Foster parents who commit an offense that would have disallowed them from being licensed

Foster-care measure protects information
Kostyu, Paul. Canton Repository, Feb. 6, 2008.

COLUMBUS - A bill intended to improve the state's foster care system will reduce access to records now considered public. The measure passed the Ohio Senate on Tuesday.

House Bill 214, already approved by the Ohio House, will now head to the governor for his signature.

The legislation came in the aftermath of the death of Marcus Fiesel, 3, who was bundled in a blanket and left in a hot closet in a Cincinnati-area home while his foster parents went to a family reunion in Kentucky.

The bill sparked controversy and barely passed the House in October because opponents said it limited transparency of the foster care program.

The public will be allowed access to foster caregiver information after that person's state certificate has been revoked or the person has been convicted of, pleaded guilty to or been indicted with any offense that would have prevented the individual from serving as a foster caregiver.

Protected from disclosure is the foster parent's address, as well as material about an investigation of a parent, removal of a child from a home and the reason for doing so. - YIPES , what if a child was abused in that home?

The Senate passed the bill unanimously without debate. State Sen. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, said later he opposed restricting access to information, but voted for the bill because of its other aspects. Also voting for HB 214 were senators John Boccieri, D-New Middletown, and Jason Wilson, D-Columbiana.

The bill increases training for foster parents, allows mentoring to count toward continuing education, requires cooperation between the Department of Job and Family Services and the Department of Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities, among other standards.

On a related matter, the Ohio Supreme Court has yet to rule on a case it heard last month in which the Cincinnati Enquirer wants access to records about how the state licenses foster parents. The paper wants to know if there are any more parents like David and Liz Carroll, who were convicted of murdering Fiesel.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services contends the records are private.