5126.25 Uniform standards and procedures for the certification of persons for employment.
5126.25 Uniform standards and procedures for the certification of persons for employment.
(A) The director of developmental disabilities shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing uniform standards and procedures for the certification of persons for employment by county boards of developmental disabilities as superintendents, management employees, and professional employees and uniform standards and procedures for the registration of persons for employment by county boards as registered service employees. As part of the rules, the director may establish continuing education and professional training requirements for renewal of certificates and evidence of registration and shall establish such requirements for renewal of an investigative agent certificate. In the rules, the director shall establish certification standards for employment in the position of investigative agent that require an individual to have or obtain no less than an associate degree from an accredited college or university or have or obtain comparable experience or training. The director shall not adopt rules that require any service employee to have or obtain a bachelor’s or higher degree.
The director shall adopt the rules in a manner that provides for the issuance of certificates and evidence of registration according to categories, levels, and grades. The rules shall describe each category, level, and grade.
The rules adopted under this division shall apply to persons employed or seeking employment in a position that includes directly providing, or supervising persons who directly provide, services or instruction to or on behalf of individuals with mental retardation or developmental disabilities, except that the rules shall not apply to persons who hold a valid license issued under Chapter 3319. of the Revised Code and perform no duties other than teaching or supervision of a teaching program or persons who hold a valid license or certificate issued under Title XLVII of the Revised Code and perform only those duties governed by the license or certificate. The rules shall specify the positions that require certification or registration. The rules shall specify that the position of investigative agent requires certification.
(B) The director shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code establishing standards for approval of courses of study to prepare persons to meet certification requirements. The director shall approve courses of study meeting the standards and provide for the inspection of the courses to ensure the maintenance of satisfactory training procedures. The director shall approve courses of study only if given by a state university or college as defined in section 3345.32 of the Revised Code, a state university or college of another state, or an institution that has received a certificate of authorization to confer degrees from the board of regents pursuant to Chapter 1713. of the Revised Code or from a comparable agency of another state.
(C) Each applicant for a certificate for employment or evidence of registration for employment by a county board shall apply to the department of developmental disabilities on forms that the director of the department shall prescribe and provide. The application shall be accompanied by the application fee established in rules adopted under this section.
(D) The director shall issue a certificate for employment to each applicant who meets the standards for certification established under this section and shall issue evidence of registration for employment to each applicant who meets the standards for registration established under this section. Each certificate or evidence of registration shall state the category, level, and grade for which it is issued.
The director shall issue, renew, deny, suspend, or revoke certificates and evidence of registration in accordance with rules adopted under this section. The director shall deny, suspend, or revoke a certificate or evidence of registration if the director finds, pursuant to an adjudication conducted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that the applicant for or holder of the certificate or evidence of registration is guilty of intemperate, immoral, or other conduct unbecoming to the applicant’s or holder’s position, or is guilty of incompetence or negligence within the scope of the applicant’s or holder’s duties. The director shall deny or revoke a certificate or evidence of registration if the director finds, pursuant to an adjudication conducted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code, that the applicant for or holder of the certificate or evidence of registration has been convicted of or pleaded guilty to any of the offenses described in division (E) of section 5126.28 of the Revised Code, unless the individual meets standards for rehabilitation that the director establishes in the rules adopted under that section. Evidence supporting such allegations shall be presented to the director in writing and the director shall provide prompt notice of the allegations to the person who is the subject of the allegations. A denial, suspension, or revocation may be appealed in accordance with procedures the director shall establish in the rules adopted under this section.
(E)(1) A person holding a valid certificate under this section on the effective date of any rules adopted under this section that increase certification standards shall have such period as the rules prescribe, but not less than one year after the effective date of the rules, to meet the new certification standards.
A person who is registered under this section on the effective date of any rule that changes the standards adopted under this section shall have such period as the rules prescribe, but not less than one year, to meet the new registration standards.
(2) If an applicant for a certificate for employment has not completed the courses of instruction necessary to meet the department’s standards for certification, the department shall inform the applicant of the courses the applicant must successfully complete to meet the standards and shall specify the time within which the applicant must complete the courses. The department shall grant the applicant at least one year to complete the courses and shall not require the applicant to complete more than four courses in any one year. The applicant is not subject to any changes regarding the courses required for certification that are made after the department informs the applicant of the courses the applicant must complete, unless the applicant does not successfully complete the courses within the time specified by the department.
(F) A person who holds a certificate or evidence of registration, other than one designated as temporary, is qualified to be employed according to that certificate or evidence of registration by any county board.
(G) The director shall monitor county boards to ensure that their employees who must be certified or registered are appropriately certified or registered and performing those functions they are authorized to perform under their certificate or evidence of registration.
(H) A county board superintendent or the superintendent’s designee may certify to the director that county board employees who are required to meet continuing education or professional training requirements as a condition of renewal of certificates or evidence of registration have met the requirements. The superintendent or the superintendent’s designee shall maintain in appropriate personnel files evidence acceptable to the director that the employees have met the requirements and permit representatives of the department access to the evidence on request.
(I) All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the program fee fund created under section 5123.033 of the Revised Code.
(J) Employees of entities that contract with county boards of developmental disabilities to operate programs and services for individuals with mental retardation and developmental disabilities are subject to the certification and registration requirements established under section 5123.082 of the Revised Code.
Amended by 128th General Assembly ch. 7, SB 79, § 1, eff. 10/6/2009.
Effective Date: 06-06-2001; 2007 HB119 06-30-2007