Clermont County Children’s Services Review Procedure
It is the policy of Clermont County Children's Services to provide the community with all of the services within the agency's mandate and to identify those complaints or concerns which allege that the mandated services are not being provided or that the services are not being provided in a manner which is in the best interest of the children in Clermont County. As a result, Clermont County Children's Services has developed a review procedure to review complaints from parents, custodians, legal guardians, foster parents, kinship care providers, applicant or providers of approved adult-supervised living arrangements, adoptive applicants, adoptive parents, and children concerning the provision of services and appeals by alleged perpetrators who disagree with the disposition/resolution of a report of child abuse or neglect.
Procedures for Requesting a Review
A parent, custodian, legal guardian, foster parent, kinship care provider, applicant or provider of approved adult-supervised living arrangements, adoptive applicant, adoptive parent, or child may request a review of agency action concerning the provision of services or an appeals by the alleged perpetrator who disagrees with the disposition/resolution of a report of child abuse or neglect by placing the request in writing to be submitted within thirty (30) days of the case disposition date. The request must state the facts which are the basis of the requested review. The complainant must also sign this written request.
A person who has a complaint must first attempt to resolve the problem with the caseworker. If that is unsuccessful, then the caseworker's supervisor must be contacted. If the complainant is still not satisfied with the result, then he or she should request a review in writing.
When a supervisor receives a complaint, he or she shall attempt to resolve the conflict. The supervisor shall also advise the complainant of the grievance policy and shall provide the person with a written copy of said policy if the party requests it.
Exceptions
No review hearing will be granted for the following issues:
- The placement or removal of a child pursuant to an order of the court
- Complaints which raise the sole issue of the validity of a law or of a written statewide policy
- The removal of a child due to a revocation of the foster home license or certificate
- The removal of a child who was voluntarily placed by a parent or guardian
- The removal of a child from foster care in order to place the child into an adoptive home
The Review Process
The review must be held within ten (10) working days from the date that the complaint was received by the agency unless waived by the complainant. Written notice of the date, time, and place of the review must be mailed to the complainant not less than five (5) calendar days prior to the review.
The Children's Protective Services Deputy Director shall conduct all reviews unless the complaint involves the Deputy Director or there is some other conflict of interest. In such cases, the Director or her designee shall conduct the review.
At the review, the complainant, the caseworkers, and the supervisors must all be given an opportunity to testify and to present their evidence. Any documents or physical evidence which are presented must be retained as part of the record. Only the parties and the reviewer may be present for the entire hearing. Any additional witnesses may only be present during their testimony.
The Decision
The reviewer must render a written decision within ten (10) working days after the hearing has been held. The decision must be based upon the evidence presented at the hearing and information contained in the file. A copy of the decision shall be mailed to the complainant, placed in the case file and given to the caseworkers and supervisor involved in the case.
When an appeal of a disposition/resolution of report of child abuse or neglect is heard and the reviewer changes the original disposition/resolution, CPS shall update the central registry information according to procedures contained in rule 5101:2-35-16 of the Administrative Code.