Text: HF02248                           Text: HF02250
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House File 2249

Partial Bill History

Bill Text

PAG LIN
  1  1                           DIVISION I
  1  2                  HOME CONDITION INVESTIGATIONS
  1  3    Section 1.  Section 598.12, subsections 2 and 3, Code 1999,
  1  4 are amended to read as follows:
  1  5    2.  The court may require that the department of human
  1  6 services or an appropriate agency make an investigation of
  1  7 both parties regarding the home conditions, parenting
  1  8 capabilities, and other matters pertinent to the best
  1  9 interests of the child or children in a dispute concerning
  1 10 custody of the child or children.  The investigation report
  1 11 completed by the department of human services or an
  1 12 appropriate agency shall be submitted to the court and
  1 13 available to both parties.  The investigation report completed
  1 14 by the department of human services or an appropriate agency
  1 15 shall be a part of the record unless otherwise ordered by the
  1 16 court.
  1 17    3.  The court shall enter an order in favor of the
  1 18 attorney, the department of human services, or an appropriate
  1 19 agency for fees and disbursements, which and the amount shall
  1 20 be charged against the party responsible for court costs
  1 21 unless the court determines that the party responsible for
  1 22 costs is indigent in which event the fees shall be borne by
  1 23 the county.  
  1 24                           DIVISION II
  1 25                      ABUSE REGISTRY ACCESS
  1 26    Sec. 2.  Section 235A.19, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code
  1 27 1999, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
  1 28    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (8)  For statutorily authorized record
  1 29 checks for employment of an individual by a provider of adult
  1 30 home care, adult health facility care, or other adult
  1 31 placement facility care.
  1 32    Sec. 3.  Section 235B.6, subsection 2, paragraph e, Code
  1 33 Supplement 1999, is amended by adding the following new
  1 34 subparagraph:
  1 35    NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (8)  To the administrator of an agency
  2  1 providing care to a dependent adult in another state, for the
  2  2 purpose of performing an employment background check.  
  2  3                          DIVISION III
  2  4                      CASE PERMANENCY PLANS
  2  5    Sec. 4.  Section 232.2, subsection 4, unnumbered paragraph
  2  6 1, Code Supplement 1999, is amended to read as follows:
  2  7    "Case permanency plan" means the plan, mandated by Pub. L.
  2  8 No. 96-272 and Pub. L. No. 105-89, as codified in 42 U.S.C. }
  2  9 671(a)(16), 627(a)(2)(B), and 675(1),(5), which is designed to
  2 10 achieve placement in the least restrictive, most family-like
  2 11 setting available and in close proximity to the parent's home,
  2 12 consistent with the best interests and special needs of the
  2 13 child, and which considers the placement's proximity to the
  2 14 school in which the child is enrolled at the time of
  2 15 placement.  The plan shall be developed by the department or
  2 16 agency involved and the child's parent, guardian, or
  2 17 custodian.  The plan shall specifically include all of the
  2 18 following:
  2 19    Sec. 5.  Section 237.15, subsection 1, Code 1999, is
  2 20 amended by striking the subsection and inserting in lieu
  2 21 thereof the following:
  2 22    1.  "Case permanency plan" means the same as defined in
  2 23 section 232.2, subsection 4, except the plan shall also
  2 24 include the following:
  2 25    a.  The efforts to place the child with a relative.
  2 26    b.  The rationale for an out-of-state placement, and the
  2 27 efforts to prevent such placement, if the child has been
  2 28 placed out-of-state.
  2 29    c.  Time frames to meet the stated permanency goal and
  2 30 short-term objectives.  
  2 31                           DIVISION IV
  2 32                        GROUP FOSTER CARE
  2 33    Sec. 6.  Section 232.143, subsections 1 and 2, Code
  2 34 Supplement 1999, are amended to read as follows:
  2 35    1.  A statewide expenditure target for children in group
  3  1 foster care placements in a fiscal year, which placements are
  3  2 a charge upon or are paid for by the state, shall be
  3  3 established annually in an appropriation bill by the general
  3  4 assembly.  The department and the judicial branch juvenile
  3  5 court services shall jointly develop a formula for allocating
  3  6 a portion of the statewide expenditure target established by
  3  7 the general assembly to each of the department's regions.  The
  3  8 formula shall be based upon the region's proportion of the
  3  9 state population of children and of the statewide usage of
  3 10 group foster care in the previous five completed fiscal years
  3 11 and other indicators of need.  The expenditure amount
  3 12 determined in accordance with the formula shall be the group
  3 13 foster care budget target for that region.  A region may
  3 14 exceed its budget target for group foster care by not more
  3 15 than five fifteen percent in a fiscal year, provided the
  3 16 overall funding allocated by the department for all child
  3 17 welfare and juvenile justice services in the region is not
  3 18 exceeded.  Funding needed to pay for a child placed in group
  3 19 foster care shall be considered encumbered for the duration of
  3 20 the child's projected or actual length of stay, whichever is
  3 21 applicable.
  3 22    2.  For each of the department's regions, representatives
  3 23 appointed by the department and the juvenile court services
  3 24 shall establish a plan for containing the expenditures for
  3 25 children placed in group foster care ordered by the court
  3 26 within the budget target allocated to that region pursuant to
  3 27 subsection 1.  The plan shall include monthly targets and
  3 28 strategies for developing alternatives to group foster care
  3 29 placements in order to contain expenditures for child welfare
  3 30 and juvenile justice services within the amount appropriated
  3 31 by the general assembly for that purpose.  Each regional plan
  3 32 shall be established within sixty days of the date by which
  3 33 the group foster care budget target for the region is
  3 34 determined.  To the extent possible, the department and the
  3 35 juvenile court services shall coordinate the planning required
  4  1 under this subsection with planning for services paid under
  4  2 section 232.141, subsection 4.  The department's regional
  4  3 administrator shall communicate regularly, as specified in the
  4  4 regional plan, with the chief officers of juvenile courts
  4  5 court services within that region concerning the current
  4  6 status of the regional plan's implementation.  
  4  7                           EXPLANATION
  4  8    This bill relates to child and family services administered
  4  9 by the department of human services.
  4 10    Division I amends Code section 598.12, relating to
  4 11 investigations and attorneys for a minor child involving
  4 12 dissolution of marriage.  The amendment strikes references to
  4 13 the department of human services in provisions authorizing the
  4 14 court to appoint the department or an appropriate agency to
  4 15 make investigations regarding placement of the child,
  4 16 parenting capacities, and other matters.
  4 17    Division II relates to child and dependent adult abuse
  4 18 registry access.
  4 19    Code section 235A.19, relating to requests for correction
  4 20 or expungement of child abuse information and appeals,
  4 21 prohibits the department from disclosing the information until
  4 22 the conclusion of proceedings.  However, there is a list of
  4 23 exceptions to the prohibition.  The bill adds to that list by
  4 24 allowing disclosure for statutorily authorized record checks
  4 25 for employment of an individual by a provider of adult home
  4 26 care, adult health facility care, or other adult placement
  4 27 facility care.
  4 28    Code section 235B.6 is amended to allow access to dependent
  4 29 adult abuse information to the administrator of an agency
  4 30 providing care to a dependent adult in another state, for the
  4 31 purpose of performing an employment background check.
  4 32    Division III relates to the definitions of case permanency
  4 33 plans for children removed for out-of-home placements.  The
  4 34 bill amends the definition in Code section 232.2 of the
  4 35 juvenile justice code to include a reference to the federal
  5  1 requirements for the plans in the federal Adoption and Safe
  5  2 Families Act, Pub. L. No. 105-89.  In addition, the bill
  5  3 amends a definition of case permanency plan in Code section
  5  4 237.15, used for the foster care review process.  The bill
  5  5 strikes and rewrites the current definition to incorporate
  5  6 identical language in the Code section 232.2 definition by
  5  7 reference and reinsert additional plan requirements that exist
  5  8 in the current statute.
  5  9    Division IV amends Code section 232.143, relating to the
  5 10 regional group foster care budget targets.  Under current law,
  5 11 a region can exceed its budget target for group foster care by
  5 12 not more than 5 percent, provided the overall funding
  5 13 allocated for child welfare services in that region is not
  5 14 exceeded.  The bill increases the authorization to 15 percent
  5 15 of the budget target and expands the overall funding source
  5 16 which cannot be exceeded from child welfare funding to also
  5 17 include the funding for juvenile justice services.
  5 18    In addition, the bill changes the responsibility to plan
  5 19 for funding with the department from the "judicial branch" and
  5 20 "juvenile court" to "juvenile court services".  Language is
  5 21 added that provides that the funding needed to pay for a
  5 22 child's group foster care placement is to be considered
  5 23 encumbered for the projected or actual stay, whichever is
  5 24 applicable.  Language to this effect was included in the
  5 25 department's appropriations legislation for fiscal years 1998-
  5 26 1999 and 1999-2000.  
  5 27 LSB 5233HV 78
  5 28 jp/as/5
     

Text: HF02248                           Text: HF02250
Text: HF02200 - HF02299                 Text: HF Index
Bills and Amendments: General Index     Bill History: General Index

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