To amend section 2967.14 of the Revised Code to require an operator of a halfway house to notify the adult parole authority within twenty-four hours after a resident absconds from the halfway house.

Section 1. That section 2967.14 of the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2967.14.  (A) The adult parole authority may require a parolee or releasee to reside in a halfway house or other suitable community residential center that has been licensed by the division of parole and community services pursuant to division (C) of this section during a part or for the entire period of the parolee's conditional release or of the releasee's term of post-release control. The court of common pleas that placed an offender under a sanction consisting of a term in a halfway house or in an alternative residential sanction may require the offender to reside in a halfway house or other suitable community residential center that is designated by the court and that has been licensed by the division pursuant to division (C) of this section during a part or for the entire period of the offender's residential sanction.

(B) The division of parole and community services may negotiate and enter into agreements with any public or private agency or a department or political subdivision of the state that operates a halfway house or community residential center that has been licensed by the division pursuant to division (C) of this section. An agreement under this division shall provide for the purchase of beds, shall set limits of supervision and levels of occupancy, and shall determine the scope of services for all eligible offenders, including those subject to a residential sanction, as defined in rules adopted by the director of rehabilitation and correction in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code. The payments for beds and services shall be equal to the halfway house's or community residential center's average daily per capita costs with its facility at full occupancy. The payments for beds and services shall not exceed the total operating costs of the halfway house or community residential center during the term of an agreement. The director of rehabilitation and correction shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for determining includable and excludable costs and income to be used in computing the agency's average daily per capita costs with its facility at full occupancy.

The department of rehabilitation and correction may use no more than ten per cent of the amount appropriated to the department each fiscal year for the halfway house and community residential center program to pay for contracts for nonresidential services for offenders under the supervision of the adult parole authority. The nonresidential services may include, but are not limited to, treatment for substance abuse, mental health counseling, and counseling for sex offenders.

(C) The division of parole and community services may license a halfway house or community residential center as a suitable facility for the care and treatment of adult offenders, including offenders sentenced under section 2929.16 or 2929.26 of the Revised Code, only if the halfway house or community residential center complies with the standards that the division adopts in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for the licensure of halfway houses and community residential centers. The division shall annually inspect each licensed halfway house and licensed community residential center to determine if it is in compliance with the licensure standards.

(D) The operator of a licensed halfway house shall notify the adult parole authority within twenty-four hours if a resident absconds from the halfway house. The adult parole authority is responsible for forwarding the notice received from the halfway house to the department of rehabilitation and correction within twenty-four hours if the resident is under the supervision of the department of rehabilitation and correction.

Section 2. That existing section 2967.14 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.