To amend sections 3125.18, 5101.35, 5101.80, 5101.801, 5101.804, 5101.805, and 5153.16 and to amend, for the purpose of adopting a new section number as indicated in parentheses, section 5101.804 (5101.91) of the Revised Code regarding services provided through the Ohio parenting and pregnancy program.
HB245 revises Ohio law governing several Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and family-services programs, with the most visible change being a rewrite and renumbering of the Ohio parenting and pregnancy program. The bill expands and clarifies the program’s purpose, eligibility, and contracting rules, and it specifies that the program is intended to serve pregnant women, parents or relatives caring for young children, and individuals who may become pregnant. It also states that services may include pregnancy-related counseling, parenting support, adoption-related counseling, family planning, contraceptive services, and other supportive or preventive health services.
The bill also updates the state’s administrative and appeals framework for family services programs. It amends hearing, administrative appeal, and court review procedures in section 5101.35, and it broadens the list of Title IV-A programs and related entities covered by state supervision in sections 5101.80 and 5101.801. In addition, it revises provisions governing fatherhood programs and public children services agencies so that those agencies can administer certain Title IV-A programs under the Department of Children and Youth’s supervision. The bill would repeal the existing versions of the affected sections and replace them with updated language, including a new section number for the parenting and pregnancy program.
If enacted, HB245 would alter multiple sections of the Revised Code that govern TANF-funded family services, state hearings, and county-level administration of child and family programs. It would formally expand and reorganize the Ohio parenting and pregnancy program, set detailed criteria for participating nonprofit providers, require annual reporting, and authorize the Department of Children and Youth to issue implementing rules. It would also reinforce the Department of Job and Family Services’ role as the single state agency for Title IV-A programs, while updating how appeals are handled for applicants and recipients of family services and related medical assistance matters. The bill affects state agencies, county departments, public children services agencies, and private nonprofit providers that receive or administer program funds.
Because the bill was only introduced and had no recorded votes or committee testimony in the provided materials, there is no formal legislative record of support or opposition yet. Based on the text, the bill appears to be framed as an administrative and programmatic update, but it also contains policy choices that are likely to attract attention, especially around reproductive-health-related services and the requirement that participating providers be anti-abortion in orientation. The overall posture of the bill is substantive rather than symbolic, with significant restructuring of program rules and oversight.
The most notable point of contention is the Ohio parenting and pregnancy program’s provider restrictions. The bill requires participating entities to be private, nonprofit, primarily oriented toward promoting childbirth rather than abortion, and not involved in abortion counseling, referrals, procedures, or advertising. It also requires subcontractors to be physically and financially separate from abortion-related activities. Those provisions are likely to be the main source of disagreement, particularly among abortion-rights advocates, reproductive-health providers, and organizations that object to viewpoint-based contracting limits. Another possible area of concern is the bill’s expansion of state control over Title IV-A program administration and appeals, though the text itself does not show recorded debate on those administrative changes.