Prior to the beginning of the fiscal biennium that first follows October 5, 2000, the public children services agencies of Athens, Cuyahoga, Franklin, Greene, Guernsey, Lucas, and Summit counties shall each establish and maintain a regional training center. Prior to the beginning of the fiscal biennium that first follows the effective date of this amendment, the public children services agency of Butler county shall establish and maintain a regional training center. At any time after the beginning of the specified biennium, the department of job and family services, on the recommendation of the Ohio child welfare training program steering committee, may direct a public children services agency to establish and maintain a training center to replace the center established by an agency under this section. There may be no more and no less than eight centers in existence at any time. The department may make a grant to a public children services agency that establishes and maintains a regional training center under this section for the purpose of wholly or partially subsidizing the operation of the center. The department shall specify in the grant all of the center’s duties, including the duties specified in section 5103.422 of the Revised Code.

The regional training center established by the public children services agency of Butler county under this section replaces the regional training center previously established by the public children services agency of Hamilton county under this section.