135O.3  Response to allegations.
  1.  If the department or other state agency receives an allegation of a violation of this chapter by a boarding home or an allegation regarding the care or safety of an individual living in a boarding home, a coordinated, interagency approach shall be used to respond to the allegation.
  2.  a.  The interagency approach may involve a multidisciplinary team consisting of employees of the department, the department of health and human services, and the division of criminal investigation of the department of public safety, or other local, state, and federal agencies.
  b.  The multidisciplinary team may consult with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, first responders, health and human services professionals, and governmental and nongovernmental advocacy organizations, and other appropriate persons.
  3.  The name of a person who files an allegation shall be kept confidential and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or other means of legal compulsion for its release to a person other than department employees or the members of a multidisciplinary team involved in the investigation of the allegation.
  4.  If the department or a multidisciplinary team has probable cause to believe that a boarding home is in violation of this chapter or licensing or other regulatory requirements of the department of health and human services or the department, or that dependent adult abuse of any individual living in a boarding home has occurred, and upon producing proper identification, is denied entry to the boarding home or access to any individual living in the boarding home for the purpose of making an inspection or conducting an investigation, the department or multidisciplinary team may, with the assistance of the county attorney of the county in which the boarding home is located, apply to the district court for an order requiring the owner or lessee to permit entry to the boarding home and access to the individuals living in the boarding home.
2009 Acts, ch 136, §5; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §1358, 1903, 1904