Section 5180.706
(A) The department of children and youth, through the Ohio commission on fatherhood, must award grants to eligible nonprofit organizations, as described in section 5180.705 of the Revised Code, to address the needs of fathers. The department must award the following types of grants:
(1) Grants that comprehensively address the needs of fathers, such as assisting them in finding employment, managing child support obligations, transitioning from a period of incarceration, accessing health care, understanding child development, and enhancing parenting skills. Services provided must be tailored to the needs of the father being served. Case management services must be provided by the grant recipient, either directly or by subcontract, to the fathers who are served by the grants under this section. If the father receiving case management services through a grant awarded under this section has a child receiving services from a public children services agency because the child is the subject of an abuse, neglect, or dependency proceeding, the case management services may be coordinated.
(2) Grants that provide evidence-based parenting education specifically for fathers. The grants under this section must not require case management services.
(B) The department must prioritize applicants for a grant based on the following:
(1) Need in a geographic area and the population to be served by the grant as indicated by the following:
(a) Unemployment rates;
(b) Incarceration rates;
(c) Housing instability;
(d) The number of single-parent households;
(e) The number of public benefit recipients;
(f) Graduation rates;
(g) Levels of academic achievement.
(2) Whether an applicant has a primary mission of, or a history of a significant focus on and effective work towards, addressing the needs of men in their role as fathers;
(3) Applicant current and historical involvement in the community being served;
(4) Applicant commitment and capability to employ competent staff who can effectively engage with the fathers being served, including individuals who share similar backgrounds as the fathers being served;
(5) The number of individuals the applicant plans to serve through the grant and the projected costs for the program;
(6) Applicant organizational capacity to effectively meet the requirements of the grant and to deliver the programs proposed by the applicant. The department may offer technical assistance to applicants and grant recipients that have lower organizational capacity if they have, or their leadership has, significant experience serving fathers.
(C) Grants are to be awarded for not more than three years, with subsequent funding contingent on compliance with grant requirements and adequate performance. Grant recipients must submit reports to the department in a format and at intervals, which must be at least annually, prescribed by the department. The RFI manager contracted with under section 5180.705 of the Revised Code may be a recipient of grants under this section.
Last updated August 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Available Versions of this Section
- September 30, 2025 – Enacted by House Bill 96 - 136th General Assembly [ View September 30, 2025 Version ]