Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 5120.16 – Reception, examination, observation, and classification of inmates

(A) Persons sentenced to any institution, division, or place under the control of the department of rehabilitation and correction are committed to the control, care, and custody of the department. Subject to division (B) of this section, the director of rehabilitation and correction or the director's designee may direct that persons sentenced to the department, or to any institution or place within the department, shall be conveyed initially to an appropriate facility established and maintained by the department for reception, examination, observation, and classification of the persons so sentenced. If a presentence investigation report was not prepared pursuant to section 2947.06 or 2951.03 of the Revised Code or Criminal Rule 32.2 regarding any person sentenced to the department or to any institution or place within the department, the director or the director's designee may order the department's field staff to conduct an offender background investigation and prepare an offender background investigation report regarding the person. The investigation and report shall be conducted in accordance with division (A) of section 2951.03 of the Revised Code and the report shall contain the same information as a presentence investigation report prepared pursuant to that section. When the examination, observation, and classification of the person have been completed by the facility and a written report of the examination, observation, and classification is filed with the commitment papers, the director or the director's designee, subject to division (B) of this section, shall assign the person to a suitable state institution or place maintained by the state within the director's department or shall designate that the person is to be housed in a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, if authorized by section 5120.161 of the Revised Code, there to be confined, cared for, treated, trained, and rehabilitated until paroled, released in accordance with section 2929.20, 2967.26, 2967.28, or 5120.036 of the Revised Code, or otherwise released under the order of the court that imposed the person's sentence. No person committed by a probate court, a trial court pursuant to section 2945.40, 2945.401, or 2945.402 of the Revised Code subsequent to a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity, or a juvenile court shall be assigned to a state correctional institution. If a person is sentenced, committed, or assigned for the commission of a felony to any one of the institutions or places maintained by the department or to a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse, the department, by order duly recorded and subject to division (B) of this section, may transfer the person to any other institution, or, if authorized by section 5120.161 of the Revised Code, to a county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail or workhouse.
(B) If the case of a child who is alleged to be a delinquent child is transferred for criminal prosecution to the appropriate court having jurisdiction of the offense pursuant to section 2152.12 of the Revised Code, if the child is convicted of or pleads guilty to a felony in that case, if the child is sentenced to a prison term, as defined in section 2901.01 of the Revised Code, and if the child is under eighteen years of age when delivered to the custody of the department of rehabilitation and correction, all of the following apply regarding the housing of the child:
1. (1) Until the child attains eighteen years of age, subject to divisions (B)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, the department shall house the child in a housing unit in a state correctional institution separate from inmates who are eighteen years of age or older.
2. (2) The department is not required to house the child in the manner described in division (B)(1) of this section if the child does not observe the rules and regulations of the institution or the child otherwise creates a security risk by being housed separately.
3. (3) If the department receives too few inmates who are under eighteen years of age to fill a housing unit in a state correctional institution separate from inmates who are eighteen years of age or older, as described in division (B)(1) of this section, the department may house the child in a housing unit in a state correctional institution that includes both inmates who are under eighteen years of age and inmates who are eighteen years of age or older and under twenty-one years of age.
4. (4) Upon the child's attainment of eighteen years of age, the department may house the child with the adult population of the state correctional institution.
(C) The director or the director's designee shall develop a policy for dealing with problems related to infection with the human immunodeficiency virus. The policy shall include methods of identifying individuals committed to the custody of the department who are at high risk of infection with the virus and counseling those individuals. Arrangements for housing individuals diagnosed as having AIDS or an AIDS-related condition shall be made by the department based on security and medical considerations and in accordance with division (B) of this section, if applicable.