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House Journal: Page 2035: Tuesday, April 30, 1996

of expenditures for children placed in group foster care
ordered by the court within the budget target allocated to
that region pursuant to subsection 1.  The plan shall include
monthly targets and strategies for developing alternatives to
group foster care placements in order to contain expenditures
for child welfare services provided to children within
the amount appropriated by the general assembly for that
purpose.  Each regional plan shall be established in advance of
the fiscal year to which the regional plan applies.  To the
extent possible, the department and the juvenile court shall
coordinate the planning required under this subsection with
planning for services paid under section 232.141, subsection 4. 
The department's regional administrator shall communicate
regularly, as specified in the regional plan, with the juvenile
courts within that region concerning the current status of the
regional plan's implementation.
3.  State payment for group foster care placements shall be
limited to those placements which are in accordance with the
regional plans developed pursuant to subsection 2.  If a
proposed group foster care placement in a region would meet the
region's plan requirements except that the placement would cause
a monthly or overall budget target to be exceeded and the child
is eligible for an alternative service which is costlier and
more restrictive than the proposed placement, the director of
human services, after consultation with appropriate juvenile
court officials, may allow an exception to policy and authorize
the placement.  At the close of the fiscal year, moneys for
specific placements authorized by the director under this
subsection shall be transferred from the state appropriation for
the alternative placement to the appropriation for group foster
care placements, as necessary to prevent a deficit in the
appropriation for group foster care.
Sec. 36.  Section 234.39, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code
Supplement 1995, is amended to read as follows:
It is the intent of this chapter that an individual receiving
foster care services and the individual's parents or guardians,
shall have primary responsibility for paying the cost of the
care and services.  The support obligation established and
adopted under this section shall be consistent with the
limitations on legal liability established under sections 222.78
and 230.15, and by any other statute limiting legal
responsibility for support which may be imposed on a person for
the cost of care and services provided by the department.  The
department shall notify an individual's parents or guardians at
the time of the placement of an individual in foster care, of
the responsibility for paying the cost of care and services. 
Support obligations shall be established as follows:
Sec. 37.  Section 234.39, Code Supplement 1995, is amended by
adding the following new subsection:
NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  The support debt for the costs of
services, for which a support obligation is established pursuant
to this section, which accrues prior to the establishment of the
support debt, shall be collected, at a maximum, in the amount
which is the amount of accrued support debt for the three months
preceding the earlier of the following:
a.  The provision by the child support recovery unit of the
initial notice to the parent or guardian of the amount of the
support obligation.
b.  The date that the written request for a court hearing is
received by the child support recovery unit as provided in
section 252C.3 or 252F.3.
Sec. 38.  NEW SECTION.  239.23  FAMILY INVESTMENT PROGRAM
HOST

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (76th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1996 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

Last update: Wed May 1 22:20:02 CDT 1996
URL: /DOCS/GA/76GA/Session.2/HJournal/02000/02035.html
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