House File 2360

                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  HEDDENS


    Passed House,  Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act revising terminology used for child in need of assistance
  2    proceedings.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 5809HH 80
  5 jp/gg/14

PAG LIN

  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.2, subsection 6, paragraphs e, f,
  1  2 g, and m, Code Supplement 2003, are amended to read as
  1  3 follows:
  1  4    e.  Who is in need of medical treatment to cure, alleviate,
  1  5 or prevent serious physical injury or illness and whose
  1  6 parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to
  1  7 provide such treatment fails to exercise a reasonable degree
  1  8 of care to supply the treatment and unreasonably refuses other
  1  9 means made available to supply the treatment.
  1 10    f.  Who is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate
  1 11 serious mental illness or disorder, or emotional damage as
  1 12 evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or
  1 13 untoward aggressive behavior toward self or others and whose
  1 14 parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to
  1 15 provide such treatment fails to exercise a reasonable degree
  1 16 of care to supply the treatment and unreasonably refuses other
  1 17 means made available to supply the treatment.
  1 18    g.  Whose parent, guardian, or custodian fails to exercise
  1 19 a minimal reasonable degree of care in supplying the child
  1 20 with adequate food, clothing, or shelter and unreasonably
  1 21 refuses other means made available to provide supply such
  1 22 essentials.
  1 23    m.  Who is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate
  1 24 chemical dependency and whose parent, guardian, or custodian
  1 25 is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment fails to
  1 26 exercise a reasonable degree of care to supply the treatment
  1 27 and unreasonably refuses other means made available to supply
  1 28 the treatment.
  1 29                           EXPLANATION
  1 30    This bill revises elements of the term "child in need of
  1 31 assistance" (CINA) used in Code chapter 232, the juvenile
  1 32 justice code.
  1 33    The bill addresses elements involving children who are in
  1 34 need of medical treatment, treatment to address serious mental
  1 35 illness or disorders, or emotional damage, or treatment of
  2  1 chemical dependency.  Under current law, a child meets the
  2  2 CINA definition if the child has any of these treatment needs
  2  3 and the parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable
  2  4 to provide the treatment.  Instead, the bill provides the CINA
  2  5 definition is met when the parent, guardian, or custodian
  2  6 fails to exercise a reasonable degree of care to supply the
  2  7 treatment and unreasonably refuses other means made available
  2  8 to supply the treatment.
  2  9    The bill also changes the CINA element involving a parent,
  2 10 guardian, or custodian's failure to exercise a minimal degree
  2 11 of care in supplying the child with adequate food, clothing,
  2 12 or shelter and refusal of other means made available to supply
  2 13 such essentials.  The bill replaces the "minimal degree"
  2 14 standard with a "reasonable degree" standard and requires that
  2 15 the refusal be unreasonable.
  2 16 LSB 5809HH 80
  2 17 jp/gg/14