Bill to Modernize Adoption Process Receives Sponsor Testimony in the Ohio Senate

COLUMBUS – State Reps. Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati) and Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) today gave sponsor testimony before the Ohio Senate Judiciary Committee on House Bill (HB) 5, bipartisan priority legislation that modernizes Ohio’s adoption process and prioritizes the best interest of the child.

“To support Ohio’s children, we as a society, and as policymakers, must do the work to help facilitate children’s opportunities to land in safe, permanent homes,” said Rep. Baker. “This bill will propel our state forward by ensuring that all Ohio children have the accessibility to safe and nurturing homes.”

This legislation would:

• Expedite the adoption process by requiring courts to apply time spent in the home towards the current six month waiting period for kinship caregivers;
• Expand the available financial support for birth mothers from $3,000 to $6,000;
• Allow foreign adoption decrees to be automatically accepted and finalized as long as certain conditions are met;
• Make other various changes that refine the Ohio Revised Code to streamline the adoption process.

The bill now awaits further hearings in the Senate Judiciary Committee.