The Ohio Putative Father Registry - The What?

Guest Column by
Erik L. Smith

I am a single man. Yet I had been in Ohio for over a year before hearing of the Ohio Putative Father Registry, and then only in a Probate Law class. The professor was covering how a child could be adopted without the birth father's consent.

"ORC 3701.061: A man who has sexual intercourse with a woman is on notice that if a child is born as a result and the man is the putative father, the child may be adopted without his consent pursuant to division (B) of section 3107 of the Revised Code." R.C. 3107(B) required the man to sign the Putative Father Registry within thirty days after the child's birth to get notice of the adoption.

I raised my hand. "But doesn't that mean that to ensure full protection of his rights, an unwed man must sign the registry every time he has sex with a new partner?"

The professor didn't hesitate. "Yes."

"Well, what if the woman doesn't tell him about the pregnancy, or rejects him?"

The professor's retort was immediate. "Well, then he's stupid."

I recalled a wrestler I knew in college who documented all the women he had slept with. His friends thought that was stupid. But maybe he was just ahead of his time. I had some signing up to do. Tomorrow, I would register with the Ohio Putative Father Registry.

But where? Where was this "Putative Father Registry?" Perhaps the statutes would tell me. R.C. 3107.065:

"Not later than ninety days after the effective date of this section, the director of job and family services shall...
[e]stablish a campaign to promote awareness of the putative father registry. The campaign shall include informational materials about the registry."

Easiest then would be to contact the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. All I had at the moment was the number for the south Columbus office. But that office should know the number for the registry, or the number to the ODJFS main office who could then tell me. I dialed. A woman answered.

"Job and Family Services."

"Yes, I'm trying to find the address or phone number to the Ohio Putative Father Registry?"

"The what?"

"Putative father registry."

"What's that?"

"The office where a man can register if he thinks he may have fathered a child."

"Just a minute."

Another woman came on, presumably a supervisor. "Yes, how can I help you?"

"Do you have the number for the Putative Father Registry?"

"The what?"

I stayed polite. "It's where an unwed father can register so that he gets notice of an adoption involving his child. Actually, if you just give me the number to your main office..."

"Oh, no, you need 'child support.' Their number is...."

I hung up and called information.

"What city please?"

"Columbus."

"What listing?"

"The Ohio Putative Father Registry."

"The what?"

"Putative father registry."

"How do you spell it?"

"P-U-T-A-T-I-V-E father registry."

"Oh, 'T,'" she said, and went silent for a minute. Then: "I don't find any listing, sir."

"Are you sure?"

"There's no listing."

"Okay."

I hung up and got on the Internet and found a search link to the ODJFS website. "Find key documents," the mini-ad read. I clicked on it and was at the ODJFS home page. Two minutes later I found "Frequently Asked Questions."

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