(A) The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of a child in any proceeding concerning an alleged or adjudicated delinquent child or unruly child when either of the following applies:

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Terms Used In Ohio Code 2151.281

  • Another: when used to designate the owner of property which is the subject of an offense, includes not only natural persons but also every other owner of property. See Ohio Code 1.02
  • Child: means a person who is under eighteen years of age, except that the juvenile court has jurisdiction over any person who is adjudicated an unruly child prior to attaining eighteen years of age until the person attains twenty-one years of age, and, for purposes of that jurisdiction related to that adjudication, a person who is so adjudicated an unruly child shall be deemed a "child" until the person attains twenty-one years of age. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Custodian: means a person who has legal custody of a child or a public children services agency or private child placing agency that has permanent, temporary, or legal custody of a child. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • dependent child: means any child:

    (A) Who is homeless or destitute or without adequate parental care, through no fault of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian;

    (B) Who lacks adequate parental care by reason of the mental or physical condition of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian;

    (C) Whose condition or environment is such as to warrant the state, in the interests of the child, in assuming the child's guardianship;

    (D) To whom both of the following apply:

    (1) The child is residing in a household in which a parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household committed an act that was the basis for an adjudication that a sibling of the child or any other child who resides in the household is an abused, neglected, or dependent child. See Ohio Code 2151.04

  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guardian: means a person, association, or corporation that is granted authority by a probate court pursuant to Chapter 2111 of the Revised Code to exercise parental rights over a child to the extent provided in the court's order and subject to the residual parental rights of the child's parents. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Juvenile court: means whichever of the following is applicable that has jurisdiction under this chapter and Chapter 2152 of the Revised Code:

    (a) The division of the court of common pleas specified in section 2101. See Ohio Code 2151.011

  • Legal custody: means a legal status that vests in the custodian the right to have physical care and control of the child and to determine where and with whom the child shall live, and the right and duty to protect, train, and discipline the child and to provide the child with food, shelter, education, and medical care, all subject to any residual parental rights, privileges, and responsibilities. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • neglected child: includes any child:

    (1) Who is abandoned by the child's parents, guardian, or custodian;

    (2) Who lacks adequate parental care because of the faults or habits of the child's parents, guardian, or custodian;

    (3) Whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects the child or refuses to provide proper or necessary subsistence, education, medical or surgical care or treatment, or other care necessary for the child's health, morals, or well being;

    (4) Whose parents, guardian, or custodian neglects the child or refuses to provide the special care made necessary by the child's mental condition;

    (5) Whose parents, legal guardian, or custodian have placed or attempted to place the child in violation of sections 5103. See Ohio Code 2151.03

  • Permanent custody: means a legal status that vests in a public children services agency or a private child placing agency, all parental rights, duties, and obligations, including the right to consent to adoption, and divests the natural parents or adoptive parents of all parental rights, privileges, and obligations, including all residual rights and obligations. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Person: means an individual, association, corporation, or partnership and the state or any of its political subdivisions, departments, or agencies. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Physical impairment: means having one or more of the following conditions that substantially limit one or more of an individual's major life activities, including self-care, receptive and expressive language, learning, mobility, and self-direction:

    (a) A substantial impairment of vision, speech, or hearing;

    (b) A congenital orthopedic impairment;

    (c) An orthopedic impairment caused by disease, rheumatic fever or any other similar chronic or acute health problem, or amputation or another similar cause. See Ohio Code 2151.011

  • Placement for adoption: means the arrangement by a public children services agency or a private child placing agency with a person for the care and adoption by that person of a child of whom the agency has permanent custody. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • Private child placing agency: means any association, as defined in section 5103. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
  • Temporary custody: means legal custody of a child who is removed from the child's home, which custody may be terminated at any time at the discretion of the court or, if the legal custody is granted in an agreement for temporary custody, by the person who executed the agreement. See Ohio Code 2151.011
  • unruly child: includes any of the following:

    (A) Any child who does not submit to the reasonable control of the child's parents, teachers, guardian, or custodian, by reason of being wayward or habitually disobedient;

    (B) Any child who is an habitual truant from school;

    (C) Any child who behaves in a manner as to injure or endanger the child's own health or morals or the health or morals of others;

    (D) Any child who violates a law, other than division (C) of section 2907. See Ohio Code 2151.022

(1) The child has no parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

(2) The court finds that there is a conflict of interest between the child and the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

(B)(1) Except as provided in division (K) of this section, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of a child in any proceeding concerning an alleged abused or neglected child and in any proceeding held pursuant to section 2151.414 of the Revised Code. The guardian ad litem so appointed shall not be the attorney responsible for presenting the evidence alleging that the child is an abused or neglected child and shall not be an employee of any party in the proceeding.

(2) Except in any proceeding concerning a dependent child involving the permanent custody of an infant under the age of six months for the sole purpose of placement for adoption by a private child placing agency, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of a child in any proceeding concerning an alleged dependent child if any of the following applies:

(a) The parent of the child appears to be mentally incompetent or is under eighteen years of age.

(b) There is a conflict of interest between the child and the child’s parents, guardian, or custodian.

(c) The court believes that the parent of the child is not capable of representing the best interest of the child.

(3) Except in any proceeding concerning a dependent child involving the permanent custody of an infant under the age of six months for the sole purpose of placement for adoption by a private child placing agency, the court may appoint a guardian ad litem, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court, to protect the interest of the child in any other proceeding concerning an alleged dependent child.

(4) The guardian ad litem appointed for an alleged or adjudicated abused or neglected child may bring a civil action against any person who is required by division (A)(1) or (4) of section 2151.421 of the Revised Code to file a report of child abuse or child neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed to have occurred if that person knows, or has reasonable cause to suspect or believe based on facts that would cause a reasonable person in a similar position to suspect or believe, as applicable, that the child for whom the guardian ad litem is appointed is the subject of child abuse or child neglect and does not file the required report and if the child suffers any injury or harm as a result of the child abuse or child neglect that is known or reasonably suspected or believed to have occurred or suffers additional injury or harm after the failure to file the report.

(C) In any proceeding concerning an alleged or adjudicated delinquent, unruly, abused, neglected, or dependent child in which the parent appears to be mentally incompetent or is under eighteen years of age, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem to protect the interest of that parent.

(D) The court shall require the guardian ad litem to faithfully discharge the guardian ad litem’s duties and, upon the guardian ad litem’s failure to faithfully discharge the guardian ad litem’s duties, shall discharge the guardian ad litem and appoint another guardian ad litem. The court may fix the compensation for the service of the guardian ad litem, which compensation shall be paid from the treasury of the county, subject to rules adopted by the supreme court.

(E) A parent who is eighteen years of age or older and not mentally incompetent shall be deemed sui juris for the purpose of any proceeding relative to a child of the parent who is alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.

(F) In any case in which a parent of a child alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child is under eighteen years of age, the parents of that parent shall be summoned to appear at any hearing respecting the child, who is alleged or adjudicated to be an abused, neglected, or dependent child.

(G) Except as provided in division (K) of this section, in any case in which a guardian ad litem is to be appointed for an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child or in any case involving an agreement for the voluntary surrender of temporary or permanent custody of a child that is made in accordance with section 5103.15 of the Revised Code, the court shall appoint the guardian ad litem in each case as soon as possible after the complaint is filed, the request for an extension of the temporary custody agreement is filed with the court, or the request for court approval of the permanent custody agreement is filed. The guardian ad litem or the guardian ad litem’s replacement shall continue to serve until any of the following occur:

(1) The complaint is dismissed or the request for an extension of a temporary custody agreement or for court approval of the permanent custody agreement is withdrawn or denied;

(2) All dispositional orders relative to the child have terminated;

(3) The legal custody of the child is granted to a relative of the child, or to another person;

(4) The child is placed in an adoptive home or, at the court’s discretion, a final decree of adoption is issued with respect to the child;

(5) The child reaches the age of eighteen if the child does not have a developmental disability or physical impairment or the child reaches the age of twenty-one if the child has a developmental disability or physical impairment;

(6) The guardian ad litem resigns or is removed by the court and a replacement is appointed by the court.

If a guardian ad litem ceases to serve a child pursuant to division (G)(4) of this section and the petition for adoption with respect to the child is denied or withdrawn prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption or prior to the date an interlocutory order of adoption becomes final, the juvenile court shall reappoint a guardian ad litem for that child. The public children services agency or private child placing agency with permanent custody of the child shall notify the juvenile court if the petition for adoption is denied or withdrawn.

(H) If the guardian ad litem for an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child is an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state, the guardian ad litem also may serve as counsel to the ward. Until the supreme court adopts rules regarding service as a guardian ad litem that regulate conflicts between a person’s role as guardian ad litem and as counsel, if a person is serving as guardian ad litem and counsel for a child and either that person or the court finds that a conflict may exist between the person’s roles as guardian ad litem and as counsel, the court shall relieve the person of duties as guardian ad litem and appoint someone else as guardian ad litem for the child. If the court appoints a person who is not an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state to be a guardian ad litem, the court also may appoint an attorney admitted to the practice of law in this state to serve as counsel for the guardian ad litem.

(I) The guardian ad litem for an alleged or adjudicated abused, neglected, or dependent child shall perform whatever functions are necessary to protect the best interest of the child, including, but not limited to, investigation, mediation, monitoring court proceedings, and monitoring the services provided the child by the public children services agency or private child placing agency that has temporary or permanent custody of the child, and shall file any motions and other court papers that are in the best interest of the child in accordance with rules adopted by the supreme court.

The guardian ad litem shall be given notice of all hearings, administrative reviews, and other proceedings in the same manner as notice is given to parties to the action.

(J)(1) When the court appoints a guardian ad litem pursuant to this section, it shall appoint a qualified volunteer or court appointed special advocate whenever one is available and the appointment is appropriate.

(2) Upon request, the department of job and family services shall provide for the training of volunteer guardians ad litem.

(K) A guardian ad litem shall not be appointed for a child who is under six months of age in any proceeding in which a private child placing agency is seeking permanent custody of the child or seeking approval of a voluntary permanent custody surrender agreement for the sole purpose of the adoption of the child.

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