1. The superintendent of a hospital-school or a special unit may, on application of the parent or guardian, return a patient to the parent or guardian. The superintendent in co-operation with other social agencies under the supervision of the Iowa department of human services may arrange for the patient to be placed at an appropriate health care facility licensed under chapter 135C or at some other appropriate facility, which may include a foster home or group home, either under an arrangement which involves full-time responsibility for the patient by such facility, or as part of an arrangement under which the patient is to participate in one or more educational, developmental or employment programs conducted by other responsible persons, agencies or facilities. Such return or placement may be made at any time, even though the patient was committed by a court, upon recommendation of the professional staff of the hospital-school or special unit that the patient is unlikely to benefit from further treatment, training, instruction, or care at the institution or is likely to improve the patient's life status in an alternate facility.
2. In planning for the placement of a patient outside the hospital-school or special unit, it shall be the superintendent's responsibility to arrange for representation of the patient's interest by the patient's parent or legal guardian. If the patient has no living parent and no legal guardian other than the department or one of its officers or employees, the superintendent shall request some person who has demonstrated by prior activities an informed concern for the welfare and habilitation of the mentally retarded, and who is not an officer or employee of the department nor of any agency or facility which is a party to the arrangement for placement of the patient, to act as the patient's advocate. The superintendent may request some such person to serve as advocate for a patient who has no legal guardian if either or both of the patient's parents are living but are deemed unlikely to or have shown themselves unable to represent the patient's interest effectively due to physical or mental infirmity, residence outside the state at such a distance as to make their effective participation unfeasible, or lack of interest demonstrated by refusal to participate in planning for the patient's placement or by failure to respond within thirty days to a letter sent by restricted certified mail to the last known address of the parent or parents.
3. Each proposed placement shall be reported to the administrator, who may approve, modify, alter, or rescind the action if deemed necessary. In so doing, the superintendent of the hospital-school or special unit involved shall certify in writing to the administrator that there has been compliance with subsection 2 and that the patient's parent, guardian or advocate is or is not satisfied with the proposed placement, as the case may be. In the latter case, the administrator shall afford the parent, guardian or advocate an opportunity to explain objections to the proposed placement and, if the administrator decides to approve the proposed placement despite such objection, shall advise the parent, guardian or advocate of the right to appeal the decision pursuant to subsection 4.
4. If a proposed placement of a patient from a hospital- school or special unit which is not satisfactory to the patient's parent, guardian or advocate is approved by the administrator; or a proposed placement which is satisfactory to the patient's parent, guardian or advocate is modified, altered or rescinded by the administrator, the parent, guardian or advocate may appeal to the department of human services, within thirty days after notification to the parent, guardian or advocate of the proposed placement. The department shall give the appellant reasonable notice and opportunity for a fair hearing, conducted by the director or the director's designee who shall act as an impartial arbiter of fact and law. In such hearing the parent, guardian or advocate shall have the opportunity to confront witnesses, to have access to hospital records, to present evidence and witnesses on their behalf and to be represented by counsel. The standard for such fair hearing shall be to provide "that placement which inures to the best interest of the patient." Judicial review of actions of the department may be sought in accordance with the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act. The department shall furnish the petitioner with a copy of any papers filed by the petitioner in support of the petitioner's position, a transcript of any testimony taken, and a copy of the department's decision. In the district court hearings, the parent, guardian or advocate has the right to be represented by counsel. The court shall, in all cases where the interests of the patient conflict with that of parent, guardian, or advocate, appoint counsel as guardian ad litem for the patient. The guardian ad litem shall be a practicing attorney. Notwithstanding the terms of the Iowa administrative procedure Act, where a petition is filed for judicial review of a proposed placement, the proposed placement shall be stayed pending the outcome of said review proceeding.
5. Placement of a patient outside of a hospital-school or special unit under this section shall not relieve the Iowa department of human services of continuing responsibility for the welfare of the patient, except in cases of discharge under section 222.15 or 222.43. Unless such a discharge has occurred, the department shall provide for review of each placement arrangement made under this section at least once each year, or not more often than once each six months upon the written request of the patient's parent, guardian or advocate, with a view to ascertaining whether such arrangements continue to satisfactorily meet the patient's current needs.
6. The proposed return or placement of a patient outside a hospital-school or special unit shall be reported to the board of supervisors of the patient's county of legal settlement. The county board may not change a placement or program arranged and approved under this section if state funds are being made available to the county which the county may by law use to pay a portion of the cost of care of the patient so placed, however the board may at any time propose an alternative placement or program to the administrator. No such alternative placement or program shall be carried out without the prior written approval of the administrator, which shall be granted only after evaluation in the same manner as provided by this section for initial placements from a hospital-school or special unit.
7. When a patient committed by a court is to be returned to the parent or guardian, or placed out from a hospital-school or a special unit as otherwise provided in this section, notice shall be sent to the clerk of the court which committed the patient, and to the board of supervisors of both the patient's county of legal settlement and the county to which the patient is to be released, thirty days prior to the time the patient leaves the hospital-school or special unit.
[C97, § 2698; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 3405, 3446; C46, § 221.4; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, § 222.36, 223.19; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 222.59]
83 Acts, ch 96, § 157, 159; 90 Acts, ch 1271, § 1502
Referred to in § 225C.4, 331.381
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1995
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