H.B. 583 now focuses on mandatory communication that White said will equip children service agencies and the Ohio Department of Children and Youth with the tools to flag recurring problems with group home children and to take action when necessary.
For example, if a child from a group home has any interaction with emergency medical services or hospitals for an injury or mental health crisis, H.B. 583 would mandate notification of the custodian in charge of the child.
The hospital or medical service would also have to notify the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, which oversees the state’s network of programs that turn to juvenile group homes when necessary.
Likewise under the bill, in circumstances where juveniles from group homes have any investigative interaction with law enforcement, or when the operators of a group home have an interaction with police that warrants the creation of a police report, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth would have to be notified.
“That’s about transparency and accountability,” White said. “We want to make sure that when there are incidences that the children service agency or department of children and youth need to know about, that they do know about them.”
Under H.B. 583, any of the above incidents would also trigger an automatic review of the child’s group home placement performed by the child’s custodian and guided by a new set of rules to be determined by the Ohio Department of Children and Youth.
The bill also gives the department the power to terminate a group home’s state license immediately without hearings.
“It’s just basically putting more accountability into the system so that we are getting the outcomes for our kids and we are protecting them and enabling them to heal and grow in these environments,” White told this outlet.
H.B. 583 would also set new ground rules. Under the bill, for example, group homes must be notified of the reason a child was deemed to be delinquent; custodian agencies over the child must be accessible 24/7; group homes must notify the child’s custodian of any service that a child receives from community organizations, and more.
Additionally, H.B. 583 would cement a current administrative rule that mandates the child’s custodian agency to make monthly visits to the child’s group home to ensure that it complies with the Ohio Department of Children and Youth’s minimum requirements. If that group home does not adhere to the standards, the child’s custodian agency would be required to review the child’s group home placement under the bill.
The problem
The bill comes off the back of a difficult year for Dayton-area group homes, which house children from across the state who are sent away from their parents due to either their own delinquency or because they are victims of abuse or neglect at home.
Recently, more group homes have sprouted in west Dayton, capitalizing on cheap home prices and lax zoning laws, which now puts Montgomery County as the home of more more than a third of the state’s juvenile group homes.
An investigation by the Dayton Daily News found that, as a result, local courts and emergency services have been put under serious strain and there are growing concerns about the health and safety of children housed in group homes.
Our reporting found that Dayton police responded to nearly 3,000 service calls at these group homes in 2023 — a 75% increase from 2022 and more than a 300% increase from 2021. Youth in group homes now account for more than a quarter of the criminal cases in the county’s juvenile court.
Reactions
In an interview with this outlet, state Rep. Willis Blackshear, Jr., D-Dayton, commended H.B. 583 for its premise.
“I’ve been out in the community and I’ve had multiple conversations with people who actually live in neighborhoods that do have group homes and, you know, they have their complaints and they wish some of these things could get taken care of expeditiously,” he said.
Blackshear said he’s still reviewing the bill but has advised his Democratic colleagues that it’s something to consider supporting if it should reach the House floor.
“One thing I will say is that this bill helps ensure that group homes are being inspected more regularly and complaints are dealt with in a timely manner,” said Blackshear.
But other aspects of H.B. 583 have drawn criticism from stakeholders.
Last month, Ohio Children’s Alliance’s Policy Manager Kate Rossman told the Ohio House Committee on Families and Aging that she opposes the bill despite its sponsors’ good intentions. She argued that the bill introduces regulations that could hurt Ohio children in the system and “add complexity to a system already facing challenges.”
A few of H.B. 583′s provisions have since been removed — like a provision that would bar the placement of juvenile delinquents into group homes alongside non-delinquents.
But, other aspects Rossman pointed out remain, including the provision requiring group homes to be on-call 24/7; a provision to mandate that law enforcement is notified where and when a delinquent child is assigned to a local group home and the provision that allows the Ohio Department of Children and Youth to suspend facility licenses without prior hearings.
“While we appreciate the intent behind House Bill 583 and the efforts enhance accountability in Ohio’s child welfare system, we believe certain provisions may unnecessarily complicate operations and potentially reduce the availability of critical care settings,” Rossman said.
What’s next
H.B. 583 is still being vetted by its House committee and is thus prone to more changes, but time is running thin for White’s goal of passing the bill before this legislative session ends, and all unfinished business expires at the end of this year.
If the bill does pass the House before the end of the year, it would need further consideration and final approval from the Ohio Senate before becoming law.
In an interview this week, White told the Dayton Daily News that she doesn’t think reforming group homes will be a one-and-done legislative venture, but she wanted to take a comprehensive approach on her first swing.
“I think one of the keys is getting a large group of interested parties together who know the issues first hand, who are front line to the problems, and they can help us decipher and sift through what’s really important, what’s urgent, what needs work but couldn’t be accomplished with the time we have remaining this general assembly,” White said.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
