216A.107  Family development and self-sufficiency — council and grant program.
  1.  A family development and self-sufficiency council is established within the department. The council shall consist of the following persons:
  a.  The director of the department or the director’s designee.
  b.  The director of the school of social work at the university of Iowa or the director’s designee.
  c.  The dean of the college of human sciences at Iowa state university or the dean’s designee.
  d.  Two recipients or former recipients of the family investment program, selected by the other members of the council.
  e.  One recipient or former recipient of the family investment program who is a member of a racial or ethnic minority, selected by the other members of the council.
  f.  One member representing providers of services to victims of domestic violence, selected by the other members of the council.
  g.  The head of the department of design, textiles, gerontology, and family studies at the university of northern Iowa or that person’s designee.
  h.  The director of the department of education or the director’s designee.
  i.  The director of the department of workforce development or the director’s designee.
  j.  Two persons representing the business community, selected by the other members of the council.
  k.  Two members from each chamber of the general assembly serving as ex officio, nonvoting members. The two members of the senate shall be appointed one each by the majority leader and the minority leader of the senate. The two members of the house of representatives shall be appointed one each by the speaker and the minority leader of the house of representatives.
  2.  Unless otherwise provided by law, terms of members, election of officers, and other procedural matters shall be as determined by the council. A quorum shall be required for the conduct of business of the council, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the currently appointed voting members is necessary for any substantive action taken by the council. A member shall not vote on any action if the member has a conflict of interest on the matter, and a statement by the member of a conflict of interest shall be conclusive for this purpose. 
  3.  The family development and self-sufficiency council shall do all of the following:
  a.  Identify the factors and conditions that place Iowa families at risk of dependency upon the family investment program. The council shall seek to use relevant research findings and national and Iowa-specific data on the family investment program.
  b.  Identify the factors and conditions that place Iowa families at risk of family instability. The council shall seek to use relevant research findings and national and Iowa-specific data on family stability issues.
  c.  Subject to the availability of funds for this purpose, award grants to public or private organizations for provision of family development services to families at risk of dependency on the family investment program or of family instability. Not more than five percent of any funds appropriated by the general assembly for the purposes of this lettered paragraph may be used for staffing and administration of the grants. Grant proposals for the family development and self-sufficiency grant program shall include the following elements:
  (1)  Designation of families to be served that meet one or more criteria for being at risk of dependency on the family investment program or of family instability, and agreement to serve clients that are referred by the department from the family investment program which meet the criteria. The criteria may include but are not limited to factors such as educational level, work history, family structure, age of the youngest child in the family, previous length of stay on the family investment program, and participation in the family investment program or the foster care program while the head of a household was a child. Grant proposals shall also establish the number of families to be served under the grant.
  (2)  Designation of the services to be provided for the families served, including assistance regarding job-seeking skills, family budgeting, nutrition, self-esteem, methamphetamine education, health and hygiene, child rearing, child education preparation, and goal setting. Grant proposals shall indicate the support groups and support systems to be developed for the families served during the transition between the need for assistance and self-sufficiency.
  (3)  Designation of the manner in which other needs of the families will be provided for, including but not limited to child care assistance, transportation, substance use disorder treatment, support group counseling, food, clothing, and housing.
  (4)  Designation of the process for training of the staff which provides services, and the appropriateness of the training for the purposes of meeting family development and self-sufficiency goals of the families being served.
  (5)  Designation of the support available within the community for the program and for meeting subsequent needs of the clients, and the manner in which community resources will be made available to the families being served.
  (6)  Designation of the manner in which the program will be subject to audit and to evaluation.
  (7)  Designation of agreement provisions for tracking and reporting performance measures developed pursuant to paragraph “d”.
  d.  Develop appropriate performance measures for the grant program to demonstrate how the program helps families achieve self-sufficiency.
  e.  Seek to enlist research support from the Iowa research community in meeting the duties outlined in paragraphs “a” through “d”.
  f.  Seek additional support for the funding of grants under the program, including but not limited to funds available through the federal government in serving families at risk of long-term welfare dependency, and private foundation grants.
  g.  Make recommendations to the governor and the general assembly on the effectiveness of programs in Iowa and throughout the country that provide family development services that lead to self-sufficiency for families at risk of welfare dependency.
  4.  a.  The department shall administer the family development and self-sufficiency grant program. 
  b.  To the extent that the family development and self-sufficiency grant program is funded by the federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant and by the state maintenance of efforts funds appropriated in connection with the block grant, the department shall comply with all federal requirements for the block grant. The department is responsible for payment of any federal penalty imposed that is attributable to the grant program and shall receive any federal bonus payment attributable to the grant program.
  c.  The department shall ensure that expenditures of moneys appropriated to the department from the general fund of the state for the family development and self-sufficiency grant program are eligible to be considered as state maintenance of effort expenditures under federal temporary assistance for needy families block grant requirements.
  d.  The department shall consider the recommendations of the council in adopting rules pertaining to the grant program.
  e.  The department shall submit to the governor and general assembly on or before November 30 following the end of each state fiscal year, a report detailing performance measure and outcome data evaluating the family development and self-sufficiency grant program for the fiscal year that just ended.
2008 Acts, ch 1072, §1; 2010 Acts, ch 1031, §135, 170; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §304 – 306
Referred to in §232.69, 239B.8
Legislative appointments, see §69.16B 
Subsection 1 amended
Subsection 3, paragraph c, subparagraphs (1) and (3) amended
Subsection 4 amended