DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — In the wake of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel's death at the hands of his foster parents, The Cincinnati Enquirer asked state officials for the database listing all the licensed foster care homes in Ohio.

The state Department of Job and Family Services said no. So the Enquirer sued.

On Tuesday, the two sides argued the case before the seven-member Ohio Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on it in a few months.

The state argued that foster parents and their charges are recipients of public assistance money and that disclosure of their names would violate federal rules and put federal funding at risk. And the safety of foster parents and children may be put at risk if their names and addresses are made public, argued Henry Appel, assistant attorney general.

"This case is about protecting vulnerable children from dangerous people and also protecting the people who've opened their hearts and homes to them," Appel said.

John Greiner, attorney for the Enquirer, said the database the newspaper wants does not contain the children's identities and the Enquirer disagrees with the state's assertion that foster parents are public assistance recipients. They receive state money to cover the child's expenses and to pay the parents for services rendered, Greiner said.

After oral arguments, Greiner told reporters, "The public is supposed to be able to check on what its government is doing... the government can't be subject to scrutiny without transparency."

He noted that nurses are licensed and those records are open to public view. Foster parents are licensed as well and should be subject to public view, he said.

Lawmakers are currently considering a bill that would explicitly shield the names and addresses of foster care parents from public disclosure.

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or lbischoff@DaytonDailyNews.com.