Children and Youth Legislation

SENATE FILE 2205 Regulation of Child Care and Child Care Providers

HOUSE FILE 2399 Case Permanency Plans - Foster Children Aged Sixteen or Older

HOUSE FILE 2518 Child Foster Care and Adoption

HOUSE FILE 2552 Child Abuse Assessment Interviews

Related Legislation

SENATE FILE 466 Child Care and Child Care Providers - Obtaining Public Funding by Fraudulent Means

SENATE FILE 2121 Child Labor - Motor Vehicle Cleaning - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

SENATE FILE 2197 Sex Offenders - Residency Restrictions - Child Care Facilities and Elementary or Secondary Schools

SENATE FILE 2231 Single Contact Repository - Hospital Access to Current and Prospective Employee Records

SENATE FILE 2275 Substantive Code Corrections

SENATE FILE 2280 Rehabilitative Treatment Services Provider Regulation

SENATE FILE 2286 Sexually Violent Predators - Civil Commitment

SENATE FILE 2325 State Agency Regulatory Functions - Miscellaneous Reorganizations, Transfers, and Revisions

SENATE FILE 2326 Appropriations - Miscellaneous Provisions, Reductions, Transfers, and Other Matters

HOUSE FILE 678 Domestic Relations Action - Mediation - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR

HOUSE FILE 2075 Economic Emergency Funds - Transfer to Tobacco Settlement and Senior Living Trust Funds

HOUSE FILE 2190 Foreign and International Adoption Procedures

HOUSE FILE 2340 Family Investment Program Limited Benefit Plans - Well-Being Visits

HOUSE FILE 2395 Support of Dependents - Calculation and Withholding - Medical and Educational Support

HOUSE FILE 2430 Administration of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Services

HOUSE FILE 2582 Federal Block Grant Appropriations

HOUSE FILE 2615 Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust and Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund - Appropriations

SENATE FILE 2205- Regulation of Child Care and Child Care Providers Full Text of Bill
By Committee on Human Resources.

This Act relates to regulation of child care and child development homes and child care centers. The three major types of registered child care homes are combined into a new "child development home" classification with three categories. Licensing and registration periods are lengthened.

Code Section 237A.1, providing definitions, is amended in several ways. Under prior law, a "child" meant a person under age 18. Under the Act, "child" generally means a person under age 13, with an exception to include a person, age 13 to 18, that has a developmental disability as defined by federal law.

An existing exception to the definition of "child care" for after-school programs is expanded to include summer-only programs for school-age children. A new exception is established for a child whose parent is participating in activities other than employment on the same premises on which the child's care is provided.

Code Section 237A.2, relating to licensing of child care centers, is amended to increase the license validity period from one year to 24 months. A licensee must comply with rules adopted by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the department is authorized to inspect a licensed center at any time. Under prior law, if a license was denied or revoked, a person could not own or operate a center for six months and DHS could not act on an application from that person for the same period. The Act extends that period to 12 months. The Act applies the same time period for purposes of registration of home child care providers.

The Act amends Code Chapter 237A relating to requirements administered by DHS affecting home child care providers. Under prior law, a family child care home could provide child care to six or fewer children at any one time, along with up to five additional children during inclement weather, and registration with DHS was optional. Prior law required a group child care home registration for homes providing care to more than six but fewer than 12 children at any one time, along with up to five additional children during inclement weather. In addition, under Code Section 237A.3A, a pilot project was implemented in at least 10 counties for four levels of registration within a general child care home category. These three types of registration for home child care providers are eliminated.

The Act reduces the number of children allowed to be cared for before registration is required and eliminates family and group child care home registrations. Unregistered child care is defined as a "child care home" serving no more than five children at any one time. Registration is required for homes that may provide care to six or more children at any one time. The registered providers are termed "child development homes" and DHS is directed to develop standards in consultation with the Iowa Department of Public Health for capacity, provider qualifications, health and safety, amount of space available per child, and other requirements based upon three categories of care. Initially, the three categories were "A," "B" and "C," as ranked by applying less stringent to more stringent standards. The requirements for determining the number of children present are included. Smoking of tobacco products in the areas used by children is not permitted during a registered child development home's hours of operation. The Act clarifies that DHS adopts fire safety rules for registered child care homes while the State Fire Marshal adopts fire safety rules for child care centers.

The Act addresses child care provider eligibility for child care wrap-around funding. The Act amends the responsibilities of a child care resource and referral service grantee under Code Section 237A.26. Responsibility for providing specialized services to employers may include identifying networks of providers for employee groups and assisting with employer-supported quality improvement initiatives. A grantee must also provide assistance to public and private funders of child care at the community level, such as community empowerment area boards.

The Act repeals Code Section 237A.27, which established a special regulatory classification for crisis child care.

The Act includes transition provisions allowing a child development home provider who is providing child care to a greater number of children than is allowed for the provider's registration category to continue to provide child care to those children until the children become old enough or are no longer receiving the care.

The Act takes effect October 1, 2002, and is applicable to child care home providers registered prior to that date upon renewal of the registration. The department is authorized to adopt rules in accordance with emergency procedures, which eliminate notice and comment periods, but require review by the Administrative Rules Review Committee.

HOUSE FILE 2399 - Case Permanency Plans - Foster Children Aged Sixteen or Older Full Text of Bill
By Grundberg and Heaton.

This Act relates to the requirements of a case permanency plan for a child who is age 16 or older in a court-ordered out-of-home placement.

As defined in current law under Code Section 232.2, the term "case permanency plan" includes a requirement applicable to a child age 16 or older for developing a service plan, which, based upon an assessment of the child's needs, would assist the child in preparing for independent living. Under current law, the case permanency plan is developed by the Department of Human Services or agency involved with the child and the child's parent, guardian or custodian. The Act requires the service plan and needs assessment to be developed with any person who may be reasonably expected to become a service provider for the child when the child becomes an adult or to become responsible for the cost of services at that time. These persons may include the administrator of county general relief or the single entry point process for services to persons with mental illness or a developmental disability (commonly referred to as the central point of coordination).

The definition of case permanency in the Act also applies to Code Chapter 237 provisions relating to child foster care.

In addition to revising the definition of case permanency plan, the Act amends existing foster care disposition provisions in Code Sections 232.52 and 232.102, involving a child age 16 or older found to be delinquent or to be a child in need of assistance, to require the court to consider the written plan and needs assessment developed for the child's case permanency plan. If the child does not have a case permanency plan containing the written plan and needs assessment at the time the disposition order is entered, the court must consider a written plan and needs assessment to be developed with those persons who are required by the Act to develop a written plan and needs assessment for such a child's case permanency plan.

HOUSE FILE 2518 - Child Foster Care and Adoption Full Text of Bill
By Committee on Human Resources.

This Act relates to child foster care and adoption requirements involving provision of health information, licensure periods, foster parent training, and annual reports.

Code Section 237.3, relating to rules adopted by the Department of Human Services (DHS) for housing, health, safety, and medical care policies for children receiving foster care, is amended to require the department to provide a foster care provider with a child's health information prior to placement.

Code Section 237.5, relating to foster care licensure requirements, is amended to change the term of the license for a child foster care agency from a one?year period to a period of up to three years as determined by the DHS employee designated to administer foster care licensing. The term of the license for an individual foster family home remains at one year.

Code Section 237.5A, relating to foster parent training requirements, is amended to increase the number of hours required for initial foster parent licensure from 12 to 30 hours. For annual renewal, the requirement remains six hours.

Code Sections 238.3 and 238.9, relating to licensure of child-placing agencies, are amended to change the term of the license from a one-year period to a three?year period and to make technical and conforming changes.

Code Section 238.24, relating to information required to be kept confidential, is rewritten to clearly state the prohibition against disclosure of confidential information and the exceptions to that prohibition. Existing law in Code Section 238.45 provides that a violation of the chapter is a fraudulent practice.

Code Section 238.23, requiring child-placing agencies to file an annual report with DHS and specifying the placement and budget information for the report, is repealed.

HOUSE FILE 2552 - Child Abuse Assessment Interviews Full Text of Bill
By Committee on Human Resources.

This Act relates to interviews conducted in association with a child abuse assessment of persons alleged to have committed child abuse.

The Act amends Code Section 232.71B, relating to the duties of the Department of Human Services upon receiving a child abuse report. Prior law provided for an interview or opportunity for an interview with the person alleged to have committed the child abuse in order to afford the person an opportunity to address the allegations of the report. The Act provides that the interview must be offered prior to any consideration or determination being made that the person committed the abuse. Under the Act, the purpose of the interview is to allow the person to explain or rebut the allegations made in the report or during the assessment. Prior law is narrowed in that the court may only waive the requirement to offer an interview for good cause. The Act allows the person or the person's attorney to decline the interview.

Code Section 235A.13, relating to the definitions used for the child abuse information registry, is amended to include in the "report data" definition any recording made of an interview conducted under Code Chapter 232, Juvenile Justice, in association with a child abuse assessment. Report data in existing law includes information about the child, nature of injury to the child, additional information such as the identity of the person alleged to be responsible for the injury, names of other children in the child's home, and any other information believed to be helpful in regard to establishing the additional information. Existing law restricts access to report data to authorized parties. Parties to a child abuse report may examine report data relating to the parties and have specific rights to challenge the data.

SENATE FILE 466 - Child Care and Child Care Providers — Obtaining Public Funding by Fraudulent Means
SEE HUMAN SERVICES.
   This Act provides that a child care provider who has been found in an administrative or judicial proceeding to have used fraudulent means to obtain public funding for child care is subject to administrative sanctions from the Department of Human Services.

SENATE FILE 2121 - Child Labor — Motor Vehicle Cleaning — VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
SEE LABOR & EMPLOYMENT.
   This bill would have amended the child labor laws to permit a child under the age of 18 to use detergents, cleaners and protectants in employment involving motor vehicle cleaning, washing and polishing.

SENATE FILE 2197 - Sex Offenders — Residency Restrictions — Child Care Facilities and Elementary or Secondary Schools
SEE CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS.
   This Act prohibits a convicted sex offender from residing within 2,000 feet of a public or nonpublic elementary or secondary school, or child care facility.

SENATE FILE 2231 - Single Contact Repository - Hospital Access to Current and Prospective Employee Records
SEE HEALTH & SAFETY.
   This Act allows hospitals licensed under Code Chapter 135B to have access to abuse registries for purposes of checking persons employed or being considered for employment.

SENATE FILE 2275 - Substantive Code Corrections
SEE STATE GOVERNMENT.
   This Act contains statutory corrections that adjust language to reflect current practices, insert earlier omissions, delete redundancies and inaccuracies, delete temporary language, resolve inconsistencies and conflicts, update ongoing provisions, or remove ambiguities. Changes made in the area of children and youth include correcting a reference to the Bureau of Vital Records in a provision relating to the transmission of a list of all reported deaths of persons age 17 1/2 years and older to the State Registrar of Voters; correcting a reference to the entity responsible for vital records in language relating to Child Death Review Team members, and correcting language relating to the confidentiality of records and information produced for the team; correcting language relating to when hearing aid dispensers may sell a hearing aid to persons age 12 or younger; clarifying language describing combined requirements for reporters of child and dependent adult abuse; adding a reference to student achievement rules language to a description of comprehensive school transformation activities; striking language from a provision prohibiting persons from allowing unauthorized minors to drive; adding a reference to juvenile proceedings to language describing the kinds of actions in which the State Public Defender coordinates the legal representation of indigents; modifying language describing the compensation of court-appointed attorneys in juvenile matters; modifying references to the prohibitions against child pornography within the definition of the term “criminal offense against a minor” in the Sex Offender Registry chapter; and clarifying language regarding persons who may be charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person or with child endangerment.

SENATE FILE 2280 - Rehabilitative Treatment Services Provider Regulation
SEE HUMAN SERVICES.
   This Act directs the Department of Human Services to revise the requirements for certain child welfare services providers reimbursed for rehabilitative treatment services under the Medical Assistance (Medicaid) Program. The Act takes effect April 23, 2002.

SENATE FILE 2286 - Sexually Violent Predators — Civil Commitment
SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.
   This Act makes numerous changes to the Sexually Violent Predator Act in Code Chapter 229A.

SENATE FILE 2325 - State Agency Regulatory Functions — Miscellaneous Reorganizations, Transfers, and Revisions
SEE STATE GOVERNMENT.
   This Act relates to certain regulatory functions. The Act reorganizes duties of the Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA), transfers the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program from the judicial branch to the DIA, reorganizes the structure of the Department of Natural Resources, provides for legislative review of agencies, and addresses regulation of birth centers.

SENATE FILE 2326 - Appropriations — Miscellaneous Provisions, Reductions, Transfers, and Other Matters
SEE APPROPRIATIONS.
   This Act provides FY 2002-2003 appropriations from the General Fund of the State to the executive and judicial branches of state government, reduces or limits standing appropriations, and transfers appropriations. The Act is organized into divisions corresponding to the General Assembly’s joint appropriations subcommittees and, although the Governor vetoed a large portion of the Act, many provisions affecting children and youth were approved, especially those involving education.

HOUSE FILE 678 - Domestic Relations Action — Mediation — VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.
   This bill would have provided for mandatory participation of parents in mediation or a settlement conference in dissolution of marriage or other domestic relations proceedings that involve custody of a child, unless the court determined that a history of domestic abuse existed or that direct physical harm or significant emotional harm to the child, other children, or a parent was likely to result. The bill also would have required the court, in determining a custody arrangement, on the application of either parent, to consider granting joint physical care. The bill would have taken effect July 1, 2003.

HOUSE FILE 2075 - Economic Emergency Funds — Transfer to Tobacco Settlement and Senior Living Trust Funds
SEE STATE GOVERNMENT.
   This Act directs the repayment from excess moneys in the Economic Emergency Fund of moneys transferred or appropriated from the Endowment for Iowa’s Health Account of the Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund that were used for purposes of the General Fund of the State and for state aid to education.

HOUSE FILE 2190 - Foreign and International Adoption Procedures
SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION.
   This Act relates to recognition of foreign and international adoptions.

HOUSE FILE 2340 - Family Investment Program Limited Benefit Plans — Well-Being Visits
SEE HUMAN SERVICES.
   This Act allows a well-being visit to be conducted on an optional basis under a Family Investment Program Limited Benefit Plan.

HOUSE FILE 2395 - Support of Dependents — Calculation and Withholding — Medical and Educational Support
SEE HUMAN SERVICES.
   This Act makes changes in the law relating to child support, including those relating to medical support and the calculation of the child support amount relative to receipt by a parent of federal social security disability benefits, postsecondary education subsidy provisions, and adoption of a child receiving child support.

HOUSE FILE 2430 - Administration of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Services
SEE HUMAN SERVICES.
   This Act provides for the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (MH/DD) Commission to assume the duties of the State-County Management Committee, incorporates membership positions from the committee into the commission, and transfers certain rules adoption authority from the Council on Human Services to the commission. The State-County Management Committee was created in the mid-1990s to facilitate communication between the Department of Human Services and counties regarding their respective roles with the MH/DD service system.

HOUSE FILE 2582 - Federal Block Grant Appropriations
SEE APPROPRIATIONS.
   This Act appropriates federal block grant and other nonstate moneys to state agencies for the federal fiscal year beginning October 1, 2002, and ending September 30, 2003. The Act includes funding for various programs involving children and families, including Child Care and Development, Maternal and Child Health Services, Community Services, and Social Services Block Grants.

HOUSE FILE 2615 - Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust and Tobacco Settlement Trust Fund — Appropriations
SEE APPROPRIATIONS.
   This Act relates to and makes appropriations from the Healthy Iowans Tobacco Trust and addresses the Medicaid Program, the hawk-i Program, the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program including community partnership funding, and School Ready Children Grant funding under the Community Empowerment Initiative.