Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Donate to "A Book of Your Own" at the Law Library before May 11th

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association and the local chapter of the Federal Bar Association are running a spring book drive to collect new and gently used books to give Cleveland elementary school
students "a book of their own" to take home and enjoy this summer. Don't miss the
chance to give local, deserving children the gift of reading!

Check to see if your firm or organization is already participating. If not, you
can help by coordinating donations at your workplace or by dropping off your books
downtown at the Cleveland Law Library on the 4th floor of the Cuyahoga County Courthouse
any time before May 11th. Click here for a flyer with more information and contacts.

New Changes Enable Parents with Child Support Arrears to Drive Again

Yesterday, September 28, 1011, HB 153 changed the rules governing sanctions for failure to pay child support in Ohio. Among other changes, the new law allows parents who can pay some support to keep or get their driver's license. It appears that the law encourages parents to work in an attempt to pay off their child support obligations and arrearages. A decent summary of the new law can be found in the Plain Dealer.  Interestingly, an earlier article from onntv indicated that 341 parents are currently serving as inmates because they have not paid their child support.

Ohio's Child Protective Services Initiative Is Expanding Again-But Not Yet to Cuyahoga County

Very soon, Ohio will be again expanding the Differential Response Program involving child protective services that it began in 2008. According to the Ohio Supreme Court:

"Differential Response gives caseworkers the freedom to use an alternative approach when investigating some reports of child abuse and neglect in Ohio. That freedom helps keep families together and reduces the number of children placed in out-of-home care, all without compromising child safety. Differential Response begins with a non-threatening, non-adversarial, family assessment. It allows caseworkers to guide the family to local social service programs that might meet the child’s and the family’s needs."

A great color-coded chart from Capital Law School shows how the program has been implemented and which counties are involved. However, Cuyahoga County is not on the current list nor in the new counties that are going to be added.

Ohio Bar Creates Lunch Pail Express Donation Program to Help Feed Hungry Ohio Children

The Ohio State Bar Association has created a brand new donation program called Lunch Pail Express to raise funds for Ohio's hungry children. According to the OSBA's news release, when OSBA President Carmen Roberto learned that one in every 4 Ohio children go to bed hungry at night, he decided to help Ohio's food banks cope with the need. The OSBA will be collecting money at its HQ in Columbus and at CLE programs through the end of the year. Contributions can also be sent directly to the OSBA at P.O. Box. 16562, Columbus, OH 43216-6562.

Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Now Offers Mediation in Pending Cases Involving Children

The Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court has partnered with the Cuyahoga County Department of Justice Affairs, Office of Mediation to offer mediation in pending cases involving children. This new process was instituted under Local Rule 32, which provides that mediation can be ordered on the court's own motion or at the request of either or both of the parties. The Court's news release describes the services mediation is intended to provide and the outcome it is intended to achieve as follows:

"Mediation is a process in which parents develop their own parenting plan with the help of the mediator. It is a method of problem solving without the financial and emotional costs often associated with litigation. The mediator is a neutral third party who encourages parents to discuss the issues concerning their children and help them reach an agreement. The parents control the outcome and they can communicate with each other directly, in a safe environment. This reduces hostility and helps foster a rational discussion. The outcome of the mediation is limited only by the nature of the problem and the ability of the parents to work together for their child’s best interest."   

Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's 3Rs Program Underway in Cleveland and East Cleveland High Schools

The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association's 3Rs program on Rights, Responsibilities, and Realities started today in 10th grade classrooms in Cleveland and East Cleveland high schools. I went to Max Hayes today, and the kids were really pumped up about our visit. Today, we laid the groundwork for our lessons on the Constitution and discussed career plans that the students may already have formulated. This is my 4th or 5th year in the program, and stats show we are making a difference in passage rates on the social studies portion of the Ohio Graduation Test. Go CMBA!

Child Support May Get an Overhaul if S.B. 292 Passes

The process of awarding child support in Ohio is a mess, and it has needed a fix for a very long time. Once parents finally receive an award, it never grows despite inflation, and the numbers they receive are very, very low. Some custodial parents also get saddled with high expenses for health care and insurance. My informal survey of divorced child support recipients shows that they all receive the same amount, despite ex's with different incomes, and many have to pay all costs for health insurance, which is not inexpensive. The drive behind S.B. 292 explains why. According to Senator Smith (D-Cleveland), the courts are still awarding support based on figures from 1992, and there are no escalators in the law for inflation. All that and more could change, hopefully for the better, with S.B. 292. As a starting point, before adjustments, an average child support recipient from a divorcing couple with a combined income of about $150,000 would receive about $5,000 more per year. Even that modest increase would help a lot of mothers, who the stats  have shown experience a reduced standard of living when they get divorced. 

Ohio Supreme Court Adopts Uniform DR Forms

The Ohio Supreme Court has adopted uniform domestic relations forms for:

-Affidavit of Income and Expenses

-Affidavit of Property

-Parenting Proceeding Affidavit under ORC 3127.23(A)

-Health Insurance Affidavit

-Motion and Affidavit or Counter Affidavit for Temporary Orders without Oral Hearing

According to the Court's Press Release, all courts should accept these forms, as well as their local forms.

Ohio Supreme Court Accepting Comments on Proposed Rule for Juvenile Court CPO's

The Ohio Supreme Court is accepting public comments until July 20, 2010 on a proposed new Rule 10.05 to the Ohio Rules of Superintendence that would authorize juvenile courts to issue civil protection orders against juveniles and adopt standard forms for seeking a protection order. The Rule was proposed in response to HB 10, which allows a juvenile court to issue a protection order against a child who is alleged to have committed certain offenses or domestic violence against the person to be protected. HB 10 also includes foster parents under the scope of the domestic violence laws and prohibits the unauthorized use of the Ohio Law Enforcement Gateway.  According to the Ohio Attorney General's office, the Gateway "is a secure, Web-based platform that provides real-time information to law enforcement agencies about identity theft, sex offenders and missing children. Through OHLEG, law enforcement agencies can share information in order to better prevent and solve crimes."

Cuyahoga County DR Forms Are Now Interactive

Brand new this week, most of the forms on the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations website are now interactive as fillable pdf forms. They can now be completed online by simply typing in relevant information and printing out the completed product. However, due to restrictions enbedded in the documents themselves, you will not be able to save the documents you create for your records. Nevertheless, this will be a huge benefit and time-saver for parties who want to proceed pro se and fill out their own paperwork for a divorce, a dissolution, child support, etc.