A Columbus Ohio Step-Parent Adoption Attorney article:

In Ohio, the short answer is YES.  The long answer is – maybe, it depends.  If you have violated any of the laws in this section of the Ohio Revised Code: http://codes.ohio.gov/oac/5101%3A2-48-10, then you may be ineligible to adopt a child in Ohio.  Note that the statute discusses a “violation” of one of these laws, not a “conviction” of one of these laws.  This may come into play where a person was charged with one crime and pled to a lesser crime.  In addition, any law which is not listed in statute, but may effect a child, may also prevent you from successfully pursuing adoption. 

This statute applies not only to the adoptive parent or parents, but to every person in your household.  Sometimes people fail to disclose a crime they committed because they crime was expunged or was committed when he or she was a juvenile.  Then they are surprised when the crime shows up on their record when they are fingerprinted.  Guess who else is unpleasantly surprised?  The social worker that receives the results of your fingerprints before you do and subsequently denies approval of your home study.  If you’re starting to get the feeling that lying about or omitting past indiscretions during the adoption process will come back to bite you in the behind, you are catching on.

There is some home, depending on the nature and circumstances of the issues in your past.  A court can consider whether you have been rehabilitated.  To learn more about the rehabilitation standards, you can review the Ohio Revised Code or schedule a consultation with an attorney.

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