Create Office of Violence Prevention in the Department of Health

hb900_00_IN

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 900

2025-2026

Representative Brewer

Cosponsors: Representatives Lett,
Upchurch, Grim, McNally

To
enact
sections

3701.147

and 3701.148

of the Revised Code
to
create the Office of Violence Prevention within the Department of
Health and to make an appropriation.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That

sections

3701.147

and 3701.148

of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec.
3701.147.
(A)
The office of violence prevention is created in the department of
health. The purpose of the office is to coordinate, support, and fund
community violence intervention strategies and hospital violence
intervention strategies that reduce firearm-related injury and death
through evidence-based approaches aligned with public health.

(B)
The office shall do all of the following regarding community violence
intervention programs:

(1)
With assistance from the department of health, annually identify the
top fifteen counties in Ohio with the highest incidence of
firearm-related violence and publish the methodology used to
determine the county rankings, including data sources, indicators,
and weighting;

(2)(a)
In accordance with rules adopted under division (J) of this section
and to the extent that funding is available, develop and administer
competitive and formula-based grants to support community violence
intervention programs operating within the fifteen counties
identified pursuant to division (B)(1) of this section, prioritizing
funding for programs that utilize evidence-based or evidence-informed
strategies, including:

(i)
Street outreach and credible messenger programs;

(ii)
Group violence reduction strategies;

(iii)
Trauma recovery and wraparound supports;

(iv)
Community-led conflict mediation and prevention initiatives.

(b)
The office may reserve up to five per cent of grant funds for
communities not identified pursuant to division (B)(1) of this
section but that demonstrate a significant or emerging burden of
firearm-related violence.

(3)
Support the development and sustainability of the community violence
intervention workforce by doing all of the following:

(a)
Providing or funding training, certification, and professional
development for outreach workers, credible messengers, and related
personnel;

(b)
Supporting organizational capacity building for community-based
organizations, including fiscal management, data collection, and
compliance;

(c)
Promoting worker wellness and safety practices.

(4)
Offer training, capacity building, and technical assistance to local
governments, nonprofit organizations, and community-based partners
implementing community violence intervention strategies;

(5)
Enter into agreements with public universities or research
institutions to evaluate the programs funded under division (B)(2) of
this section, including their impact on shootings, homicides, and
other relevant outcomes.

(C)
The office shall do both of the following regarding hospital violence
intervention programs:

(1)
Establish a statewide hospital violence intervention program
initiative to ensure that all level I and level II trauma centers in
Ohio implement evidence-based or evidence-informed bedside
intervention and referral practices for victims of firearm-related
injury, including standardized statewide protocols regarding the
following:

(a)
Bedside engagement by trained intervention specialists;

(b)
Warm handoffs to community violence intervention programs;

(c)
Capacity for on-call responses twenty-four hours a day and seven days
a week;

(d)
Follow-up case management and trauma recovery services.

(2)
Provide funding, technical assistance, and training to hospitals to
support the implementation of hospital violence intervention
programs.

(D)
The office may convene an advisory group to assist with funding
programs under division (B)(2) of this section by providing
recommendations on program design, funding priorities, and program
evaluation. The advisory group may be composed of the following
members:

(1)
Individuals with lived experience of community violence;

(2)
Individuals representing community-based organizations, local
governments, hospitals, and victim services providers.

(E)
The office shall encourage coordination between community violence
intervention programs, hospital violence intervention programs, and
local law enforcement agencies to improve public safety, information
sharing, and worker safety. Nothing in this section shall be
construed to mandate operational integration between community
violence intervention programs, hospital violence intervention
programs, and law enforcement or to modify the authority of law
enforcement agencies.

(F)(1)
The office shall develop a statewide data system to track referrals,
service engagement, and outcomes for individuals served through
community violence intervention programs and hospital violence
intervention programs.

(2)
Community violence intervention programs and hospital violence
intervention programs that receive funds under this section shall
participate in the statewide data system.

(G)
The office shall consult with the department of medicaid to identify
and pursue opportunities to receive medicaid reimbursement for the
provision of community violence intervention and hospital violence
intervention services including care coordination, case management,
and trauma recovery supports.

(H)
The office shall publish the following on the department of health's
internet web site:

(1)
Beginning one year after the effective date of this section and
annually thereafter, a report that includes all of the following:

(a)
Statewide firearm-related injury and death trends;

(b)
The impact of community violence intervention programs and hospital
violence intervention programs;

(c)
The estimated fiscal impact of firearm-related violence on state and
local systems including health care, emergency response services, and
criminal justice and the extent to which community violence
intervention programs may reduce such costs.

(2)
Beginning one year after the effective date of this section and every
four years thereafter, with interim updates as needed, a report
detailing a four-year statewide violence prevention plan that
includes all of the following:

(a)
An analysis of statewide and local trends in firearm-related injury
and death;

(b)
Measurable goals and benchmarks for reducing community violence;

(c)
Strategies to coordinate public health, public safety, victim
services, and trauma services;

(d)
Identification of gaps in community violence intervention services
and capacity limits for service provision in communities with a high
burden of violence.

(I)
The violence prevention fund is created in the state treasury,
consisting of funds appropriated by the general assembly. The office
of violence prevention shall use the money in the fund only for the
following:

(1)
Personnel, operations, and administration of the office of violence
prevention;

(2)
Fulfillment of the requirements of this section;

(3)
The provision of victim services and the operation of trauma recovery
programs.

(J)
The director of health shall adopt rules as necessary to implement
this section, including rules regarding eligibility for grants issued
under division (B)(2) of this section, reporting requirements for
grant recipients, and standards for the office to use when evaluating
grant recipients.

Sec.
3701.148.
(A)
The office of violence prevention shall establish regional community
violence intervention coordination hubs responsible for linking
hospitals, community violence intervention programs, local health
departments, and victim services providers.

(B)
Each regional community violence intervention hub shall have a
regional coordinator that is responsible for the following:

(1)
Overseeing referral pathways;

(2)
Supporting data collection and reporting;

(3)
Facilitating cross-system collaboration;

(4)
Providing technical assistance to local partners.

Section
2.
By
December 31, 2030, a representative of the Office of Violence
Prevention shall appear before the standing committees of the House
of Representatives and the Senate that have jurisdiction over public
health and public safety to present the following information:

(A)
The results of evaluations of community violence intervention
programs and hospital violence intervention programs funded pursuant
to section 3701.147 of the Revised Code;

(B)
The fiscal impact of community violence intervention programs and
hospital violence intervention programs;

(C)
Recommendations regarding future appropriations to the Office of
Violence Prevention.

Section
3.
All
items in this act are hereby appropriated as designated out of any
moneys in the state treasury to the credit of the designated fund.
For all operating appropriations made in this act, those in the first
column are for fiscal year 2026 and those in the second column are
for fiscal year 2027. The operating appropriations made in this act
are in addition to any other operating appropriations made for these
fiscal years.

Section
4.

1

2

3

4

5

A

DOH
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

B

Dedicated
Purpose Fund Group

C

5DU1

4406B2

Violence
Prevention

$0

$30,000,000

D

Dedicated
Purpose Fund Group Total

$0

$30,000,000

E

TOTAL
ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS

$0

$30,000,000

VIOLENCE
PREVENTION

The
foregoing appropriation item 4406B2, Violence Prevention, shall be
used to support the operations of the Office of Violence Prevention,
to award grants to support community violence intervention programs,
and to support hospital violence intervention programs. When awarding
grants, the Office shall distribute at least eighty per cent of these
funds to community violence intervention programs operating in the
fifteen counties identified in division (B)(1) of section 3701.147 of
the Revised Code.

TRANSFER
OF UNCLAIMED FUNDS TO THE VIOLENCE PREVENTION FUND

Notwithstanding
division (A) of section 169.05 of the Revised Code, on July 1, 2026,
or as soon as possible thereafter, the Director of Budget and
Management shall request the Director of Commerce to transfer to the
Violence Prevention Fund (Fund 5DU1) $30,000,000 of unclaimed funds
that have been reported by holders of unclaimed funds under section
169.05 of the Revised Code, irrespective of the allocation of the
unclaimed funds under that section.

Section
5.
Within
the limits set forth in this act, the Director of Budget and
Management shall establish accounts indicating the source and amount
of funds for each appropriation made in this act, and shall determine
the manner in which appropriation accounts shall be maintained.
Expenditures from operating appropriations contained in this act
shall be accounted for as though made in, and are subject to all
applicable provisions of, H.B. 96 of the 136th General Assembly.