Iowa General Assembly Banner

 
Text: SF00327                           Text: SF00329
Text: SF00300 - SF00399                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

Senate File 328

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 135C.33, Code 1997, is amended to read
  1  2 as follows:
  1  3    135C.33  CHILD OR DEPENDENT ADULT ABUSE INFORMATION AND
  1  4 CRIMINAL RECORDS – EVALUATIONS.
  1  5    1.  On or after July 1, 1994 1997, with regard to new
  1  6 applicants for licensure or employment, if a person is being
  1  7 considered for licensure under this chapter, or for employment
  1  8 involving direct responsibility for a resident or with access
  1  9 to a resident when the resident is alone, or if the person
  1 10 considered for licensure or employment under this chapter will
  1 11 reside in by a facility, the facility may shall request that
  1 12 the department of human services inspections and appeals
  1 13 conduct criminal and child and dependent adult abuse record
  1 14 checks in this state and.  In addition, the department of
  1 15 inspections and appeals may perform the records checks in
  1 16 other states, on a random basis.  Beginning July 1, 1994 1997,
  1 17 a facility shall inform all new applicants for employment of
  1 18 the possibility of regarding the performance of a record check
  1 19 the records checks and shall obtain, from the applicant, a
  1 20 signed acknowledgment of the receipt of the information.
  1 21 Additionally, on or after July 1, 1994, a facility shall
  1 22 include the following inquiry in an application for
  1 23 employment:  "Do you have a record of founded child or
  1 24 dependent adult abuse or have you ever been convicted of a
  1 25 crime, in this state or any other state?"  If the person has
  1 26 been convicted of a crime under a law of any state or has a
  1 27 record of founded child or dependent adult abuse, the
  1 28 department of human services shall perform an evaluation to
  1 29 determine whether the crime or founded child or dependent
  1 30 adult abuse warrants prohibition of licensure, employment, or
  1 31 residence in by the facility.  The evaluation shall be
  1 32 performed in accordance with procedures adopted for this
  1 33 purpose by the department of human services.
  1 34    2.  If the department of human services inspections and
  1 35 appeals determines that a person has committed a crime or has
  2  1 a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse and is
  2  2 licensed, employed by a facility licensed under this chapter,
  2  3 or resides in a licensed facility, the department shall notify
  2  4 the licensee that an evaluation will be conducted by the
  2  5 department of human services to determine whether prohibition
  2  6 of the person's licensure, employment, or residence is
  2  7 warranted.
  2  8    3.  In an evaluation, the department of human services
  2  9 shall consider the nature and seriousness of the crime or
  2 10 founded child or dependent adult abuse in relation to the
  2 11 position sought or held, the time elapsed since the commission
  2 12 of the crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse, the
  2 13 circumstances under which the crime or founded child or
  2 14 dependent adult abuse was committed, the degree of
  2 15 rehabilitation, the likelihood that the person will commit the
  2 16 crime or founded child or dependent adult abuse again, and the
  2 17 number of crimes or founded child or dependent adult abuses
  2 18 committed by the person involved.  The department of human
  2 19 services has final authority in determining whether
  2 20 prohibition of the person's licensure, employment, or
  2 21 residence is warranted.
  2 22    4.  If the department of human services determines that the
  2 23 person has committed a crime or has a record of founded child
  2 24 or dependent adult abuse which warrants prohibition of
  2 25 licensure, employment, or residence, the person shall not be
  2 26 licensed under this chapter and shall not be employed by a
  2 27 facility or reside in a facility licensed under this chapter.
  2 28    5.  a.  The department of inspections and appeals shall
  2 29 maintain a registry of those persons who have been certified
  2 30 by the department as a nurse aide or medication aide and have
  2 31 been subject to record checks under this section.  If a person
  2 32 who is certified as a nurse aide or medication aide is
  2 33 prohibited under subsection 4 from employment under this
  2 34 chapter, the registry shall indicate the prohibition.
  2 35    b.  The department of inspections and appeals shall consult
  3  1 with the department of human services in developing protocols
  3  2 to operate the registry in a manner which protects the public
  3  3 and maintains the privacy of the persons included in the
  3  4 registry.  The circumstances addressed by the protocols shall
  3  5 include but are not limited to all of the following:
  3  6    (1)  Exchange of information between the departments.
  3  7    (2)  Procedures to provide for employer access to registry
  3  8 check information via telephone.
  3  9    (3)  Updating of the records checks required by this
  3 10 section for nurse and medication aides upon change of
  3 11 employment.
  3 12    Sec. 3.  Section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code
  3 13 1997, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  3 14    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (16)  To the department of inspections
  3 15 and appeals for purposes of performing records checks required
  3 16 under section 135C.33.
  3 17    Sec. 4.  Section 235B.6, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code
  3 18 1997, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  3 19    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (7)  The department of inspections and
  3 20 appeals for purposes of performing records checks required
  3 21 under section 135C.33.  
  3 22                           EXPLANATION
  3 23    This bill relates to health care facilities by requiring
  3 24 employment checks of prospective health care facility
  3 25 employees and providing for a registry of persons who are
  3 26 certified as a nurse aide or medication aide.
  3 27    The bill amends Code section 135C.33 to require the
  3 28 department of inspections and appeals to conduct criminal and
  3 29 child and dependent adult abuse records checks of prospective
  3 30 health care facility employees.  Under current law, the checks
  3 31 are done pursuant to a request by the health care facility to
  3 32 the department of human services and are done only on a random
  3 33 basis.  In addition, the bill applies to all facility
  3 34 employees by striking references to licensees and persons
  3 35 residing in a health care facility.
  4  1    The bill requires the records checks regarding employment
  4  2 by residential care facilities, nursing facilities,
  4  3 intermediate care facilities for persons with mental
  4  4 retardation, and intermediate care facilities for persons with
  4  5 mental illness licensed under chapter 135C.
  4  6    The bill amends Code section 135C.33 to provide that if the
  4  7 department of inspections and appeals determines there is a
  4  8 record of a crime or founded abuse there will be an evaluation
  4  9 to determine if prohibition of employment by a health care
  4 10 facility is warranted.
  4 11    Current law is unchanged which, after a records check is
  4 12 done, prohibits the employment by a health care facility of a
  4 13 person who has committed a crime or has a record of founded
  4 14 child or dependent adult abuse if the prohibition is found to
  4 15 be warranted by a department of human services evaluation.
  4 16    The bill further amends Code section 135C.33 to require the
  4 17 department inspections and appeals to maintain a registry of
  4 18 persons who are certified by the department of inspections and
  4 19 appeals as a nurse or medication aide and for whom the records
  4 20 checks have been performed.  If a person is prohibited from
  4 21 employment in a health care facility as a result of the
  4 22 checks, the prohibition is to be indicated in the registry.
  4 23    The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals
  4 24 to consult with the department of human services in developing
  4 25 protocols for operating the registry.  The protocols are to
  4 26 address information exchanges between the departments,
  4 27 procedures for employers to check the registry, and procedures
  4 28 for updating the records checks required for nurse and
  4 29 medication aides.
  4 30    The bill also amends Code sections 235A.15 and 235B.6 to
  4 31 provide the department of inspections and appeals with access
  4 32 to the child and dependent adult abuse registries for purposes
  4 33 of performing the records checks.  
  4 34 LSB 2043XS 77
  4 35 jp/jj/8.1
     
Text: SF00327                           Text: SF00329
Text: SF00300 - SF00399                 Text: SF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index
Return To Home Iowa General Assembly

index Search: Senate Bills and Amendments (77th General Assembly)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments about this site or page? webmaster@legis.iowa.gov. Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.

Last update: Tue Mar 18 08:30:03 CST 1997
URL: /DOCS/GA/77GA/Legislation/SF/00300/SF00328/970306.html
jhf