DaytonDailyNews.com

COLUMBUS — Foster parents will be required to get more training but any information about them will be shielded from the public unless they're caught breaking the law or have their licenses revoked.

By a 31-0 vote, the Senate on Tuesday passed and sent to Gov. Ted Strickland legislation with these provisions that was enacted in response to the 2006 death of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel of Middletown whose foster parents were convicted of killing him.

Fiesel died after his foster parents left him bound in a closet while they attended a family reunion. The House passed the bill earlier, 52-44.

Strickland is expected to sign it, said Keith Dailey, the governor's spokesman.

It would increase from 24 to 36 hours the amount of pre-placement training for family foster homes. Also, it would allow a foster caregiver to fulfill up to 20 percent of the required amount of continuing training by teaching training classes or mentoring other foster caregivers.

The legislation exempts all personal information on state-approved foster parents or prospective foster parents from the public records law. The information could be released if the foster parents were charged with or convicted of any crime that would have prevented them from being appointed as the people responsible for a child's care.

Sen. Gary Cates, R-West Chester, told the Senate that making the records public "would discourage potential foster parents from participating." Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, sponsor of the bill and a former foster parent, has said that making the records public could jeopardize the safety of foster parents.

Frank Deaner, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association, said that the majority of legislators have decided that "secrecy is the solution" to instances of abuse such as the Fiesel case.

Although foster parent information has not been exempt from the public records law, the state's policy has been not to release the information. A lawsuit filed over that policy by the Cincinnati Enquirer is before the Ohio Supreme Court.

The legislature also is considering a proposal — Senate Bill 163 — to beef up background checks for prospective foster parents.

Contact this reporter at (614) 224-1608 or whershey@DaytonDailyNews.com.