To amend sections 2151.421 and 2151.99 of the Revised Code to enact V.J.'s Law to require health care professionals to report child abuse or neglect to both a peace officer and the public children services agency.
HB346, known as V.J.'s Law, would amend Ohio’s child abuse and neglect reporting statute to require mandatory reporters to notify both a peace officer and the public children services agency when they know or reasonably suspect a child has been abused or neglected. The bill revises section 2151.421 of the Revised Code so that, in most cases, a report must go to both entities rather than to just one or the other. It also updates related provisions governing who must report, how reports are made, confidentiality, immunity, investigations, and notice requirements after a report is filed.
The bill preserves existing mandatory-reporting categories such as health care professionals, teachers, school employees, peace officers, child care workers, clergy-related reporters, and others, while clarifying that peace officers and public children services agencies have reciprocal reporting duties when they are the initial recipients. It also keeps special rules for privileged communications and clergy-penitent or attorney/patient relationships, but in certain child-abuse circumstances deems those privileges waived so a report must still be made. The bill further ties the new dual-reporting requirement to criminal penalties and civil liability provisions in section 2151.99, including misdemeanor penalties for failing to report or for reporting to only one entity when both are required.
HB346 would change Ohio child welfare law by making dual reporting to law enforcement and child protective services the default requirement for mandatory reporters, rather than allowing a report to be satisfied by contacting only one of those entities in many situations. It would also require corresponding updates to agency procedures, investigation referrals, notice obligations, and penalty provisions in the Revised Code. The practical effect would be to increase immediate law-enforcement involvement in child abuse and neglect cases and to create additional compliance obligations for mandated reporters and agencies that receive reports.
The bill appears to be framed as a child-protection measure and is presented in supportive terms through its title, V.J.'s Law, and its broad list of cosponsors. No committee transcript or vote record is provided, so there is no recorded debate or formal vote history to indicate opposition or amendment activity. Based on the text alone, the bill’s overall tone is protective and enforcement-oriented, with an emphasis on ensuring that suspected abuse is promptly reported to both investigative systems.
The main point of contention is likely the requirement that mandatory reporters contact both a peace officer and the public children services agency, which is more expansive than a single-report system and could raise concerns about duplicative reporting, administrative burden, and how quickly agencies can respond. Another likely issue is the bill’s interaction with testimonial privileges and sacred-trust clergy protections, because it narrows those protections in certain child-abuse situations and imposes criminal penalties for noncompliance. The bill also creates a distinction between ordinary failures to report and failures involving abuse under a reporter’s direct supervision, with the latter carrying harsher penalties, which may draw attention from professional and institutional stakeholders.