support what appears to be a justiciable claim of the person.
(9)(a) Upon written request made and signed by a journalist on or after December 16, 1999, a public office, or person responsible for public records, having custody of the records of the agency employing a specified peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation shall disclose to the journalist the address of the actual personal residence of the peace officer, parole officer, probation officer, bailiff, prosecuting attorney, assistant prosecuting attorney, correctional employee, community-based correctional facility employee, youth services employee, firefighter, EMT, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation and, if the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child is employed by a public office, the name and address of the employer of the peace officer's, parole officer's, probation officer's, bailiff's, prosecuting attorney's, assistant prosecuting attorney's, correctional employee's, community-based correctional facility employee's, youth services employee's, firefighter's, EMT's, or investigator of the bureau of criminal identification and investigation's spouse, former spouse, or child. The request shall include the journalist's name and title and the name and address of the journalist's employer and shall state that disclosure of the information sought would be in the public interest.
(b) Division (B)(9)(a) of this section also applies to journalist requests for customer information maintained by a municipally owned or operated public utility, other than social security numbers and any private financial information such as credit reports, payment methods, credit card numbers, and bank account information.
(c) As used in division (B)(9) of this section, "journalist" means a person engaged in, connected with, or employed by any news medium, including a newspaper, magazine, press association, news agency, or wire service, a radio or television station, or a similar medium, for the purpose of gathering, processing, transmitting, compiling, editing, or disseminating information for the general public.
(C)(1) If a person allegedly is aggrieved by the failure of a public office or the person responsible for public records to promptly prepare a public record and to make it available to the person for inspection in accordance with division (B) of this section or by any other failure of a public office or the person responsible for public records to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section, the person allegedly aggrieved may commence a mandamus action to obtain a judgment that orders the public office or the person responsible for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section, that awards court costs and reasonable attorney's fees to the person that instituted the mandamus action, and, if applicable, that includes an order fixing statutory damages under division (C)(1) of this section. The mandamus action may be commenced in the court of common pleas of the county in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with, in the supreme court pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 2 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution, or in the court of appeals for the appellate district in which division (B) of this section allegedly was not complied with pursuant to its original jurisdiction under Section 3 of Article IV, Ohio Constitution.
If a requestor transmits a written request by hand delivery or certified mail to inspect or receive copies of any public record in a manner that fairly describes the public record or class of public records to the public office or person responsible for the requested public records, except as otherwise provided in this section, the requestor shall be entitled to recover the amount of statutory damages set forth in this division if a court determines that the public office or the person responsible for public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section.
The amount of statutory damages shall be fixed at one hundred dollars for each business day during which the public office or person responsible for the requested public records failed to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section, beginning with the day on which the requester files a mandamus action to recover statutory damages, up to a maximum of one thousand dollars. The award of statutory damages shall not be construed as a penalty, but as compensation for injury arising from lost use of the requested information. The existence of this injury shall be conclusively presumed. The award of statutory damages shall be in addition to all other remedies authorized by this section.
The court may reduce an award of statutory damages or not award statutory damages if the court determines both of the following:
(a) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a well-informed public office or person responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section;
(b) That a well-informed public office or person responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(2)(a) If the court issues a writ of mandamus that orders the public office or the person responsible for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section and determines that the circumstances described in division (C)(1) of this section exist, the court shall determine and award to the relator all court costs.
(b) If the court renders a judgment that orders the public office or the person responsible for the public record to comply with division (B) of this section, the court may award reasonable attorney's fees subject to reduction as described in division (C)(2)(c) of this section. The court shall award reasonable attorney's fees, subject to reduction as described in division (C)(2)(c) of this section when either of the following applies:
(i) The public office or the person responsible for the public records failed to respond affirmatively or negatively to the public records request in accordance with the time allowed under division (B) of this section.
(ii) The public office or the person responsible for the public records promised to permit the relator to inspect or receive copies of the public records requested within a specified period of time but failed to fulfill that promise within that specified period of time.
(c) Court costs and reasonable attorney's fees awarded under this section shall be construed as remedial and not punitive. Reasonable attorney's fees shall include reasonable fees incurred to produce proof of the reasonableness and amount of the fees and to otherwise litigate entitlement to the fees. The court may reduce an award of attorney's fees to the relator or not award attorney's fees to the relator if the court determines both of the following:
(i) That, based on the ordinary application of statutory law and case law as it existed at the time of the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records that allegedly constitutes a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section and that was the basis of the mandamus action, a well-informed public office or person responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records did not constitute a failure to comply with an obligation in accordance with division (B) of this section;
(ii) That a well-informed public office or person responsible for the requested public records reasonably would believe that the conduct or threatened conduct of the public office or person responsible for the requested public records as described in division (C)(2)(c)(i) of this section would serve the public policy that underlies the authority that is asserted as permitting that conduct or threatened conduct.
(D) Chapter 1347. of the Revised Code does not limit the provisions of this section.
(E)(1) To ensure that all employees of public offices are appropriately educated about a public office's obligations under division (B) of this section, all elected officials or their appropriate designees shall attend training approved by the attorney general as provided in section 109.43 of the Revised Code. In addition, all public offices shall adopt a public records policy in compliance with this section for responding to public records requests. In adopting a public records policy under this division, a public office may obtain guidance from the model public records policy developed and provided to the public office by the attorney general under section 109.43 of the Revised Code. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the policy may not limit the number of public records that the public office will make available to a single person, may not limit the number of public records that it will make available during a fixed period of time, and may not establish a fixed period of time before it will respond to a request for inspection or copying of public records, unless that period is less than eight hours.
(2) The public office shall distribute the public records policy adopted by the public office under division (E)(1) of this section to the employee of the public office who is the records custodian or records manager or otherwise has custody of the records of that office. The public office shall require that employee to acknowledge receipt of the copy of the public records policy. The public office shall create a poster that describes its public records policy and shall post the poster in a conspicuous place in the public office and in all locations where the public office has branch offices. The public office may post its public records policy on the internet web site of the public office if the public office maintains an internet web site. A public office that has established a manual or handbook of its general policies and procedures for all employees of the public office shall include the public records policy of the public office in the manual or handbook.
(F)(1) The bureau of motor vehicles may adopt rules pursuant to Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to reasonably limit the number of bulk commercial special extraction requests made by a person for the same records or for updated records during a calendar year. The rules may include provisions for charges to be made for bulk commercial special extraction requests for the actual cost of the bureau, plus special extraction costs, plus ten per cent. The bureau may charge for expenses for redacting information, the release of which is prohibited by law.
(2) As used in division (F)(1) of this section:
(a) "Actual cost" means the cost of depleted supplies, records storage media costs, actual mailing and alternative delivery costs, or other transmitting costs, and any direct equipment operating and maintenance costs, including actual costs paid to private contractors for copying services.
(b) "Bulk commercial special extraction request" means a request for copies of a record for information in a format other than the format already available, or information that cannot be extracted without examination of all items in a records series, class of records, or database by a person who intends to use or forward the copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes. "Bulk commercial special extraction request" does not include a request by a person who gives assurance to the bureau that the person making the request does not intend to use or forward the requested copies for surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes.
(c) "Commercial" means profit-seeking production, buying, or selling of any good, service, or other product.
(d) "Special extraction costs" means the cost of the time spent by the lowest paid employee competent to perform the task, the actual amount paid to outside private contractors employed by the bureau, or the actual cost incurred to create computer programs to make the special extraction. "Special extraction costs" include any charges paid to a public agency for computer or records services.
(3) For purposes of divisions (F)(1) and (2) of this section, "surveys, marketing, solicitation, or resale for commercial purposes" shall be narrowly construed and does not include reporting or gathering news, reporting or gathering information to assist citizen oversight or understanding of the operation or activities of government, or nonprofit educational research.
Sec. 1347.08. (A) Every state or local agency that maintains a personal information system, upon the request and the proper identification of any person who is the subject of personal information in the system, shall:
(1) Inform the person of the existence of any personal information in the system of which the person is the subject;
(2) Except as provided in divisions (C) and (E)(2) of this section, permit the person, the person's legal guardian, or an attorney who presents a signed written authorization made by the person, to inspect all personal information in the system of which the person is the subject;
(3) Inform the person about the types of uses made of the personal information, including the identity of any users usually granted access to the system.
(B) Any person who wishes to exercise a right provided by this section may be accompanied by another individual of the person's choice.
(C)(1) A state or local agency, upon request, shall disclose medical, psychiatric, or psychological information to a person who is the subject of the information or to the person's legal guardian, unless a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist determines for the agency that the disclosure of the information is likely to have an adverse effect on the person, in which case the information shall be released to a physician, psychiatrist, or psychologist who is designated by the person or by the person's legal guardian.
(2) Upon the signed written request of either a licensed attorney at law or a licensed physician designated by the inmate, together with the signed written request of an inmate of a correctional institution under the administration of the department of rehabilitation and correction, the department shall disclose medical information to the designated attorney or physician as provided in division (C) of section 5120.21 of the Revised Code.
(D) If an individual who is authorized to inspect personal information that is maintained in a personal information system requests the state or local agency that maintains the system to provide a copy of any personal information that the individual is authorized to inspect, the agency shall provide a copy of the personal information to the individual. Each state and local agency may establish reasonable fees for the service of copying, upon request, personal information that is maintained by the agency.
(E)(1) This section regulates access to personal information that is maintained in a personal information system by persons who are the subject of the information, but does not limit the authority of any person, including a person who is the subject of personal information maintained in a personal information system, to inspect or have copied, pursuant to section 149.43 of the Revised Code, a public record as defined in that section.
(2) This section does not provide a person who is the subject of personal information maintained in a personal information system, the person's legal guardian, or an attorney authorized by the person, with a right to inspect or have copied, or require an agency that maintains a personal information system to permit the inspection of or to copy, a confidential law enforcement investigatory record or trial preparation record, as defined in divisions (A)(2) and (4) of section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
(F) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) The contents of an adoption file maintained by the
department of health under section sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of
the Revised Code;
(2) Information contained in the putative father registry established by section 3107.062 of the Revised Code, regardless of whether the information is held by the department of job and family services or, pursuant to section 3111.69 of the Revised Code, the office of child support in the department or a child support enforcement agency;
(3) Papers, records, and books that pertain to an adoption and that are subject to inspection in accordance with section 3107.17 of the Revised Code;
(4) Records listed in division (A) of section 3107.42 of the
Revised Code or specified in division (A) of section 3107.52 of
the Revised Code;
(5) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 3721.031 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;
(6) Files and records that have been expunged under division (D)(1) or (2) of section 3721.23 of the Revised Code;
(7) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 3721.25 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;
(8) Records that identify an individual described in division (A)(1) of section 5165.88 of the Revised Code, or that would tend to identify such an individual;
(9) Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator that the board of executives of long-term services and supports administers under section 4751.04 of the Revised Code or contracts under that section with a private or government entity to administer;
(10) Information contained in a database established and maintained pursuant to section 5101.13 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2101.16. (A) Except as provided in section 2101.164 of the Revised Code, the fees enumerated in this division shall be charged and collected, if possible, by the probate judge and shall be in full for all services rendered in the respective proceedings:
| (1) | Account, in addition to advertising charges | ||||||
| $ | 12.00 | ||||||
| Waivers and proof of notice of hearing on account, per page, minimum one dollar | |||||||
| $ | 1.00 | ||||||
| (2) | Account of distribution, in addition to advertising charges | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (3) | Adoption of child, petition for | ||||||
| $ | 50.00 | ||||||
| (4) | Alter or cancel contract for sale or purchase of real property, complaint to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (5) | Application and order not otherwise provided for in this section or by rule adopted pursuant to division (E) of this section | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (6) | Appropriation suit, per day, hearing in | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (7) | Birth, application for registration of | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (8) | Birth record, application to correct | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (9) | Bond, application for new or additional | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (10) | Bond, application for release of surety or reduction of | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (11) | Bond, receipt for securities deposited in lieu of | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (12) | Certified copy of journal entry, record, or proceeding, per page, minimum fee one dollar | ||||||
| $ | 1.00 | ||||||
| (13) | Citation and issuing citation, application for | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (14) | Change of name, petition for | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (15) | Claim, application of administrator or executor for allowance of administrator's or executor's own | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (16) | Claim, application to compromise or settle | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (17) | Claim, authority to present | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (18) | Commissioner, appointment of | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (19) | Compensation for extraordinary services and attorney's fees for fiduciary, application for | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (20) | Competency, application to procure adjudication of | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (21) | Complete contract, application to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (22) | Concealment of assets, citation for | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (23) | Construction of will, complaint for | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (24) | Continue decedent's business, application to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| Monthly reports of operation | |||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (25) | Declaratory judgment, complaint for | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (26) | Deposit of will | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (27) | Designation of heir | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (28) | Distribution in kind, application, assent, and order for | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (29) | Distribution under section 2109.36 of the Revised Code, application for an order of | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (30) | Docketing and indexing proceedings, including the filing and noting of all necessary documents, maximum fee, fifteen dollars | ||||||
| $ | 15.00 | ||||||
| (31) | Exceptions to any proceeding named in this section, contest of appointment or | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (32) | Election of surviving partner to purchase assets of partnership, proceedings relating to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (33) | Election of surviving spouse under will | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (34) | Fiduciary, including an assignee or trustee of an insolvent debtor or any guardian or conservator accountable to the probate court, appointment of | ||||||
| $ | 35.00 | ||||||
| (35) | Foreign will, application to record | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| Record of foreign will, additional, per page | |||||||
| $ | 1.00 | ||||||
| (36) | Forms when supplied by the probate court, not to exceed | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (37) | Heirship, complaint to determine | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (38) | Injunction proceedings | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (39) | Improve real property, petition to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (40) | Inventory with appraisement | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (41) | Inventory without appraisement | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (42) | Investment or expenditure of funds, application for | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (43) | Invest in real property, application to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (44) | Lease for oil, gas, coal, or other mineral, petition to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (45) | Lease or lease and improve real property, petition to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (46) | Marriage license | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| Certified abstract of each marriage | |||||||
| $ | 2.00 | ||||||
| (47) | Minor or incompetent person, etc., disposal of estate under twenty-five thousand dollars of | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (48) | Mortgage or mortgage and repair or improve real property, complaint to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (49) | Newly discovered assets, report of | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (50) | Nonresident executor or administrator to bar creditors' claims, proceedings by | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (51) | Power of attorney or revocation of power, bonding company | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (52) | Presumption of death, petition to establish | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (53) | Probating will | ||||||
| $ | 15.00 | ||||||
| Proof of notice to beneficiaries | |||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (54) | Purchase personal property, application of surviving spouse to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (55) | Purchase real property at appraised value, petition of surviving spouse to | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (56) | Receipts in addition to advertising charges, application and order to record | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| Record of those receipts, additional, per page | |||||||
| $ | 1.00 | ||||||
| (57) | Record in excess of fifteen hundred words in any proceeding in the probate court, per page | ||||||
| $ | 1.00 | ||||||
| (58) | Release of estate by mortgagee or other lienholder | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (59) | Relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of the Revised Code or granting an order for a summary release from administration under section 2113.031 of the Revised Code | ||||||
| $ | 60.00 | ||||||
| (60) | Removal of fiduciary, application for | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (61) | Requalification of executor or administrator | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (62) | Resignation of fiduciary | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (63) | Sale bill, public sale of personal property | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (64) | Sale of personal property and report, application for | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (65) | Sale of real property, petition for | ||||||
| $ | 25.00 | ||||||
| (66) | Terminate guardianship, petition to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (67) | Transfer of real property, application, entry, and certificate for | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (68) | Unclaimed money, application to invest | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (69) | Vacate approval of account or order of distribution, motion to | ||||||
| $ | 10.00 | ||||||
| (70) | Writ of execution | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (71) | Writ of possession | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 | ||||||
| (72) | Wrongful death, application and settlement of claim for | ||||||
| $ | 20.00 | ||||||
| (73) | Year's allowance, petition to review | ||||||
| $ | 7.00 | ||||||
| (74) | Guardian's report, filing and review of | ||||||
| $ | 5.00 |
(B)(1) In relation to an application for the appointment of a guardian or the review of a report of a guardian under section 2111.49 of the Revised Code, the probate court, pursuant to court order or in accordance with a court rule, may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.041 or division (A)(2) of section 2111.49 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that an alleged incompetent or a ward is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation.
(2) In relation to the appointment or functioning of a guardian for a minor or the guardianship of a minor, the probate court may direct that the applicant or the estate pay any or all of the expenses of an investigation conducted pursuant to section 2111.042 of the Revised Code. If the investigation is conducted by a public employee or investigator who is paid by the county, the fees for the investigation shall be paid into the county treasury. If the court finds that the guardian or applicant is indigent, the court may waive the costs, fees, and expenses of an investigation.
(C) Thirty dollars of the thirty-five-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(34) of this section and twenty dollars of the sixty-dollar fee collected pursuant to division (A)(59) of this section shall be deposited by the county treasurer in the indigent guardianship fund created pursuant to section 2111.51 of the Revised Code.
(D) The fees of witnesses, jurors, sheriffs, coroners, and constables for services rendered in the probate court or by order of the probate judge shall be the same as provided for similar services in the court of common pleas.
(E) The probate court, by rule, may require an advance deposit for costs, not to exceed one hundred twenty-five dollars, at the time application is made for an appointment as executor or administrator or at the time a will is presented for probate.
(F) The probate court, by rule, shall establish a reasonable
fee, not to exceed fifty dollars, for the filing of a petition for
the release of information regarding an adopted person's name by
birth and the identity of the adopted person's biological parents
and biological siblings pursuant to section 3107.41 of the Revised
Code, all proceedings relative to the petition, the entry of an
order relative to the petition, and all services required to be
performed in connection with the petition. The probate court may
use a reasonable portion of a fee charged under authority of this
division to reimburse any agency, as defined in section 3107.39 of
the Revised Code, for any services it renders in performing a task
described in section 3107.41 of the Revised Code relative to or in
connection with the petition for which the fee was charged.
(G)(1) Thirty dollars of the fifty-dollar fee collected
pursuant to division (A)(3) of this section shall be deposited
into the "putative father registry fund," which is hereby created
in the state treasury. The department of job and family services
shall use the money in the fund to fund the department's costs of
performing its duties related to the putative father registry
established under section 3107.062 of the Revised Code.
(2) If the department determines that money in the putative father registry fund is more than is needed for its duties related to the putative father registry, the department may use the surplus moneys in the fund as permitted in division (C) of section 2151.3529, division (B) of section 2151.3530, or section 5103.155 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 2101.162. (A)(1) The probate judge may determine that,
for the efficient operation of the probate court, additional funds
are required to computerize the court, make available computerized
legal research services, or to do both. Upon making a
determination that additional funds are required for either or
both of those purposes, the probate judge shall charge a fee not
to exceed three dollars or authorize and direct a deputy clerk of
the probate court to charge a fee not to exceed three dollars, in
addition to the fees specified in divisions (A)(1), (3), (4), (6),
(14) to (17), (20) to (25), (27), (30) to (32), (34), (35), (37)
to (48), (50) to (55), (59) to (61), (63) to (66), (69), and (72)
of section 2101.16 of the Revised Code, the fee adopted pursuant
to division (F) of that section, and the fee charged in connection
with the docketing and indexing of an appeal.
(2) All moneys collected under division (A)(1) of this section shall be paid to the county treasurer. The treasurer shall place the moneys from the fees in a separate fund to be disbursed, upon an order of the probate judge, in an amount no greater than the actual cost to the court of procuring and maintaining computerization of the court, computerized legal research services, or both.
(3) If the court determines that the funds in the fund described in division (A)(2) of this section are more than sufficient to satisfy the purpose for which the additional fee described in division (A)(1) of this section was imposed, the court may declare a surplus in the fund and expend those surplus funds for other appropriate technological expenses of the court.
(B)(1) The probate judge may determine that, for the
efficient operation of the probate court, additional funds are
required to computerize the office of the clerk of the court and,
upon that determination, may charge a fee, not to exceed ten
dollars, or authorize and direct a deputy clerk of the probate
court to charge a fee, not to exceed ten dollars, in addition to
the fees specified in divisions (A)(1), (3), (4), (6), (14) to
(17), (20) to (25), (27), (30) to (32), (34), (35), (37) to (48),
(50) to (55), (59) to (61), (63) to (66), (69), and (72) of
section 2101.16 of the Revised Code, the fee adopted pursuant to
division (F) of that section, and the fee charged in connection
with the docketing and indexing of an appeal. Subject to division
(B)(2) of this section, all moneys collected under this division
shall be paid to the county treasurer to be disbursed, upon an
order of the probate judge and subject to appropriation by the
board of county commissioners, in an amount no greater than the
actual cost to the probate court of procuring and maintaining
computer systems for the office of the clerk of the court.
(2) If the probate judge makes the determination described in division (B)(1) of this section, the board of county commissioners may issue one or more general obligation bonds for the purpose of procuring and maintaining the computer systems for the office of the clerk of the probate court. In addition to the purposes stated in division (B)(1) of this section for which the moneys collected under that division may be expended, the moneys additionally may be expended to pay debt charges on and financing costs related to any general obligation bonds issued pursuant to this division as they become due. General obligation bonds issued pursuant to this division are Chapter 133. securities.
Sec. 2101.24. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the probate court has exclusive jurisdiction:
(a) To take the proof of wills and to admit to record authenticated copies of wills executed, proved, and allowed in the courts of any other state, territory, or country. If the probate judge is unavoidably absent, any judge of the court of common pleas may take proof of wills and approve bonds to be given, but the record of these acts shall be preserved in the usual records of the probate court.
(b) To grant and revoke letters testamentary and of administration;
(c) To direct and control the conduct and settle the accounts of executors and administrators and order the distribution of estates;
(d) To appoint the attorney general to serve as the administrator of an estate pursuant to section 2113.06 of the Revised Code;
(e) To appoint and remove guardians, conservators, and testamentary trustees, direct and control their conduct, and settle their accounts;
(f) To grant marriage licenses;
(g) To make inquests respecting persons who are so mentally impaired as a result of a mental or physical illness or disability, or mental retardation, or as a result of chronic substance abuse, that they are unable to manage their property and affairs effectively, subject to guardianship;
(h) To qualify assignees, appoint and qualify trustees and commissioners of insolvents, control their conduct, and settle their accounts;
(i) To authorize the sale of lands, equitable estates, or interests in lands or equitable estates, and the assignments of inchoate dower in such cases of sale, on petition by executors, administrators, and guardians;
(j) To authorize the completion of real property contracts on petition of executors and administrators;
(k) To construe wills;
(l) To render declaratory judgments, including, but not limited to, those rendered pursuant to section 2107.084 of the Revised Code;
(m) To direct and control the conduct of fiduciaries and settle their accounts;
(n) To authorize the sale or lease of any estate created by will if the estate is held in trust, on petition by the trustee;
(o) To terminate a testamentary trust in any case in which a court of equity may do so;
(p) To hear and determine actions to contest the validity of wills;
(q) To make a determination of the presumption of death of missing persons and to adjudicate the property rights and obligations of all parties affected by the presumption;
(r) To hear and determine an action commenced pursuant to
section 3107.41 of the Revised Code to obtain the release of
information pertaining to the birth name of the adopted person and
the identity of the adopted person's biological parents and
biological siblings;
(s) To act for and issue orders regarding wards pursuant to
section 2111.50 of the Revised Code;
(t)(s) To hear and determine actions against sureties on the
bonds of fiduciaries appointed by the probate court;
(u)(t) To hear and determine actions involving informed
consent for medication of persons hospitalized pursuant to section
5122.141 or 5122.15 of the Revised Code;
(v)(u) To hear and determine actions relating to durable
powers of attorney for health care as described in division (D) of
section 1337.16 of the Revised Code;
(w)(v) To hear and determine actions commenced by objecting
individuals, in accordance with section 2133.05 of the Revised
Code;
(x)(w) To hear and determine complaints that pertain to the
use or continuation, or the withholding or withdrawal, of
life-sustaining treatment in connection with certain patients
allegedly in a terminal condition or in a permanently unconscious
state pursuant to division (E) of section 2133.08 of the Revised
Code, in accordance with that division;
(y)(x) To hear and determine applications that pertain to the
withholding or withdrawal of nutrition and hydration from certain
patients allegedly in a permanently unconscious state pursuant to
section 2133.09 of the Revised Code, in accordance with that
section;
(z)(y) To hear and determine applications of attending
physicians in accordance with division (B) of section 2133.15 of
the Revised Code;
(aa)(z) To hear and determine actions relative to the use or
continuation of comfort care in connection with certain principals
under durable powers of attorney for health care, declarants under
declarations, or patients in accordance with division (E) of
either section 1337.16 or 2133.12 of the Revised Code;
(bb)(aa) To hear and determine applications for an order
relieving an estate from administration under section 2113.03 of
the Revised Code;
(cc)(bb) To hear and determine applications for an order
granting a summary release from administration under section
2113.031 of the Revised Code;
(dd)(cc) To hear and determine actions relating to the
exercise of the right of disposition, in accordance with section
2108.90 of the Revised Code;
(ee)(dd) To hear and determine actions relating to the
disinterment and reinterment of human remains under section 517.23
of the Revised Code;
(ff)(ee) To hear and determine petitions for an order for
treatment of a person suffering from alcohol and other drug abuse
filed under section 5119.93 of the Revised Code and to order
treatment of that nature in accordance with, and take other
actions afforded to the court under, sections 5119.90 to 5119.98
of the Revised Code.
(2) In addition to the exclusive jurisdiction conferred upon the probate court by division (A)(1) of this section, the probate court shall have exclusive jurisdiction over a particular subject matter if both of the following apply:
(a) Another section of the Revised Code expressly confers jurisdiction over that subject matter upon the probate court.
(b) No section of the Revised Code expressly confers jurisdiction over that subject matter upon any other court or agency.
(B)(1) The probate court has concurrent jurisdiction with, and the same powers at law and in equity as, the general division of the court of common pleas to issue writs and orders, and to hear and determine actions as follows:
(a) If jurisdiction relative to a particular subject matter is stated to be concurrent in a section of the Revised Code or has been construed by judicial decision to be concurrent, any action that involves that subject matter;
(b) Any action that involves an inter vivos trust; a trust
created pursuant to section 5815.28 of the Revised Code; a
charitable trust or foundation; subject to divisions (A)(1)(u)(t)
and
(z)(y) of this section, a power of attorney, including, but
not limited to, a durable power of attorney; the medical treatment
of a competent adult; or a writ of habeas corpus;
(c) Subject to section 2101.31 of the Revised Code, any action with respect to a probate estate, guardianship, trust, or post-death dispute that involves any of the following:
(i) A designation or removal of a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, annuity contract, retirement plan, brokerage account, security account, bank account, real property, or tangible personal property;
(ii) A designation or removal of a payable-on-death beneficiary or transfer-on-death beneficiary;
(iii) A change in the title to any asset involving a joint and survivorship interest;
(iv) An alleged gift;
(v) The passing of assets upon the death of an individual otherwise than by will, intestate succession, or trust.
(2) Any action that involves a concurrent jurisdiction subject matter and that is before the probate court may be transferred by the probate court, on its order, to the general division of the court of common pleas.
(C) The probate court has plenary power at law and in equity to dispose fully of any matter that is properly before the court, unless the power is expressly otherwise limited or denied by a section of the Revised Code.
(D) The jurisdiction acquired by a probate court over a matter or proceeding is exclusive of that of any other probate court, except when otherwise provided by law.
Sec. 3107.071. If a parent enters into a voluntary permanent
custody surrender agreement under division (B)(2) of section
5103.15 of the Revised Code on or after the effective date of this
section September 18, 1996, the parent's consent to the adoption
of the child who is the subject of the agreement is required
unless all of the following requirements are met:
(A) In the case of a parent whose child, if adopted, will be an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code:
(1) The parent does all of the following:
(a) Signs the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(b) Checks either the "yes" or "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code and signs that component;
(c) If the parent is the mother, completes and signs the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(c) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
(2) The agency provides the parent the opportunity to sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(d), (e), and (f) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) The agency files with the juvenile and probate courts the form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code signed by the parent, provides a copy of the form signed by the parent to the parent, and keeps a copy of the form signed by the parent in the agency's records.
The court shall keep a copy of the form signed by the parent in the court records.
(B) In the case of a parent whose child, if adopted, will be
an adopted person as defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 of the
Revised Code:
(1) The parent does both of the following:
(a) Signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(b) If the parent is the mother, completes and signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
(2) The agency provides the parent the opportunity to sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(c), (d), and (e) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code at the time the parent enters into the agreement with the agency;
(3) The agency files the form signed by the parent with the juvenile and probate courts, provides a copy of the form signed by the parent to the parent, and keeps a copy of the form signed by the parent in the agency's records.
The court shall keep a copy of the form signed by the parent in the court records.
Sec. 3107.081. (A) Except as provided in divisions (B), (E), and (F) of this section, a parent of a minor, who will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code, shall do all of the following as a condition of a court accepting the parent's consent to the minor's adoption:
(1) Appear personally before the court;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) Check either the "yes" or "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code and sign that component;
(4) If the parent is the mother, complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(c) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(a), (b), and (c) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the parent may sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(d), (e), and (f) of that section. After the parent signs the components required to be signed and any discretionary components the parent chooses to sign, the parent, or the attorney arranging the adoption, shall file the form and parent's consent with the court. The court or attorney shall give the parent a copy of the form and consent. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the form and consent in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
The court shall question the parent to determine that the parent understands the adoption process, the ramifications of consenting to the adoption, each component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, and that the minor and adoptive parent may receive identifying information about the parent in accordance with section 3107.47 of the Revised Code unless the parent checks the "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code or has a denial of release form filed with the department of health under section 3107.46 of the Revised Code. The court also shall question the parent to determine that the parent's consent to the adoption and any decisions the parent makes in filling out the form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code are made voluntarily.
(B) The parents of a minor, who is less than six months of age and will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code, may consent to the minor's adoption without personally appearing before a court if both parents do all of the following:
(1) Execute a notarized statement of consent to the minor's adoption before the attorney arranging the adoption;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) Check either the "yes" or "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code and sign that component.
At the time the parents sign the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the mother shall complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(c) of that section and the attorney arranging the adoption shall provide the parents the opportunity to sign, if they choose to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(d), (e), and (f) of that section. At the time the petition to adopt the minor is submitted to the court, the attorney shall file the parents' consents and forms with the court. The attorney shall give the parents a copy of the consents and forms. At the time the attorney files the consents and forms with the court, the attorney also shall file with the court all other documents the director of job and family services requires by rules adopted under division (D) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code to be filed with the court. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the consents, forms, and documents in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
(C) Except as provided in divisions (D), (E), and (F) of this
section, a parent of a minor, who will be, if adopted, an adopted
person as defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 of the Revised Code,
shall do all of the following as a condition of a court accepting
the parent's consent to the minor's adoption:
(1) Appear personally before the court;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) If the parent is the mother, complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs the components prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the parent may sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(c), (d), and (e) of that section. After the parent signs the components required to be signed and any discretionary components the parent chooses to sign, the parent, or the attorney arranging the adoption, shall file the form and parent's consent with the court. The court or attorney shall give the parent a copy of the form and consent. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the form and consent in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
The court shall question the parent to determine that the parent understands the adoption process, the ramifications of consenting to the adoption, and each component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code. The court also shall question the parent to determine that the parent's consent to the adoption and any decisions the parent makes in filling out the form are made voluntarily.
(D) The parent of a minor who is less than six months of age
and will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in section
3107.39 3107.38 of the Revised Code may consent to the minor's
adoption without personally appearing before a court if the parent
does all of the following:
(1) Executes a notarized statement of consent to the minor's adoption before the attorney arranging the adoption;
(2) Signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) If the parent is the mother, completes and signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs the components of the form prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the attorney arranging the adoption shall provide the parent the opportunity to sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(c), (d), and (e) of that section. At the time the petition to adopt the minor is submitted to the court, the attorney shall file the parent's consent and form with the court. The attorney shall give the parent a copy of the consent and form. At the time the attorney files the consent and form with the court, the attorney also shall file with the court all other documents the director of job and family services requires by rules adopted under division (D) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code to be filed with the court. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the consent, form, and documents in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
(E) If a minor is to be adopted by a stepparent, the parent who is not married to the stepparent may consent to the minor's adoption without appearing personally before a court if the parent executes consent in the presence of a person authorized to take acknowledgments. The attorney arranging the adoption shall file the consent with the court and give the parent a copy of the consent. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the consent in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
(F) If a parent of a minor to be adopted resides in another state, the parent may consent to the minor's adoption without appearing personally before a court if the parent executes consent in the presence of a person authorized to take acknowledgments. The attorney arranging the adoption shall file the consent with the court and give the parent a copy of the consent. The court and attorney shall keep a copy of the consent in the court and attorney's records of the adoption.
Sec. 3107.082. Not less than seventy-two hours prior to the date a parent executes consent to the adoption of the parent's child under section 3107.081 of the Revised Code, an assessor shall meet in person with the parent and do both of the following unless the child is to be adopted by a stepparent or the parent resides in another state:
(A) Provide the parent with a copy of the written materials about adoption prepared under division (C) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, discuss with the parent the adoption process and ramifications of a parent consenting to a child's adoption, and provide the parent the opportunity to review the materials and to ask questions about the materials, discussion, and related matters;
(B) Unless If the child, if adopted, will be an adopted
person as defined in section 3107.39 3107.45 of the Revised Code,
inform the parent that the child and the adoptive parent may
receive, in accordance with section 3107.47 of the Revised Code,
identifying information about the parent that is contained in the
child's adoption file maintained by the department of health
unless the parent checks the "no" space provided on the component
of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section
3107.083 of the Revised Code or signs and has filed with the
department a denial of release form prescribed under section
3107.50 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3107.083. Not later than ninety days after June 20,
1996, the The director of job and family services shall do all of
the following:
(A)(1) For a parent of a child who, if adopted, will be an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code, prescribe a form that has the following six components:
(a) A component the parent signs under section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code to indicate the requirements of section 3107.082 or 5103.152 of the Revised Code have been met. The component shall be as follows:
By signing this component of this form, I acknowledge that it has been explained to me, and I understand, that, if I check the space on the next component of this form that indicates that I authorize the release, the adoption file maintained by the Ohio Department of Health, which contains identifying information about me at the time of my child's birth, will be released, on request, to the adoptive parent when the adoptee is at least age eighteen but younger than age twenty-one and to the adoptee when he or she is age twenty-one or older. It has also been explained to me, and I understand, that I may prohibit the release of identifying information about me contained in the adoption file by checking the space on the next component of this form that indicates that I do not authorize the release of the identifying information. It has additionally been explained to me, and I understand, that I may change my mind regarding the decision I make on the next component of this form at any time and as many times as I desire by signing, dating, and having filed with the Ohio Department of Health a denial of release form or authorization of release form prescribed and provided by the Department of Health and providing the Department two items of identification.
By signing this component of this form, I also acknowledge that I have been provided a copy of written materials about adoption prepared by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the adoption process and ramifications of consenting to adoption or entering into a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement have been discussed with me, and I have been provided the opportunity to review the materials and ask questions about the materials and discussion.
| Signature of biological parent: | |||||
| Signature of witness: | |||||
| Date: | " |
(b) A component the parent signs under section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code regarding the parent's decision whether to allow identifying information about the parent contained in an adoption file maintained by the department of health to be released to the parent's child and adoptive parent pursuant to section 3107.47 of the Revised Code. The component shall be as follows:
The purpose of this component of this form is to allow a biological parent to decide whether to allow the Ohio Department of Health to provide an adoptee and adoptive parent identifying information about the adoptee's biological parent contained in an adoption file maintained by the Department. Please check one of the following spaces:
| ...... | YES, I authorize the Ohio Department of Health to release identifying information about me, on request, to the adoptive parent when the adoptee is at least age eighteen but younger than age twenty-one and to the adoptee when he or she is age twenty-one or older. | ||||
| ...... | NO, I do not authorize the release of identifying information about me to the adoptive parent or adoptee. |
| Signature of biological parent: | |||||
| Signature of witness: | |||||
| Date: | " |
(c) A component the parent, if the mother of the child, completes and signs under section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code to indicate, to the extent of the mother's knowledge, all of the following:
(i) Whether the mother, during her pregnancy, was a recipient of the medicaid program or other public health insurance program and, if so, the dates her eligibility began and ended;
(ii) Whether the mother, during her pregnancy, was covered by private health insurance and, if so, the dates the coverage began and ended, the name of the insurance provider, the type of coverage, and the identification number of the coverage;
(iii) The name and location of the hospital, freestanding birthing center, or other place where the mother gave birth and, if different, received medical care immediately after giving birth;
(iv) The expenses of the obstetrical and neonatal care;
(v) Whether the mother has been informed that the adoptive parent or the agency or attorney arranging the adoption are to pay expenses involved in the adoption, including expenses the mother has paid and expects to receive or has received reimbursement, and, if so, what expenses are to be or have been paid and an estimate of the expenses;
(vi) Any other information related to expenses the department determines appropriate to be included in this component.
(d) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent materials, other than photographs of the parent, that the parent requests be given to the child or adoptive parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(e) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent photographs of the parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(f) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent the first name of the parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(2) State at the bottom of the form that the parent is to receive a copy of the form the parent signed.
(3) Provide copies of the form prescribed under this division to probate and juvenile courts, public children services agencies, private child placing agencies, private noncustodial agencies, attorneys, and persons authorized to take acknowledgments.
(B)(1) For a parent of a child who, if adopted, will become
an adopted person as defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 of the
Revised Code, prescribe a form that has the following five
components:
(a) A component the parent signs under section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code to attest that the requirement of division (A) of section 3107.082 or division (A) of section 5103.152 of the Revised Code has been met;
(b) A component the parent, if the mother of the child, completes and signs under section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code to indicate, to the extent of the mother's knowledge, all of the following:
(i) Whether the mother, during her pregnancy, was a recipient of the medicaid program or other public health insurance program and, if so, the dates her eligibility began and ended;
(ii) Whether the mother, during her pregnancy, was covered by private health insurance and, if so, the dates the coverage began and ended, the name of the insurance provider, the type of coverage, and the identification number of the coverage;
(iii) The name and location of the hospital, freestanding birthing center, or other place where the mother gave birth and, if different, received medical care immediately after giving birth;
(iv) The expenses of the obstetrical and neonatal care;
(v) Whether the mother has been informed that the adoptive parent or the agency or attorney arranging the adoption are to pay expenses involved in the adoption, including expenses the mother has paid and expects to receive or has received reimbursement for, and, if so, what expenses are to be or have been paid and an estimate of the expenses;
(vi) Any other information related to expenses the department determines appropriate to be included in the component.
(c) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent materials, other than photographs of the parent, that the parent requests be given to the child or adoptive parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(d) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent photographs of the parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(e) A component the parent may sign to authorize the agency or attorney arranging the adoption to provide to the child or adoptive parent the first name of the parent pursuant to section 3107.68 of the Revised Code.
(2) State at the bottom of the form that the parent is to receive a copy of the form the parent signed.
(3) Provide copies of the form prescribed under this division
to probate and juvenile courts, public children services agencies,
private child placing agencies, private noncustodial agencies, and
attorneys, and persons authorized to take acknowledgments.
(C) Prepare the written materials about adoption that are required to be given to parents under division (A) of section 3107.082 and division (A) of section 5103.152 of the Revised Code. The materials shall provide information about the adoption process, including ramifications of a parent consenting to a child's adoption or entering into a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement. The materials also shall include referral information for professional counseling and adoption support organizations. The director shall provide the materials to assessors.
(D) Adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code specifying the documents that must be filed with a probate court under divisions (B) and (D) of section 3107.081 of the Revised Code and a juvenile court under divisions (C) and (E) of section 5103.151 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3107.09. (A) The department of job and family services shall prescribe and supply forms for the taking of social and medical histories of the biological parents of a minor available for adoption.
(B) An assessor shall record the social and medical histories of the biological parents of a minor available for adoption, unless the minor is to be adopted by the minor's stepparent or grandparent. The assessor shall use the forms prescribed pursuant to division (A) of this section. The assessor shall not include on the forms identifying information about the biological parents or other ancestors of the minor.
(C) A social history shall describe and identify the age; ethnic, racial, religious, marital, and physical characteristics; and educational, cultural, talent and hobby, and work experience background of the biological parents of the minor. A medical history shall identify major diseases, malformations, allergies, ear or eye defects, major conditions, and major health problems of the biological parents that are or may be congenital or familial. These histories may include other social and medical information relative to the biological parents and shall include social and medical information relative to the minor's other ancestors.
The social and medical histories may be obtained through interviews with the biological parents or other persons and from any available records if a biological parent or any legal guardian of a biological parent consents to the release of information contained in a record. An assessor who considers it necessary may request that a biological parent undergo a medical examination. In obtaining social and medical histories of a biological parent, an assessor shall inform the biological parent, or a person other than a biological parent who provides information pursuant to this section, of the purpose and use of the histories and of the biological parent's or other person's right to correct or expand the histories at any time.
(D) A biological parent, or another person who provided information in the preparation of the social and medical histories of the biological parents of a minor, may cause the histories to be corrected or expanded to include different or additional types of information. The biological parent or other person may cause the histories to be corrected or expanded at any time prior or subsequent to the adoption of the minor, including any time after the minor becomes an adult. A biological parent may cause the histories to be corrected or expanded even if the biological parent did not provide any information to the assessor at the time the histories were prepared.
To cause the histories to be corrected or expanded, a biological parent or other person who provided information shall provide the information to be included or specify the information to be corrected to whichever of the following is appropriate under the circumstances:
(1) Subject to division divisions (D)(2) and (3) of this
section, to the assessor who prepared the histories if the
biological parent or other person knows the assessor who prepared
the histories, to the assessor;
(2) If Subject to division (D)(3) of this section, to the
court involved in the adoption or, if that court is not known, to
the department of health, if the biological parent or person does
not know the assessor or finds that the assessor has ceased to
perform assessments, to the court involved in the adoption or, if
that court is not known, to the department of health;
(3) To the department of health, if the histories were originally completed by the biological parent pursuant to section 3107.393 of the Revised Code or, regardless of whether the histories were originally completed pursuant to this section or section 3107.091 or 3107.393 of the Revised Code, the biological parent seeks to correct or expand the histories at the same time the biological parent completes a contact preference form pursuant to section 3107.39 of the Revised Code or a biological parent's name redaction request form pursuant to section 3107.391 of the Revised Code.
An assessor who receives information from a biological parent or other person pursuant to division (D)(1) of this section shall determine whether the information is of a type that divisions (B) and (C) of this section permit to be included in the histories. If the assessor determines the information is of a permissible type, the assessor shall cause the histories to be corrected or expanded to reflect the information. If, at the time the information is received, the histories have been filed with the court as required by division (E) of this section, the court shall cooperate with the assessor in correcting or expanding the histories.
If the department of health or a court receives information from a biological parent or other person pursuant to division (D)(2) of this section or the department receives information from a biological parent pursuant to division (D)(3) of this section, it shall determine whether the information is of a type that divisions (B) and (C) of this section permit to be included in the histories. If a court determines the information is of a permissible type, the court shall cause the histories to be corrected or expanded to reflect the information. If the department of health so determines, the court involved shall cooperate with the department in the correcting or expanding of the histories.
An assessor or the department of health shall notify a biological parent or other person in writing if the assessor or department determines that information the biological parent or other person provided or specified for inclusion in a history is not of a type that may be included in a history. On receipt of the notice, the biological parent or other person may petition the court involved in the adoption to make a finding as to whether the information is of a type that may be included in a history. On receipt of the petition, the court shall issue its finding without holding a hearing. If the court finds that the information is of a type that may be included in a history, it shall cause the history to be corrected or expanded to reflect the information.
(E) An assessor shall file the social and medical histories of the biological parents prepared pursuant to divisions (B) and (C) of this section with the court with which a petition to adopt the biological parents' child is filed. The court promptly shall provide a copy of the social and medical histories filed with it to the petitioner. In a case involving the adoption of a minor by any person other than the minor's stepparent or grandparent, a court may refuse to issue an interlocutory order or final decree of adoption if the histories of the biological parents have not been so filed, unless the assessor certifies to the court that information needed to prepare the histories is unavailable for reasons beyond the assessor's control.
Sec. 3107.091. (A) As used in this section, "biological parent" means a biological parent whose offspring, as a minor, was adopted and with respect to whom a medical and social history was not prepared prior or subsequent to the adoption.
(B) A biological parent may request the department of job and family services to provide the biological parent with a copy of the social and medical history forms prescribed by the department pursuant to section 3107.09 of the Revised Code. The department, upon receipt of such a request, shall provide the forms to the biological parent, if the biological parent indicates that the forms are being requested so that the adoption records of the biological parent's offspring will include a social and medical history of the biological parent.
In completing the forms, the biological parent may include information described in division (C) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code, but shall not include identifying information. When the biological parent has completed the forms to the extent the biological parent wishes to provide information, the biological parent shall return them to the department. The department shall review the completed forms, and shall determine whether the information included by the biological parent is of a type permissible under divisions (B) and (C) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code and, to the best of its ability, whether the information is accurate. If it determines that the forms contain accurate, permissible information, the department, after excluding from the forms any information the department deems impermissible, shall file them with the court that entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption in the adoption case. If the department needs assistance in determining that court, the department of health, upon request, shall assist it.
The department of job and family services shall notify the biological parent in writing if it excludes from the biological parent's social and medical history forms information deemed impermissible. On receipt of the notice, the biological parent may petition the court with which the forms were filed to make a finding as to whether the information is permissible. On receipt of the petition, the court shall issue its finding without holding a hearing. If the court finds the information is permissible, it shall cause the information to be included on the forms.
Upon receiving social and medical history forms pursuant to this section, a court shall cause them to be filed in the records pertaining to the adoption case.
Social and medical history forms completed by a biological parent pursuant to this section may be corrected or expanded by the biological parent in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code.
Access to the histories shall be granted in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code.
(C) This section does not preclude a biological parent from completing a social and medical history in accordance with section 3107.393 of the Revised Code instead of this section.
Sec. 3107.141. After an assessor files a home study report under section 3107.031, a social and medical history under section 3107.09, or a prefinalization assessment report under section 3107.12 of the Revised Code, or the department of job and family services or department of health files a social and medical history under section 3107.091 or 3107.393 of the Revised Code, a court may do either or both of the following if the court determines the report or history does not comply with the requirements governing the report or history or, in the case of a home study or prefinalization assessment report, does not enable the court to determine whether an adoption is in the best interest of the minor to be adopted:
(A) Order the assessor or department to redo or supplement the report or history in a manner the court directs;
(B) Appoint a different assessor to redo or supplement the report or history in a manner the court directs.
Sec. 3107.17. (A) All hearings held under sections 3107.01 to 3107.19 of the Revised Code shall be held in closed court without the admittance of any person other than essential officers of the court, the parties, the witnesses of the parties, counsel, persons who have not previously consented to an adoption but who are required to consent, and representatives of the agencies present to perform their official duties.
(B)(1) Except as provided in divisions (B)(2) and (D) of this
section, sections 3107.38 and 3107.381, and sections 3107.39 to
3107.44 and 3107.60 to 3107.68 of the Revised Code, no person or
governmental entity shall knowingly reveal any information
contained in a paper, book, or record pertaining to an adoption
that is part of the permanent record of a court or maintained by
the department of job and family services, an agency, or attorney
without the consent of a court.
(2) An agency or attorney may examine the agency's or attorney's own papers, books, and records pertaining to an adoption without a court's consent for official administrative purposes. The department of job and family services may examine its own papers, books, and records pertaining to an adoption, or such papers, books, and records of an agency, without a court's consent for official administrative, certification, and eligibility determination purposes.
(C) The petition, the interlocutory order, the final decree of adoption, and other adoption proceedings shall be recorded in a book kept for such purposes and shall be separately indexed. The book shall be a part of the records of the court, and all consents, affidavits, and other papers shall be properly filed.
(D) All forms that pertain to the social or medical histories
of the biological parents of an adopted person and that were
completed pursuant to section 3107.09 or, 3107.091, or 3107.393 of
the Revised Code shall be filed only in the permanent record kept
by the court. During the minority of the adopted person, only the
adoptive parents of the person may inspect the forms. When an
adopted person reaches majority, only the adopted person may
inspect the forms. Under the circumstances described in this
division, an adopted person or the adoptive parents are entitled
to inspect the forms upon requesting the clerk of the court to
produce them.
(E)(1) The department of job and family services shall
prescribe a form that permits any person who is authorized by
division (D) of this section to inspect forms that pertain to the
social or medical histories of the biological parents and that
were completed pursuant to section 3107.09 or, 3107.091, or
3107.393 of the Revised Code to request notice if any correction
or expansion of either such history, made pursuant to division (D)
of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code, is made a part of the
permanent record kept by the court. The form shall be designed to
facilitate the provision of the information and statements
described in division (E)(3) of this section. The department shall
provide copies of the form to each court. A court shall provide a
copy of the request form to each adoptive parent when a final
decree of adoption is entered and shall explain to each adoptive
parent at that time that an adoptive parent who completes and
files the form will be notified of any correction or expansion of
either the social or medical history of the biological parents of
the adopted person made during the minority of the adopted person
that is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, and
that, during the adopted person's minority, the adopted person may
inspect the forms that pertain to those histories. Upon request,
the court also shall provide a copy of the request form to any
adoptive parent during the minority of the adopted person and to
an adopted person who has reached the age of majority.
(2) Any person who is authorized to inspect forms pursuant to division (D) of this section who wishes to be notified of corrections or expansions pursuant to division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code that are made a part of the permanent record kept by the court shall file with the court, on a copy of the form prescribed by the department of job and family services pursuant to division (E)(1) of this section, a request for such notification that contains the information and statements required by division (E)(3) of this section. A request may be filed at any time if the person who files the request is authorized at that time to inspect forms that pertain to the social or medical histories.
(3) A request for notification as described in division (E)(2) of this section shall contain all of the following information:
(a) The adopted person's name and mailing address at that time;
(b) The name of each adoptive parent, and if the adoptive person is a minor at the time of the filing of the request, the mailing address of each adoptive parent at that time;
(c) The adopted person's date of birth;
(d) The date of entry of the final decree of adoption;
(e) A statement requesting the court to notify the person who files the request, at the address provided in the request, if any correction or expansion of either the social or medical history of the biological parents is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court;
(f) A statement that the person who files the request is authorized, at the time of the filing, to inspect the forms that pertain to the social and medical histories of the biological parents;
(g) The signature of the person who files the request.
(4) Upon the filing of a request for notification in accordance with division (E)(2) of this section, the clerk of the court in which it is filed immediately shall insert the request in the permanent record of the case. A person who has filed the request and who wishes to update it with respect to a new mailing address may inform the court in writing of the new address. Upon its receipt, the court promptly shall insert the new address into the permanent record by attaching it to the request. Thereafter, any notification described in this division shall be sent to the new address.
(5) Whenever a social or medical history of a biological parent is corrected or expanded and the correction or expansion is made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, the court shall ascertain whether a request for notification has been filed in accordance with division (E)(2) of this section. If such a request has been filed, the court shall determine whether, at that time, the person who filed the request is authorized, under division (D) of this section, to inspect the forms that pertain to the social or medical history of the biological parents. If the court determines that the person who filed the request is so authorized, it immediately shall notify the person that the social or medical history has been corrected or expanded, that it has been made a part of the permanent record kept by the court, and that the forms that pertain to the records may be inspected in accordance with division (D) of this section.
Sec. 3107.171. (A) As used in this section, "adoption file" means a file maintained by the department of health under sections 3107.12 to 3107.124 of the Revised Code.
(B) An adopted person may request that the department of health disclose to the adopted person which court entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption regarding the adopted person if the adopted person seeks to do either or both of the following:
(1) Inspect, pursuant to division (D) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code, a social and medical history form of a biological parent of the adopted person;
(2) Submit, pursuant to division (E) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code, a request for notification of a correction or expansion of a social and medical history of a biological parent of the adopted person.
(C) On receipt of a request made under division (B) of this section and if the adopted person is entitled to inspect the biological parent's social and medical history form and submit the request for notification of a correction or expansion of the biological parent's social and medical history, the department shall inspect the adoption file to determine which court entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption. If the department is able to determine from the adoption file which court entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption, the department shall disclose the court to the adopted person.
Sec. 3107.18. (A) Except when giving effect to such a decree would violate the public policy of this state, a court decree terminating the relationship of parent and child, or establishing the relationship by adoption, issued pursuant to due process of law by a court of any jurisdiction outside this state, whether within or outside the United States, shall be recognized in this state, and the rights and obligations of the parties as to all matters within the jurisdiction of this state, including, without limitation, those matters specified in section 3107.15 of the Revised Code, shall be determined as though the decree were issued by a court of this state. A decree or certificate of adoption that is issued under the laws of a foreign country and that is verified and approved by the immigration and naturalization service of the United States shall be recognized in this state. Nothing in this section prohibits a court from issuing a final decree of adoption or interlocutory order of adoption pursuant to section 3107.14 of the Revised Code for a person the petitioner has adopted pursuant to a decree or certificate of adoption recognized in this state that was issued outside the United States.
(B) If a child born in a foreign country is placed with adoptive parents or an adoptive parent in this state for the purpose of adoption and if the adoption previously has been finalized in the country of the child's birth, the adoptive parent or parents may bring a petition in the probate court in their county of residence requesting that the court issue a final decree of adoption or an interlocutory order of adoption pursuant to section 3107.14 of the Revised Code. In a proceeding on the petition, proof of finalization of the adoption outside the United States is prima-facie evidence of the consent of the parties who are required to give consent even if the foreign decree or certificate of adoption was issued with respect to only one of two adoptive parents who seek to adopt the child in this state.
(C) At the request of a person who has adopted a person
pursuant to a decree or certificate of adoption recognized in this
state that was issued outside the United States, the court of the
county in which the person making the request resides shall order
the department of health to issue a foreign birth record for the
adopted person under division (A)(4) of section 3705.12 3705.122
of the Revised Code. The court may specify a change of name for
the child and, if a physician has recommended a revision of the
birth date, a revised birth date. The court shall send to the
department with its order a copy of the foreign adoption decree or
certificate of adoption and, if the foreign decree or certificate
of adoption is not in English, a translation certified as to its
accuracy by the translator and provided by the person who
requested the order.
Sec. 3107.19. If the adopted person was born in this state or outside the United States, the court shall forward all of the following to the department of health within thirty days after an adoption decree becomes final:
(A) A copy of the adopted person's certificate of adoption;
(B) The form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, if a parent filled out and signed the form pursuant to section 3107.071, 3107.081, or 5103.151 of the Revised Code;
(C) A statement of whether the adopted person is an adopted
person as defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 or 3107.45 of the
Revised Code.
If the adopted person was born in another state of the United States, the court shall forward a copy of the adopted person's certificate of adoption to that state's vital statistics office within thirty days after an adoption decree becomes final.
Sec. 3107.38. (A) As used in this section sections 3107.38
to 3107.394 of the Revised Code:
(1) "Adopted person" means a person who was adopted but is not an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code.
(2) "Adoption file" means the a file maintained by the
department of health under section sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of
the Revised Code.
(2)(3) "Biological parent" means a parent, by birth, of a
person who is, or is to become, an adopted person.
(4) "Biological parent's name redaction request form" means the form prescribed under section 3107.391 of the Revised Code.
(5) "Biological sibling" means a sibling, by birth, of a person who is, or is to become, an adopted person.
(6) "Contact preference form" means the form prescribed under section 3107.39 of the Revised Code.
(7) "File of releases" means the filing system for releases that former section 3107.40 of the Revised Code, as repealed by Sub. S.B. 23 of the 130th general assembly, required the department of health to maintain.
(8) "Items of identification" include a motor vehicle driver's or commercial driver's license, an identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code, a marriage application, a social security card, a credit card, a military identification card, or an employee identification card.
(9) "Lineal descendant of an adopted person" means a person who by reason of blood or adoption is a lineal descendant of an adopted person.
(10) "Offspring" means a child, by birth, of a person.
(11) "Release" means both of the following:
(a) A release filed by a biological parent or biological sibling pursuant to former section 3107.40 of the Revised Code, as repealed by Sub. S.B. 23 of the 130th general assembly, that authorized the release of identifying information to the biological parent's offspring or the release of specified information to the biological sibling's adopted sibling pursuant to former section 3107.41 of the Revised Code, as repealed by Sub. S.B. 23 of the 130th general assembly;
(b) A withdrawal of release filed by a biological parent or biological sibling pursuant to former section 3107.40 of the Revised Code, as repealed by Sub. S.B. 23 of the 130th general assembly.
(B) An Subject to division (C) of this section, an adopted
person whose birth occurred in this state and whose adoption was
decreed prior to January 1, 1964, or lineal descendant of an
adopted person may do either or both of the following:
(1) Submit submit a written request to the department of
health for the department to provide the adopted person or lineal
descendant of an adopted person with a copy of the contents of the
adopted person's adoption file. The request shall provide the
adopted person's requester's address, and notarized signature, and
be accompanied by two items of identification of the adopted
person requester. If the adopted person submits such requester is
a lineal descendant of an adopted person, the request shall also
provide notarized documentation evidencing the requester's
relationship to the adopted person. On receipt of a request, and
payment of the fee required by section 3705.241 of the Revised
Code is paid, and the department has an adoption file for the
adopted person, the department shall mail to the adopted person
requester, at the address provided in the request, a copy of the
contents of the adopted person's adoption file if the department
has an adoption file, including all releases transferred to the
adoption file pursuant to section 3107.381 of the Revised Code,
for the adopted person. If the adoption file includes a biological
parent's name redaction request form from a biological parent, the
department shall redact the biological parent's name from the copy
of the contents of the adoption file that is mailed to the
requester. If the department removes the biological parent's name
redaction request form from the adoption file pursuant to division
(D) of section 3107.391 of the Revised Code after the department
mails the copy of the contents of the adoption file to the
requester, the department shall mail to the requester another copy
of the contents with the biological parent's name included.
(2) File a petition pursuant to section 3107.41 of the
Revised Code for the release of information regarding the adopted
person's name by birth and the identity of the adopted person's
biological parent and biological sibling.
(C) An adopted person or lineal descendant of an adopted person may not submit a request under this section until the adopted person or lineal descendant is at least eighteen years of age.
Sec. 3107.381. If the file of releases contains one or more releases that pertain to an adopted person and the department of health has an adoption file for the adopted person, the department shall transfer all of the releases pertaining to the adopted person, including releases for which withdrawals of releases were filed, to the adopted person's adoption file.
An adopted person or lineal descendant of an adopted person who obtains the contents of the adopted person's adoption file pursuant to section 3107.38 of the Revised Code may use the releases, along with any contact preference forms placed in the adoption file pursuant to section 3107.39 of the Revised Code, in determining whether and how to contact a biological parent or biological sibling. Releases are advisory only and therefore unenforceable.
Sec. 3107.39. (A) The department of job and family services shall prescribe a contact preference form for biological parents. The form shall include all of the following:
(1) A component in which a biological parent is to indicate one of the following regarding a person who receives, under section 3107.38 of the Revised Code, a copy of the contents of the adoption file of the parent's offspring:
(a) That the biological parent welcomes the person to contact the parent directly;
(b) That the biological parent prefers that the person contact the parent through an intermediary who the parent specifies on the form;
(c) That the biological parent prefers that the person not contact the parent directly or through an intermediary.
(2) Provisions necessary for the department of health to be able to identify the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains;
(3) The following notices:
(a) If a social and medical history for the biological parent was not previously prepared or such a history was prepared but should be corrected or expanded, that the biological parent is encouraged to do the following as appropriate:
(i) Complete a social and medical history form in accordance with section 3107.091 or 3107.393 of the Revised Code;
(ii) Correct or expand the biological parent's social and medical history in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code.
(b) That a biological parent's preference regarding contact as indicated on a completed contact preference form is advisory only and therefore unenforceable;
(c) That the biological parent may change the parent's indicated preference regarding contact by filing a new contact preference form with the department of health.
(4) A space in which the biological parent indicates whether one or more of the following apply:
(a) The biological parent knows that a social and medical history was prepared for the biological parent pursuant to section 3107.09 of the Revised Code;
(b) The biological parent completed a social and medical history form in accordance with section 3107.091 or 3107.393 of the Revised Code;
(c) The biological parent corrected or expanded the biological parent's social and medical history in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code.
(5) A notice of both of the following:
(a) That an adopted person may do either or both of the following:
(i) Inspect, pursuant to division (D) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code, a social and medical history form of a biological parent of the adopted person maintained by the court that entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption regarding the adopted person;
(ii) Submit to that court, pursuant to division (E) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code, a request for notification of a correction or expansion of a social and medical history of a biological parent of the adopted person.
(b) That an adopted person who does not know which court entered the interlocutory order or final decree of adoption regarding the adopted person may seek assistance from the department of health in accordance with section 3107.171 of the Revised Code.
(B) The department of job and family services shall make the contact preference form prescribed under this section available to the department of health.
(C) The department of health shall make a contact preference form available to a biological parent on request. The department of health may accept a completed contact preference form from a biological parent only if the parent provides it two items of identification of the parent. If the department of health determines that it may accept a completed contact preference form, it shall accept the form. As soon as the department identifies the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains, it shall place the form in that file. If there is a previously completed contact preference form from the biological parent in the adopted person's adoption file, the department of health shall replace the parent's older form with the parent's new form.
(D) Subject to division (C) of this section, a biological parent may file a completed contact preference form with the department of health to change the parent's indicated preference regarding contact as many times as the parent wishes.
Sec. 3107.391. (A) The department of job and family services shall prescribe a biological parent's name redaction request form. The form shall include all of the following:
(1) Information about the procedures and requirements for a biological parent to do either of the following:
(a) Have the form placed in the adoption file of the biological parent's offspring so that the biological parent's name is redacted from a copy of the contents of the adoption file that a person receives under section 3107.38 of the Revised Code;
(b) Have the form removed from the adoption file if the biological parent later decides to permit the biological parent's name to be included in a copy of the contents of the adoption file that a person receives under section 3107.38 of the Revised Code.
(2) Provisions necessary for the department of health to be able to identify the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains;
(3) A place for the biological parent to attest that the biological parent is the biological parent of the adopted person to whom the form pertains.
(B) The department of job and family services shall make the biological parent's name redaction request form available to the department of health.
(C)(1) Until one year after the effective date of this section, the department of health shall make a biological parent's name redaction request form available to a biological parent on request. The department may accept a completed biological parent's name redaction request form only if all of the following apply:
(a) The form is submitted to the department not later than one year after the effective date of this section.
(b) The form has been notarized.
(c) The biological parent provides the department two items of identification of the biological parent.
(d) If a social and medical history for the biological parent was not previously prepared or such a history was prepared but should be corrected or expanded, the biological parent does the following as appropriate:
(i) Completes a social and medical history form in accordance with section 3107.091 or 3107.393 of the Revised Code;
(ii) Corrects or expands the biological parent's social and medical history in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code.
(e) The department is satisfied that the form has been substantially completed.
(2) If the department determines that it may accept the biological parent's name redaction request form, it shall accept the form. As soon as the department identifies the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains, it shall place the form in that file.
(D)(1) A biological parent who has a biological parent's name redaction request form accepted under division (C) of this section may request at any time that the department remove the form from the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains. The department shall remove the form from the adoption file if the biological parent provides the department all of the following:
(a) Two items of identification of the biological parent;
(b) Information the department needs to be able to identify the adoption file of the adopted person to whom the form pertains;
(c) A notarized attestation that the biological parent is the biological parent of the adopted person to whom the form pertains.
(2) When the department removes a biological parent's name redaction request form from an adoption file under division (D)(1) of this section, the department shall destroy the form.
Sec. 3107.392. The department of health shall include on its web site information about biological parent's name redaction request forms. All of the following information shall be provided:
(A) The purpose of the form;
(B) The procedures to be followed and requirements to be met for the department to accept the form;
(C) The date when biological parents may begin to file the form with the department;
(D) The date when the form may no longer be filed with the department;
(E) The procedures to be followed and requirements to be met for having the form removed from an adopted person's adoption file;
(F) Any other information the department considers necessary.
Sec. 3107.393. The department of health shall attach a social and medical history form prescribed under section 3107.09 of the Revised Code to each contact preference form and biological parent's name redaction request form it makes available to a biological parent pursuant to section 3107.39 or 3107.391 of the Revised Code. A biological parent for whom such a form was not completed in accordance with section 3107.09 of the Revised Code may complete the form. In completing the form, the biological parent may include information described in division (C) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code. The biological parent shall return the form to the department after completing it to the extent that the biological parent chooses to provide information.
Access to a social and medical history form completed under this section shall be granted in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.17 of the Revised Code.
A biological parent who completes a social and medical history form under this section may correct or expand information included on the form in accordance with division (D) of section 3107.09 of the Revised Code.
This section does not preclude a biological parent from completing a social and medical history in accordance with section 3107.091 of the Revised Code instead of this section.
Sec. 3107.394. (A) The department of health shall establish a system by which an adopted person or lineal descendant of an adopted person may request that the department mail to the adopted person's biological parent a question that the adopted person or lineal descendant has about the biological parent's medical history if both of the following apply:
(1) The adopted person or lineal descendant received a copy of the contents of the adopted person's adoption file under section 3107.38 of the Revised Code with the biological parent's name redacted.
(2) The adopted person's adoption file continues to contain a biological parent's name redaction request form for the biological parent at the time the adopted person or lineal descendant makes the request to the department.
(B) The department shall mail to a biological parent a question it receives from an adopted person or lineal descendant of an adopted person under division (A) of this section if all of the following apply:
(1) The adopted person or lineal descendant provides the department information needed for the department to find the adopted person's adoption file.
(2) The department has the biological parent's mailing address.
(3) The adopted person or lineal descendant complies with all of the department's requirements for accepting the question.
(C) A biological parent who receives a question under division (B) of this section may provide an answer to the department. If the department receives the biological parent's answer, it shall forward the answer to the adopted person or lineal descendant who asked the question.
Sec. 3107.45. As used in sections 3107.45 to 3107.53 of the Revised Code:
(A) "Adopted person" means a person who, as a minor, was
adopted but is not an "adopted person" as defined in section
3107.39 of the Revised Code and who, on or after September 18,
1996, became available or potentially available for adoption. For
the purpose of this division, a person was available or
potentially available for adoption on or after September 18, 1996,
if, on or after that date, either of the following occurred:
(1) At least one of the person's birth parents executed consent to the person's adoption.
(2) A probate court entered a finding that the consent of at least one of the person's birth parents to the person's adoption was not needed as determined pursuant to section 3107.07 of the Revised Code.
(B) "Adoption file" means the file maintained by the
department of health under section sections 3705.12 to 3705.124 of
the Revised Code.
(C) "Adoptive parent" means a person who adopted an adopted person.
(D) "Authorization of release form" means the form prescribed under division (A)(2) of section 3107.50 of the Revised Code.
(E) "Birth parent" means the biological parent of an adopted person.
(F) "Birth sibling" means a biological sibling of an adopted person.
(G) "Denial of release form" means either of the following:
(1) The component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 if the birth parent checked the "no" space provided on that component.
(2) The form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.50 of the Revised Code.
(H) "Effective denial of release form" means a denial of release form that has not been rescinded by an authorization of release form pursuant to division (B) of section 3107.46 of the Revised Code.
(I) "Final decree of adoption" includes an interlocutory order of adoption that has become final.
(J) "Identifying information" has the same meaning as in section 3107.01 of the Revised Code.
(K) "Items of identification" include a motor vehicle driver's or commercial driver's license, an identification card issued under sections 4507.50 to 4507.52 of the Revised Code, a marriage application, a social security card, a credit card, a military identification card, or an employee identification card.
Sec. 3107.66. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Adopted person" includes both an "adopted person" as
defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 of the Revised Code and an
"adopted person" as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised
Code.
(2) "Adoptive parent" means a person who adopted an adopted person.
(3) "Birth parent" means the biological parent of an adopted person.
(4) "Birth sibling" means a biological sibling of an adopted person.
(B) An adopted person age eighteen or older, an adoptive parent of an adopted person under age eighteen, or an adoptive family member of a deceased adopted person may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person's adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adopted person's adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member information about the adopted person's birth parent or birth sibling contained in the agency's, attorney's, or court's adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the adopted person, adoptive parent, or adoptive family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.
A birth parent of an adopted person eighteen years of age or older, a birth sibling age eighteen or older, or a birth family member of a deceased birth parent may submit a written request to the agency or attorney who arranged the adopted person's adoption, or the probate court that finalized the adoption, for the agency, attorney, or court to provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member information about the adopted person or adoptive parent contained in the agency's, attorney's, or court's adoption records that is nonidentifying information. Except as provided in division (C) of this section, the agency, attorney, or court shall provide the birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member the information sought within a reasonable amount of time. The agency, attorney, or court may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.
(C) An agency or attorney that has permanently ceased to arrange adoptions is not subject to division (B) of this section. If the adoption records of such an agency or attorney are held by a probate court, person, or other governmental entity pursuant to section 3107.67 of the Revised Code, the adopted person, adoptive parent, adoptive family member, birth parent, birth sibling, or birth family member may submit the written request that otherwise would be submitted to the agency or attorney under division (B) of this section to the court, person, or other governmental entity that holds the records. On receipt of the request, the court, person, or other governmental entity shall provide the information that the agency or attorney would have been required to provide within a reasonable amount of time. The court, person, or other governmental entity may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.
(D) Prior to providing nonidentifying information pursuant to division (B) or (C) of this section, the person or governmental entity providing the information shall review the record to ensure that all identifying information about any person contained in the record is deleted.
(E) An agency, attorney, person, or other governmental entity may classify any information described in division (B)(2) of section 3107.60 of the Revised Code as identifying information and deny the request made under division (B) or (C) of this section if the agency, attorney, court, person, or other governmental entity determines that the information could lead to the identification of the adoptive parent. This determination shall be done on a case-by-case basis.
Sec. 3705.07. (A) The local registrar of vital statistics
shall number consecutively the birth, fetal death, and death
certificates in three separate series, beginning with "number one"
for the first birth, the first fetal death, and the first death
registered in each calendar year. Such local registrar shall sign
the local registrar's name in attest to the date of filing in the
local office. The local registrar shall make a complete and
accurate copy of each birth, fetal death, and death certificate
registered. Each copy shall be filed and permanently preserved as
the local record of such birth, fetal death, or death except as
provided in sections 3705.09 and, 3705.12, and 3705.124 of the
Revised Code. The local record may be a typewritten, photographic,
electronic, or other reproduction. On or before the tenth day of
each month, the local registrar shall transmit to the state office
of vital statistics all original birth, fetal death, death, and
military service certificates received, and all social security
numbers obtained under section 3705.09, 3705.10, or 3705.16 of the
Revised Code, during the preceding month. The local registrar
shall immediately notify the health commissioner with jurisdiction
in the registration district of the receipt of a death certificate
attesting that death resulted from a communicable disease.
The office of vital statistics shall carefully examine the records and certificates received from local registrars of vital statistics and shall secure any further information that may be necessary to make each record and certificate complete and satisfactory. It shall arrange and preserve the records and certificates, or reproductions of them produced pursuant to section 3705.03 of the Revised Code, in a systematic manner and shall maintain a permanent index of all births, fetal deaths, and deaths registered, which shall show the name of the child or deceased person, place and date of birth or death, number of the record or certificate, and the volume in which it is contained.
(B)(1) The office of vital statistics shall make available to the division of child support in the department of job and family services all social security numbers that were furnished to a local registrar of vital statistics under division (I) of section 3705.09 or under section 3705.10 or 3705.16 of the Revised Code and that were transmitted to the office under division (A) of this section.
(2) The office of vital statistics also shall make available to the division of child support in the department of job and family services any other information recorded in the birth record that may enable the division to use the social security numbers provided under division (B)(1) of this section to obtain the location of the father of the child whose birth certificate was accompanied by the social security number or to otherwise enforce a child support order pertaining to that child or any other child.
Sec. 3705.08. (A) The director of health, by rule, shall prescribe the form of records and certificates required by this chapter. Records and certificates shall include the items and information prescribed by the director, including the items recommended by the national center for health statistics of the United States department of health and human services, subject to approval of and modification by the director.
(B) All birth certificates shall include a statement setting forth the names of the child's parents and a line for the mother's and the father's signature.
(C) All death certificates shall include, in the medical certification portion of the certificate, a space to indicate, if the deceased individual is female and the manner of death is determined to be a suspicious or violent death, whether any of the following conditions apply to the individual:
(1) Not pregnant within the past year;
(2) Pregnant at the time of death;
(3) Not pregnant, but had been pregnant within forty-two days prior to the time of death;
(4) Not pregnant, but had been pregnant within forty-three days to one year prior to the time of death;
(5) Unknown whether pregnant within the past year.
(D)(1) The director shall prescribe methods, forms, and blanks and shall furnish necessary postage, forms, and blanks for obtaining registration of births, deaths, and other vital statistics in each registration district, and for preserving the records of the office of vital statistics, and no forms or blanks shall be used other than those prescribed by the director.
(2) All birth, fetal death, and death records and
certificates shall be printed legibly or typewritten in unfading
black ink and signed. Except as provided in division (G) of
section 3705.09,
division (A) of section 3705.12, 3705.121,
3705.122, or 3705.124, division (D) of section 3705.15, or section
3705.16 of the Revised Code, a signature required on a birth,
fetal death, or death certificate shall be written by the person
required to sign and a facsimile signature shall not be used.
(3) All vital records shall contain the date received for registration.
(4) Information required in certificates, records, or reports authorized by this chapter may be filed and registered by photographic, electronic, or other means as prescribed by the director.
Sec. 3705.12. (A)(1) the probate judge's Upon receipt of
the items sent by a probate court pursuant to section 3107.19 of
the Revised Code concerning the adoption of a child born in this
state whose adoption was decreed on or after January 1, 1964, the
department of health shall issue, unless otherwise requested by
the adoptive parents, a new birth record using the child's adopted
name and the names of and data concerning the adoptive parents.
The new birth record shall have the same overall appearance as the
record that would have been issued under section 3705.09 of the
Revised Code if the adopted child had been born to the adoptive
parents. Where handwriting is required to effect that appearance,
the department shall supply the handwriting.
(2) Upon the issuance of the new birth record, the original
birth record shall cease to be a public record. The index
references to the original birth record, including references that
were not a public record under this section as it existed prior to
the effective date of this amendment, are a public record under
section 149.43 of the Revised Code. The department shall place the
original birth record and the items sent by the probate court
pursuant to section 3107.19 of the Revised Code in an adoption
file and seal the file. The contents of the adoption file are not
a public record and shall not be open to inspection, be copied, or
be available for copying, except as follows:
(a) The department shall copy and provide an agency with a
copy of the original birth record upon the presentation by the
agency, by mail or in another reasonable manner, of a certified
copy of an order issued by a probate judge under section 3107.41
of the Revised Code only in accordance with section 3705.126 of
the Revised Code. For the purposes of sections 149.43 and 1347.08
of the Revised Code, the contents of the adoption file include any
contact preference form, biological parent's name redaction
request form, or social and medical history accepted and
maintained by the department.
(b) The department shall inspect the file to determine the
court involved for the purpose of division (D) of section 3107.09
or section 3107.091 or provide the name of that court to an agency
under the circumstances described in division (B)(2)(b) of section
3107.41 of the Revised Code.
(c) The department shall make the file's contents available
to an adopted person or adoptive parent in accordance with section
3107.47 of the Revised Code.
(d) The department shall inspect the file to assist a birth
parent or birth sibling in finding the adopted person's name by
adoption in accordance with section 3107.49 of the Revised Code.
(e) The department shall open the file to file a denial of
release form under division (A) of section 3107.46 of the Revised
Code or an authorization of release form under division (B) of
that section.
(f) The department shall open the file to file a request from
an adopted person under division (A) of section 3107.48 of the
Revised Code or to remove and destroy the request pursuant to
division (B) of that section.
(g) The court that decreed the adoption may order that the
contents be made open for inspection or available for copying.
(3) The department of health shall promptly forward a copy of
the new birth record to the local registrar of vital statistics of
the district in which the birth occurred. The local registrar
shall file a copy of the new birth record along with and in the
same manner as the other copies of birth records in the
registrar's possession of the local registrar. All copies of the
original birth record and all other papers, documents, and index
references pertaining to the original birth record in the
possession of the local registrar or the probate court shall be
destroyed, except that the probate court shall retain permanently
in the file of the adoption proceedings information that is
necessary to enable the court to identify both the child's
original birth record and the child's new birth record.
(4) On receipt of the items sent by a probate court pursuant
to section 3107.19 of the Revised Code concerning the adoption of
a person born in a foreign country, the department of health shall
issue a "foreign birth record" unless the adoptive parents or
adopted person over eighteen years of age requests that such
record not be issued.
On receipt of an order issued under section 3107.18 of the
Revised Code, the department of health shall issue a foreign birth
record.
A foreign birth record shall be the same in all respects as a
birth record issued under division (A)(1) of this section, except
that it shall show the actual country of birth. After registration
of the birth record in the new name of the adopted person, the
department shall place the items sent by the probate court in an
adoption file and seal the file. The contents of the file shall
not be open to inspection, be copied, or be available for copying,
except as follows:
(a) The department shall copy and provide an agency with a
copy of the original birth record if available, upon presentation
by the agency by mail or in another reasonable manner of a
certified copy of an order issued by a probate judge under section
3107.41 of the Revised Code.
(b) The department shall inspect the envelope to determine
the court involved in an adoption for the purpose of division (D)
of section 3107.09 or section 3107.091 or provide the name of that
court to an agency under the circumstances described in division
(B)(2)(b) of section 3107.41 of the Revised Code.
(c) The department shall make the file's contents available
to an adopted person or adoptive parent in accordance with section
3107.47 of the Revised Code.
(d) The department shall inspect the file to examine the
adoption certificate and to assist a birth parent or birth sibling
in finding the adopted person's name by adoption in accordance
with section 3107.49 of the Revised Code.
(e) The department shall open the file to file a denial of
release form under division (A) of section 3107.46 of the Revised
Code or an authorization of release form under division (B) of
that section.
(f) The department shall open the file to file a request from
an adopted person under division (A) of section 3107.48 of the
Revised Code or to remove and destroy the request pursuant to
division (B) of that section.
(g) The court that decreed the adoption may order that the
contents of the envelope be made open for inspection or available
for copying.
(5) A new birth record or foreign birth record, and any
certified or exact copy of the new birth record or foreign birth
record, when properly authenticated by a duly authorized person,
shall be prima-facie evidence in all courts and places of the
facts stated in the new birth record.
(B) When the adoption of a child whose birth occurred in this
state is decreed by a court in another state and when the
department of health has received, from the court that decreed the
adoption, an official communication containing information similar
to that contained in the certificate of adoption for adoptions
decreed in this state, division (A) of this section shall apply to
the child's case just as if the adoption had taken place in this
state. The department shall place the original birth record and
all papers and documents in its possession that pertain to the
original birth record or to the adoption of the child in an
adoption file and seal the file. Index references to the original
birth record, including references that were not a public record
under this section as it existed prior to the effective date of
this amendment, are a public record under section 149.43 of the
Revised Code. The contents of the file shall be open to inspection
and be copied or available for copying, and a copy of an original
birth record shall be provided, only as authorized by division (A)
of this section for adoptions decreed in this state.
(C)(1) No original birth record of any person whose birth
occurred in this state and whose adoption was decreed prior to
January 1, 1964, no birth record in the adopted name of any person
whose birth occurred in this state and whose adoption was decreed
prior to January 1, 1964, and no papers or documents that pertain
to either such type of birth record or to the adoption of any such
person shall be sealed on or after March 19, 1985.
(2) Original birth records of persons whose births occurred
in this state and whose adoptions were decreed prior to January 1,
1964, and papers and documents that pertain to original birth
records or to the adoptions of such persons, that are in the
possession of the department of health, and that were sealed
pursuant to division (C) of this section as it existed prior to
March 19, 1985, or that were mistakenly or otherwise sealed, shall
be open to inspection by and either shall be copied or made
available for copying by, the adopting parents, the adopted
person, or any lineal descendant of the adopted person, upon
request. In all other cases, such an original birth record and
such papers shall not be open to inspection, be copied, or be
available for copying, except as follows:
(a) The department shall copy and provide an agency with a
copy of the original birth record upon the presentation by the
agency, by mail or in another reasonable manner, of a certified
copy of an order issued by a probate judge under section 3107.41
of the Revised Code.
(b) The department shall inspect the file to determine the
court involved in an adoption for the purpose of division (D) of
section 3107.09 or section 3107.091 or provide the name of that
court to an agency under the circumstances described in division
(B)(2)(b) of section 3107.41 of the Revised Code.
(c) The department shall provide an adopted person a copy of
the contents of the adoption file pursuant to division (B)(1) of
section 3107.38 of the Revised Code.
(d) The court that decreed the adoption may order that the
contents be made open for inspection or available for copying.
(3) Birth records in the adopted names of persons whose
births occurred in this state and whose adoptions were decreed
prior to January 1, 1964, and papers and documents that pertain to
such birth records or to the adoptions of such persons, that are
in the possession of the department, and that were sealed pursuant
to division (D) of this section as it existed prior to March 19,
1985, shall be open to inspection by, and either shall be copied
for or made available for copying by, the adopting parents, the
adopted person, or any lineal descendant of the adopted person,
upon request. In all other cases, such birth records and such
papers and documents shall not be open to inspection, be copied,
or be available for copying, except that the court that decreed
the adoption may order that the contents be made open for
inspection or available for copying.
(D) An adopted person whose birth occurred in this state,
whose adoption was decreed prior to January 1, 1964, who did not
have a new or reissued birth record in the adopted person's
adopted name prepared pursuant to division (C) or (D) of this
section as those divisions existed prior to March 19, 1985, and
whose adoption is in full force and effect, may apply to the
department of health at any time for the preparation of a new
birth record in the person's adopted name. Upon receipt of such an
application, the department shall prepare a new birth record in
the person's name, in accordance with, and in the form described
in, division (A)(1) of this section. Upon the preparation of a
birth record in that form, the original birth record of the
applicant or the birth record issued in the adopted name of the
applicant prior to January 1, 1964, that is being replaced,
whichever is applicable, shall cease to be a public record;
however, the department shall maintain that birth record and
papers and documents that pertain to it or to the adoption of the
applicant and upon request, the adoptive parents of the applicant,
the applicant, or any lineal descendant of the applicant may
inspect that birth record and those papers and records at all
reasonable times and may copy it or any of them or obtain a copy
of it or any of them at cost from the department. A birth record
in an applicant's adopted name prepared by the department under
this division, and any certified or exact copy of it that is
properly authenticated by a duly authorized person, is prima-facie
evidence in all courts and places of the facts stated in it.
The department promptly shall forward a copy of a birth
record in an applicant's adopted name that is prepared under this
division to the local registrar of vital statistics of the
district in which the applicant's birth occurred. The local
registrar shall file the copy along with, and in the same manner
as, the other copies of birth records in the registrar's
possession. All copies of the applicant's original birth record or
the birth record issued in the applicant's adopted name prior to
January 1, 1964, that is being replaced, and all other papers,
documents, and index references pertaining to it that are in the
possession of the local registrar or a probate court shall be
destroyed, except that the probate court shall retain permanently
in the file of adoption proceedings information that is necessary
to enable the court to identify both the applicant's original
birth record or birth record issued in the applicant's adopted
name prior to January 1, 1964, that is being replaced, and the new
birth record in the applicant's adopted name that is prepared
pursuant to this division in accordance with, and in the form
described in, division (A)(1) of this section.
Sec. 3705.121. When the adoption of a child whose birth occurred in this state is decreed by a court in another state and when the department of health has received, from the court that decreed the adoption, an official communication containing information similar to that contained in the certificate of adoption for adoptions decreed in this state, section 3705.12 of the Revised Code shall apply to the child's case just as if the adoption had taken place in this state. The department shall place the original birth record and all papers and documents in its possession that pertain to the original birth record or to the adoption of the child in an adoption file and seal the file. The contents of the adoption file are not a public record and shall be made available only in accordance with section 3705.126 of the Revised Code. Index references to the original birth record, including references that were not a public record under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code as that section existed before September 18, 1996, are a public record under section 149.43 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3705.122. (A) The department of health shall issue a foreign birth record as follows:
(1) On receipt of the items sent by a probate court pursuant to section 3107.19 of the Revised Code concerning the adoption of a person born in a foreign country, unless the adoptive parents or adopted person over eighteen years of age requests that such record not be issued;
(2) On receipt of an order issued under section 3107.18 of the Revised Code.
(B) A foreign birth record shall be the same in all respects as a birth record issued under section 3705.12 of the Revised Code, except that it shall show the actual country of birth. After registration of the birth record in the new name of the adopted person, the department shall place the items sent by the probate court in an adoption file and seal the file. The contents of the adoption file are not a public record and shall be made available only in accordance with section 3705.126 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3705.123. No original birth record of any person whose birth occurred in this state and whose adoption was decreed before January 1, 1964, no birth record in the adopted name of any person whose birth occurred in this state and whose adoption was decreed before January 1, 1964, and no papers or documents that pertain to either such type of birth record or to the adoption of any such person shall be sealed on or after March 19, 1985. The department of health shall maintain in an adoption file all such records, papers, and documents that are in the possession of the department and were sealed pursuant to division (C) or (D) of section 3705.12 of the Revised Code as it existed before March 19, 1985, or that were mistakenly or otherwise sealed. The contents of the adoption file are not a public record and shall be made available only in accordance with section 3705.126 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3705.124. An adopted person whose birth occurred in this state, whose adoption was decreed before January 1, 1964, who did not have a new or reissued birth record in the person's adopted name prepared pursuant to division (C) or (D) of section 3705.12 of the Revised Code as those divisions existed before March 19, 1985, and whose adoption is in full force and effect, may apply to the department of health at any time for the preparation of a new birth record in the person's adopted name. On receipt of such an application, the department shall prepare a new birth record in the person's name, in accordance with, and in the form described in, section 3705.12 of the Revised Code. On preparation of the new birth record, the original birth record of the applicant or the birth record issued in the adopted name of the applicant before January 1, 1964, that is being replaced, whichever is applicable, shall cease to be a public record. The department shall maintain the birth record that ceased to be a public record and papers and documents that pertain to it or to the adoption of the applicant in an adoption file. The contents of the adoption file are not a public record and shall be made available only in accordance with section 3705.126 of the Revised Code.
The department promptly shall forward a copy of a new birth record in an applicant's adopted name that is prepared under this section to the local registrar of vital statistics of the district in which the applicant's birth occurred. The local registrar shall file the copy along with, and in the same manner as, the other copies of birth records in the registrar's possession. All copies of the applicant's original birth record or the birth record issued in the applicant's adopted name before January 1, 1964, that is being replaced, and all other papers, documents, and index references pertaining to it that are in the possession of the local registrar or a probate court shall be destroyed, except that the probate court shall retain permanently in the file of adoption proceedings information that is necessary to enable the court to identify both the applicant's original birth record or birth record issued in the applicant's adopted name before January 1, 1964, that is being replaced, and the new birth record in the applicant's adopted name that is prepared pursuant to this section.
Sec. 3705.125. A new birth record or foreign birth record, and any certified or exact copy of the new birth record or foreign birth record, when properly authenticated by a duly authorized person, shall be prima facie evidence in all courts and places of the facts stated in the new birth record or foreign birth record.
Sec. 3705.126. The department of health shall neither open an adoption file nor make its contents available except as follows:
(A) The department shall inspect the file to determine the court involved for the purpose of division (D) of section 3107.09 or section 3107.091 or 3107.171 of the Revised Code.
(B) The department shall make the file's contents available to an adopted person or lineal descendant of an adopted person in accordance with section 3107.38 of the Revised Code.
(C) The department shall open the file to transfer releases to the file in accordance with section 3107.381 of the Revised Code.
(D) The department shall open the file to file a contact preference form from a biological parent pursuant to section 3107.39 of the Revised Code and remove any previously filed contact preference form from the biological parent.
(E) The department shall open the file to file a biological parent's name redaction request form pursuant to division (C) of section 3107.391 of the Revised Code or to remove and destroy the form pursuant to division (D) of that section.
(F) The department shall open the file to file a denial of release form under division (A) of section 3107.46 of the Revised Code or an authorization of release form under division (B) of that section.
(G) The department shall make the file's contents available to an adopted person or adoptive parent in accordance with section 3107.47 of the Revised Code.
(H) The department shall open the file to file a request from an adopted person under division (A) of section 3107.48 of the Revised Code or to remove and destroy the request pursuant to division (B) of that section.
(I) The department shall inspect the file to assist a birth parent or birth sibling in finding the adopted person's name by adoption in accordance with section 3107.49 of the Revised Code.
(J) The court that decreed the adoption may order that the contents be made open for inspection or available for copying.
Sec. 3705.23. (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the director of health, the state registrar, or a local registrar, on receipt of a signed application and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, shall issue a certified copy of a vital record, or of a part of a vital record, in the director's or registrar's custody to any applicant, unless the vital record has ceased to be a public record pursuant to section 3705.09, 3705.11, 3705.12, 3705.121, 3705.122, 3705.123, 3705.124, or 3705.15 of the Revised Code. The certified copy shall show the date the vital record was registered by the local registrar.
(2) A certified copy of a vital record may be made by a mechanical, electronic, or other reproduction process. It shall be certified as a true copy by the director, state registrar, or local registrar who has custody of the record and shall include the date of issuance, the name of the issuing officer, the signature of the officer or an authorized facsimile of the signature, and the seal of the issuing office.
(3) A certified copy of a vital record or of any part of a vital record, issued in accordance with this section, shall be considered for all purposes the same as the original and shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.
(4)(a) Information contained in the "information for medical and health use only" section of a birth record shall not be included as part of a certified copy of the birth record unless the information specifically is requested by the individual to whose birth the record attests, either of the individual's parents or the individual's guardian, a lineal descendant, or an official of the federal or state government or of a political subdivision of the state charged by law with detecting or prosecuting crime.
(b) Except as provided in division (A)(4)(a) of this section, neither the office of vital statistics nor a local registrar shall disclose information contained in the "information for medical and health use only" section of a birth record unless a court, for good cause shown, orders disclosure of the information or the state registrar specifically authorizes release of the information for statistical or research purposes under conditions the state registrar, subject to the approval of the director of health, shall establish by rule.
(B)(1) Unless the applicant specifically requests a certified copy, the director, the state registrar, or a local registrar, on receipt of a signed application for a birth record and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, may issue a certification of birth, and the certification of birth shall contain at least the name, sex, date of birth, registration date, and place of birth of the person to whose birth the record attests and shall attest that the person's birth has been registered. A certification of birth shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.
(2) The director or the state registrar, on the receipt of a signed application for an heirloom certification of birth and the fee specified in section 3705.24 of the Revised Code, may issue an heirloom certification of birth. The director shall prescribe by rule guidelines for the form of an heirloom certification of birth, and the guidelines shall require the heirloom certification of birth to contain at least the name, sex, date of birth, registration date, and place of birth of the person to whose birth the record attests and to attest that the person's birth has been registered. An heirloom certification of birth shall be prima-facie evidence of the facts stated in it in all courts and places.
(3) The director or the state registrar, on the receipt of an application signed by either parent, shall issue a certificate recognizing the delivery of a stillborn infant. The director shall prescribe guidelines by rule for the form of the certificate. The guidelines shall require that the certificate contain at least the name, sex, date of delivery, and place of delivery. The director or the state registrar shall charge no fee for the certificate. A certificate recognizing the delivery of a stillborn infant is not proof of a live birth for purposes of federal, state, and local taxes.
(C) On evidence that a birth certificate was registered through misrepresentation or fraud, the state registrar may withhold the issuance of a certified copy of the birth record or a certification of birth until a court makes a determination that no misrepresentation or fraud occurred.
Sec. 3705.241. Not later than ninety days after the
effective date of this section June 30, 1996, the director of
health shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the
Revised Code establishing the fee for providing a copy of the
contents of an adoption file pursuant to sections 3107.38 and
3107.47 of the Revised Code.
The director shall deposit fees collected under this section
in the adoption records fund, which is hereby created in the state
treasury. The department shall use the money in the fund to
perform its duties under section sections 3107.38 and 3107.39 and
sections 3107.45 to 3107.53 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 3705.29. (A) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Purposely make any false statement in a certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or in an application or amendment of it, or purposely supply false information with the intent that that information be used in the preparation of any such report, record, or certificate, or amendment of it;
(2) Without lawful authority and with intent to deceive, counterfeit, alter, amend, or mutilate any certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or any certified copy of it;
(3) Purposely obtain, possess, use, sell, furnish, or attempt to obtain, possess, use, sell, or furnish to another for the purpose of deception any certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or any certified copy of it, or any certificate, record, or report that is counterfeit, altered, or amended or false in whole or part;
(4) Purposely obtain, possess, use, sell, furnish, or attempt to obtain, possess, use, sell, or furnish to another for the purpose of deception any certificate, record, or report required by this chapter, or any certified copy of it, that relates to the birth of another person, whether living or dead;
(5) Without lawful authority, possess any certificate, record, or report required by this chapter or any copy of such a certificate, record, or report, knowing it to have been stolen or otherwise unlawfully obtained.
(B) No person employed by the office of vital statistics or a local registrar shall purposely furnish or possess a birth record or certified copy of a birth record with intent that it be used for deception.
(C) No person shall do any of the following:
(1) Purposely refuse to provide information required by this chapter or rules adopted under it;
(2) Purposely transport out of this state or accept for interment or other disposition a dead body without a permit required by this chapter;
(3) Knowingly prepare, issue, sell, or give any record or certificate that is alleged to be an original vital record or a certified copy of a vital record if the person knows or has reason to know that it is not an original vital record or a certified copy of a vital record;
(4) Refuse to comply with the requirements of this chapter or violate any of the provisions of this chapter.
(D) No officer or employee of the department of health shall
knowingly reveal or provide any information contained in an
adoption file maintained by the department under section 3705.12,
3705.121, 3705.122, 3705.123, or 3705.124 of the Revised Code to
any person, or knowingly reveal or provide the contents of an
adoption file to any person, unless authorized to do so by section
3705.12 3705.126 of the Revised Code.
(E) If a death, or a fetal death of at least twenty weeks of gestation, occurs under any circumstances mentioned in section 313.12 of the Revised Code, the coroner of the county in which the death or fetal death occurs, or a deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy medical examiner serving in an equivalent capacity, shall certify the cause of that death unless the death was reported to the coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy medical examiner and that person, after a preliminary examination, declined to assert jurisdiction with respect to the death or fetal death.
(F) No physician other than the coroner in the county in which a death, or a fetal death of at least twenty weeks of gestation, occurs, or a deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy medical examiner serving in an equivalent capacity, may certify any death or fetal death that occurs under any circumstances other than natural.
(G) If a death, or a fetal death of at least twenty weeks of gestation, occurs under any circumstances mentioned in section 313.12 of the Revised Code, no person shall knowingly present a death or fetal death certificate for the purpose of obtaining certification of the cause of death to any physician other than the coroner in the county in which the death or fetal death occurred, or to a deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy medical examiner serving in an equivalent capacity, unless that death or fetal death was reported to the coroner, deputy coroner, medical examiner, or deputy medical examiner and that person, after a preliminary examination, declined to assert jurisdiction with respect to the death or fetal death.
(H) No person, with intent to defraud or knowing that the person is facilitating a fraud, shall do either of the following:
(1) Certify a cause of death in violation of the prohibition of division (E) or (F) of this section;
(2) Obtain or attempt to obtain a certification of the cause of a death or fetal death in violation of the prohibition of division (G) of this section.
Sec. 5103.151. (A) As used in this section and in section 5103.152 of the Revised Code, "identifying information" has the same meaning as in section 3107.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) Except as provided in division (C) of this section, a parent of a minor who will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code shall do all of the following as a condition of a juvenile court approving the parent's agreement with a public children services agency or private child placing agency under division (B)(1) of section 5103.15 of the Revised Code:
(1) Appear personally before the court;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) Check either the "yes" or "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code and sign that component;
(4) If the parent is the mother, complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(c) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(a), (b), and (c) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the parent may sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(d), (e), and (f) of that section. After the parent signs the components required to be signed and any discretionary components the parent chooses to sign, the parent or agency shall file the form and agreement with the court. The court or agency shall give the parent a copy of the form and agreement. The court and agency shall keep a copy of the form and agreement in the court and agency's records. The agency shall file a copy of the form and agreement with the probate court with which a petition to adopt the child who is the subject of the agreement is filed.
The juvenile court shall question the parent to determine that the parent understands the adoption process, the ramifications of entering into a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement, each component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, and that the child and adoptive parent may receive identifying information about the parent in accordance with section 3107.47 of the Revised Code unless the parent checks the "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code or has a denial of release form filed with the department of health under section 3107.46 of the Revised Code. The court also shall question the parent to determine that the parent enters into the permanent custody surrender agreement voluntarily and any decisions the parent makes in filling out the form prescribed under division (A)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code are made voluntarily.
(C) A juvenile court may approve an agreement entered into under division (B)(1) of section 5103.15 of the Revised Code between a public children services agency or private child placing agency and the parents of a child who is less than six months of age and will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in section 3107.45 of the Revised Code without the parents personally appearing before the court if both parents do all of the following:
(1) Enter into the agreement with the agency;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) Check either the "yes" or "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code and sign that component.
At the time the parents sign the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(a) and (b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code, the mother shall complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (A)(1)(c) of that section and the agency shall provide the parents the opportunity to sign, if they choose to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (A)(1)(d), (e), and (f) of that section. Not later than two business days after the parents enter into the agreements and sign the components of the form required to be signed and any discretionary components the parents choose to sign, the agency shall file the agreements and forms with the court. The agency shall give the parents a copy of the agreements and forms. At the time the agency files the agreements and forms with the court, the agency also shall file with the court all other documents the director of job and family services requires by rules adopted under division (D) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code to be filed with the court. The court and agency shall keep a copy of the agreements, forms, and documents in the court and attorney's records. The agency shall file a copy of the agreements, forms, and documents with the probate court with which a petition to adopt the child who is the subject of the agreement is filed.
(D) Except as provided in division (E) of this section, a
parent of a minor, who will be, if adopted, an adopted person as
defined in section 3107.39 3107.38 of the Revised Code, shall do
all of the following as a condition of a juvenile court approving
the parent's agreement with a public children services agency or
private child placing agency under division (B)(1) of section
5103.15 of the Revised Code:
(1) Appear personally before the court;
(2) Sign the component of the form prescribed under division
(B)(1)(a) of section 3107.081 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(3) If the parent is the mother, complete and sign the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs the components prescribed under
division divisions (B)(1)(a) and (b) of section 3107.081 3107.083
of the Revised Code, the parent may sign, if the parent chooses to
do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions
(B)(1)(c), (d), and (e) of that section. After the parent signs
the components required to be signed and any discretionary
components the parent chooses to sign, the parent or agency shall
file the form and agreement with the court. The court or agency
shall give the parent a copy of the form and agreement. The court
and agency shall keep a copy of the form and agreement in the
court and agency's records. The agency shall file a copy of the
form and agreement with the probate court with which a petition to
adopt the child who is the subject of the agreement is filed.
The juvenile court shall question the parent to determine that the parent understands the adoption process, the ramifications of entering into a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement, and each component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code. The court also shall question the parent to determine that the parent enters into the permanent custody surrender agreement voluntarily and any decisions the parent makes in filling out the form are made voluntarily.
(E) A juvenile court may approve an agreement entered into
under division (B)(1) of section 5103.15 of the Revised Code
between a public children services agency or private child placing
agency and the parent of a child who is less than six months of
age and will be, if adopted, an adopted person as defined in
section 3107.39 3107.38 of the Revised Code without the parent
personally appearing before the court if the parent does both of
the following:
(1) Signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(a) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code;
(2) If the parent is the mother, completes and signs the component of the form prescribed under division (B)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code.
At the time the parent signs that component, the agency shall provide the parent the opportunity to sign, if the parent chooses to do so, the components of the form prescribed under divisions (B)(1)(c), (d), and (e) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code. Not later than two business days after the parent enters into the agreement and signs the components of the form required to be signed and any discretionary components the parent chooses to sign, the agency shall file the agreement and form with the court. The agency shall give the parent a copy of the agreement and form. At the time the agency files the agreement and form with the court, the agency also shall file with the court all other documents the director of job and family services requires by rules adopted under division (D) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code to be filed with the court. The court and agency shall keep a copy of the agreement, form, and documents in the court and agency's records. The agency shall file a copy of the agreement, form, and documents with the probate court with which a petition to adopt the child who is the subject of the agreement is filed.
Sec. 5103.152. Not less than seventy-two hours before a public children services agency or private child placing agency enters into an agreement with a parent under division (B) of section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, an assessor shall meet in person with the parent and do both of the following:
(A) Provide the parent with a copy of the written materials
about adoption prepared by the department of job and family
services under division (C) of section 3107.083 of the Revised
Code, discuss with the parent the adoption process and
ramifications of a parent entering into a voluntary permanent
custody surrender agreement, and provide the parent the
opportunity to review the materials and ask questions about the
materials, discussion, and related matters.;
(B) Unless If the child who is the subject of the agreement,
if adopted, will be an adopted person as defined in section
3107.39 3107.45 of the Revised Code, inform the parent that the
parent's child and the adoptive parent may receive, in accordance
with section 3107.47 of the Revised Code, identifying information
about the parent that is contained in the child's adoption file
maintained by the department of health unless the parent checks
the "no" space provided on the component of the form prescribed
under division (A)(1)(b) of section 3107.083 of the Revised Code
or signs and has filed with the department a denial of release
form prescribed under section 3107.50 of the Revised Code.
SECTION 2. That existing sections 149.43, 1347.08, 2101.16, 2101.162, 2101.24, 3107.071, 3107.081, 3107.082, 3107.083, 3107.09, 3107.091, 3107.141, 3107.17, 3107.18, 3107.19, 3107.38, 3107.45, 3107.66, 3705.07, 3705.08, 3705.12, 3705.23, 3705.241, 3705.29, 5103.151, and 5103.152 and sections 3107.39, 3107.40, 3107.41, 3107.42, 3107.43, and 3107.44 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
SECTION 3. (A) Except as provided in division (B) of this section, Sections 1 and 2 of this act take effect one year after the effective date of this section.
(B) The following take effect on the effective date of this section:
(1) The enactment of section 3107.391 of the Revised Code;
(2) All of the following to the extent they apply to biological parent's name redaction request forms prescribed under section 3107.391 of the Revised Code:
(a) The amendments to division (A) of section 3107.38 of the Revised Code;
(b) The enactment of section 3107.393 of the Revised Code;
(c) The enactment of division (E) of section 3705.126 of the Revised Code.
(3) The enactment of section 3107.392 of the Revised Code.
SECTION 4. The Department of Health shall prepare a report that specifies the number of biological parent's name redaction request forms it receives under section 3107.391 of the Revised Code and the number of forms the Department accepts under division (C)(2) of that section. Not later than two years after the effective date of this section, the Department shall provide a copy of the report to the General Assembly in accordance with section 101.68 of the Revised Code.
SECTION 5. It is the General Assembly's intent to give biological parents a reasonable opportunity to have their names redacted from information that adopted persons and lineal descendants of adopted persons may obtain pursuant to section 3107.38 of the Revised Code as amended by this act.
SECTION 6. The General Assembly, applying the principle stated in division (B) of section 1.52 of the Revised Code that amendments are to be harmonized if reasonably capable of simultaneous operation, finds that the following sections, presented in this act as composites of the sections, as amended by the acts indicated, are the resulting versions of the sections in effect prior to the effective date of the sections as presented in this act:
Section 3705.12 of the Revised Code as amended by Am. Sub. H.B. 266 and Am. Sub. H.B. 419, both of the 121st General Assembly.
