CHILDREN AND YOUTH

SENATE FILE 303 - Child Abuse Assessment Reporting
SENATE FILE 351 - Child Care - Miscellaneous Provisions
SENATE FILE 353 - Child Protection Assistance Teams
SENATE FILE 354 - Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act
HOUSE FILE 206 - Child Abuse Reporting Requirements Involving Sexual Abuse and Reporting by Clergy - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR
HOUSE FILE 457 - Child Welfare Services - Assessment and Plan for Transition to Adulthood

RELATED LEGISLATION

SENATE FILE 36 - Miscellaneous Supplemental and Other Appropriations

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act makes supplemental appropriations for FY 2002-2003 and includes an appropriation to the Department of Human Services for child and family services. The Act takes effect February 17, 2003.

SENATE FILE 221 - Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

SEE CRIMINAL LAW, PROCEDURE & CORRECTIONS. This Act makes changes to the definition of the criminal offense of sexual exploitation of a minor.

SENATE FILE 224 - Child in Need of Assistance Proceedings and Termination of Parental Rights -Appeals

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act relates to expedited time frames for appeals from final orders entered in child in need of assistance and termination of parental rights proceedings.

SENATE FILE 453 - State and Local Government Financial and Regulatory Matters - Miscellaneous Provisions

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act addresses state and local government financial and regulatory matters. Legislators referred to this legislation as the "Government Reinvention Bill" during debate and discussion. The Act includes provisions requiring the Department of Human Services to redesign the child welfare and juvenile justice services system, revising area education agency funding, and revising funding provisions for educational programs for children placed at state institutions.

HOUSE FILE 454 - Newborn and Infant Hearing Screening

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act requires universal newborn and infant hearing screening beginning January 1, 2004.

HOUSE FILE 472 - 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, 2003, and ending September 30, 2004. 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 541 - Birth Certificates - Fees

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act increases the fee for the registration of a birth certificate to $15 beginning July 1, 2003, and ending June 30, 2005, and to $20 beginning July 1, 2005, in order to provide funding for both child abuse prevention and the Birth Defects Institute Central Registry.

HOUSE FILE 558 - Disclosure of Information to Subjects of Child or Dependent Adult Abuse Reports

SEE HUMAN SERVICES. This Act authorizes the Department of Human Services to disclose information to certain persons regarding the listing of an individual in the Child or Dependent Adult Abuse Registry or the Sex Offender Registry when the disclosure is necessary for the protection of a child or dependent adult.

HOUSE FILE 565 - Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa Program

SEE HEALTH & SAFETY. This Act relates to the Healthy and Well Kids in Iowa (hawk-i) Program and the Medical Assistance Program.

HOUSE FILE 667 - Appropriations - Health and Human Services

SEE APPROPRIATIONS. This Act makes appropriations for purposes of health and human services to the Department of Elder Affairs, Iowa Department of Public Health, Department of Inspections and Appeals, Department of Human Services (DHS), and Commission of Veterans Affairs. Division III of the Act makes appropriations to DHS for child support recovery, the children's health insurance program (hawk-i), the Iowa Juvenile Home at Toledo and the State Training School at Eldora, and the Division of Child and Family Services; and addresses the Juvenile Detention Home Fund. Division III also provides that the school attendance requirements for children participating in FIP (known as the "Learnfare" initiative) are suspended for FY 2003-2004.

HOUSE FILE 694 - Judicial Administration and Procedures

SEE CIVIL LAW, PROCEDURE & COURT ADMINISTRATION. This Act eliminates the participation of the Foster Care Review Board in voluntary foster care placements.

CHILDREN AND YOUTH

SENATE FILE 303 - Child Abuse Assessment Reporting (full text of bill)
BY KREIMAN. This Act modifies the requirements for completion of a child abuse assessment report by Department of Human Services workers. If, after a child protection worker completes the assessment process, the worker determines that the child abuse report was spurious or that protective concerns are not present, the assessment report no longer must include identification of the strengths and needs of the child and the child's family or the services available to address the strengths and needs.

SENATE FILE 351 - Child Care - Miscellaneous Provisions (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act revises child care requirements by applying prohibitions against particular individuals having involvement with child care, expanding record checks and evaluations performed by the Department of Human Services (DHS), expanding individual eligibility for state child care assistance, and revising child care fraud sanctions.

The term "involvement with child care" is defined to mean any of the following: child care licensure, registration, employment, receipt of public funding for providing child care, providing child care as a child care home provider, or residence in a child care facility or a child care home.

The Act provides that if the department has denied or revoked a license or registration because a person has continually or repeatedly failed to operate a licensed center or registered child care home in compliance with law and rules, the person is also prohibited from any involvement with child care unless the involvement is specifically permitted by DHS. If a person has been prohibited by DHS from involvement with child care, the person cannot provide unregistered care as a child care home provider.

Current law requires the department to perform criminal and child abuse record checks of persons having involvement with child care and authorizes dependent adult abuse record checks of persons subject to child care regulatory requirements. The Act adds new definitions of the terms "person subject to an evaluation" and "transgression." The new definitions expand existing optional record checks to include the Sex Offender Registry and public or civil offenses. The department may also conduct these checks in other states. "Transgression" means a record indicating a person has committed founded child or dependent adult abuse, is listed in the Sex Offender Registry, has committed a public or civil offense, or has had a child care facility registration or license revoked due to the person's continual or repeated failure to comply with requirements.

The Act provides that a person who has a record of such a transgression is subject to evaluation by the department to determine whether the person's involvement with child care should be prohibited. The Act provides that if a person's involvement with child care is prohibited, DHS may specify a time period after which a person may request that another record check and evaluation be performed.

Current law authorizes the department to allow a person with a record of a transgression to continue to provide child care or to reside in a child care facility, subject to conditions imposed by DHS. The Act applies an absolute prohibition against a person's involvement with child care for persons who committed certain felony-level transgressions or founded sexual abuse, or if the person is listed in the Sex Offender Registry. In addition, the Act applies a five-year prohibition period for a person who committed any criminal offense involving a controlled substance or founded physical abuse.

The Act provides that a person who continues involvement with child care after being prohibited from doing so by DHS commits a simple misdemeanor and may also be restrained by a temporary or permanent injunction.

Waiting list and eligibility requirements for the State Child Care Assistance Program are revised. Families in certain situations are exempt from waiting lists if the program funding runs short. The waiting list exemption is expanded to include a child in a family that is eligible for the program and receives a state adoption subsidy for the child. Program eligibility is provided if a child's parent, guardian or custodian is absent due to hospitalization or physical or mental illness and the Act also provides for eligibility when the parent, guardian or custodian is present but unable to care for the child for a limited period as verified by a physician.

Revisions are made in the administrative sanction process used in situations in which a child care provider is found to have obtained a certain level of public funding by fraudulent means.

SENATE FILE 353 - Child Protection Assistance Teams (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act requires each county attorney to establish a child protection assistance team that may be consulted in cases involving a forcible felony against a child who is less than age 14 when the suspected offender is the person responsible for the care of the child. Under existing law, establishing such teams is optional. One or more county attorneys may agree to establish a single team for a multicounty area. The teams are required to work with the Department of Human Services in developing protocols for those child abuse reports in which there is a law enforcement investigation. Authority is provided for teams to work cooperatively with other local bodies, such as the community empowerment area board.

SENATE FILE 354 - Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This Act implements the federal Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Iowa law and includes requirements not specifically addressed by the federal law. In general, the "Iowa Indian Child Welfare Act," or Iowa ICWA, applies in any voluntary or involuntary child custody proceeding that will result in an Indian child's adoptive placement, foster care placement, preadoptive placement, or termination of parental rights.

If such a proceeding is going to be held, and there is reason to believe that a child may be identified by an Indian tribe as a child of the tribe's community, special requirements apply so that the tribe and extended family members are notified of the proceeding. Procedures are included for a tribal court to assume jurisdiction over the proceeding and for the child's parent, extended family, and tribe to become parties to the proceeding, particularly in involuntary proceedings.

Both Iowa and federal law applicable to involuntary removal of a child or termination of parental rights incorporate the concept that reasonable efforts must be made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal. Iowa ICWA requires active efforts to provide remedial services and rehabilitation programs that go beyond reasonable efforts. Specific activities that constitute active efforts are required.

Placement preferences are specified for the Indian child's adoptive placement and for temporary placements. A priority order for the placements begins with the Indian child's extended family and continues through non-Indian families who are committed to enabling the child to maintain contact with the child's Indian family and tribe.

If a court is considering whether to place a child for foster care or adoption, testimony is required from tribally recognized qualified expert witnesses with specific knowledge of the child's tribe. The qualifications of such persons are specifically outlined.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is required to make efforts to enter into agreements with Indian tribes regarding jurisdiction over Indian child custody proceedings and child welfare placement of Indian children.

Specific requirements are applicable to the permanent record of child custody proceedings involving Indian children in this state. DHS is required to establish a permanent automated database containing a record of Indian child custody proceedings in which DHS is involved. The original files and documents are to be maintained in the local DHS offices. Procedures are provided for adult Indian persons to access their records.

Compliance requirements are included and allow for vacating of court orders resulting from proceedings that did not comply with either the federal or Iowa ICWA. DHS is required to review cases for compliance and the initial review must be completed by June 30, 2004.

HOUSE FILE 206 - Child Abuse Reporting Requirements Involving Sexual Abuse and Reporting by Clergy - VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR (full text of bill)
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES. This bill related to child abuse reporting by increasing the child age for mandatory reporting of suspected child sexual abuse perpetrated by a person other than the person responsible for the care of the child and requiring members of the clergy to be mandatory reporters of child abuse under certain circumstances.

Under existing law, a finding of child abuse requires that the abuse results from the act or omissions of a "person responsible for the care of a child" as defined in the Code. The term includes a parent, guardian, foster parent, relative, other person with whom the child resides, care provider, or other person who assumes care or supervision of a child. However, existing law requires mandatory reporters to also report suspected sex abuse of a child who is under age 12 by a person who is not a caretaker of the child and provides for voluntary reporting of such abuse for older children. The bill would have increased the child age for mandatory reporting of suspected sexual abuse of a child by a noncaretaker from under age 12 to under age 16. Under existing law, the Department of Human Services is required to refer such reports to the appropriate law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to investigate the allegation.

The bill would have required a member of the clergy who, in the scope of professional practice or in their employment responsibilities, examines, attends, counsels, or treats a child and reasonably believes a child has suffered abuse to be a mandatory reporter of that abuse. An exception was made so that reporting is not required when information regarding the abuse was obtained only during a penitential communication. The bill exempted clergy from the requirement for regular training otherwise applicable to mandatory reporters.

HOUSE FILE 457 - Child Welfare Services - Assessment and Plan for Transition to Adulthood (full text of bill)
BY HEATON. This Act expands requirements for the transition of an individual from the child welfare services system to adulthood and, if needed, to the adult services system. Legislators suggested in debate on this legislation that it was crafted to address planning problems identified in the case of a young man named Reggie Kelsey who died after he left the child welfare system upon reaching adulthood.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is directed to establish local transition committees to address the transition to adulthood needs of those children age 16 or older who are receiving child welfare services, have a case permanency plan, and a needs assessment indicates the child is reasonably likely to need or be eligible for services or other support from the adult services system upon reaching age 18.

DHS is directed to establish criteria for membership, operating policies, service areas, and basic functions while providing flexibility for the local committees. DHS may use the governance boards of child welfare decategorization funding projects to appoint the membership for transition committees and may also use the decategorization project boundaries to establish service areas for the committees.

A committee's membership may include various persons involved with the state's systems for child welfare, human services, judicial branch, education, and adult services. The local committee is required to review and approve the written plan for such children required under the case permanency plan that is prepared in accordance with federal requirements for children transferred to the custody of the department.

The duties of a "guardian ad litem" are expanded to require a guardian ad litem to provide assistance to a transition committee in developing a child's transition plan. In addition, for dispositional orders involving a child subject to a transition plan, the court may authorize the child's guardian ad litem or court-appointed special advocate to continue to have a relationship and to provide advice once the child reaches adulthood.

Statutory requirements relating to termination, modification, vacation, and substitution of a child in need of assistance dispositional order are amended to provide that if a child is subject to a court order for an out-of-home placement, a change in that child's level of care requires modification of the order.