10/19/2023 15:0625:E4E32154-BEB9-4186-B38A-18D98D5869B043237CHILD FOSTER CARE FACILITIESICHILD FOSTER CARE237.1Definitions.As used in this chapter:1“Agency” means a person that does not meet the definition of an individual or a kinship caregiver.2“Agency licensee” means an agency issued a license under this chapter.3“Approval” means the authorization granted to a kinship caregiver by the department through an expedited process under this chapter to provide child foster care, and allows the kinship caregiver to receive maximum financial support and to obtain the information and resources necessary to meet the needs of a child under a court-ordered placement with the kinship caregiver.4“Approved kinship caregiver” means a kinship caregiver granted approval under this chapter.5“Child” means the same as defined in section 234.1.6“Child foster care” means the provision of parental nurturing, including but not limited to the furnishing of food, lodging, training, education, supervision, treatment, or other care, to a child on a full-time basis by a person, including a relative or fictive kin of the child if the relative or fictive kin is an individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver, but not including a guardian of the child. “Child foster care” does not include any of the following care situations:aCare furnished by an individual who receives the child of a personal friend as an occasional and personal guest in the individual’s home, free of charge and not as a business.bCare furnished by an individual with whom a child has been placed for lawful adoption, unless that adoption is not completed within two years after placement.cCare furnished by a private boarding school subject to approval by the state board of education pursuant to section 256.11.dChild care furnished by a child care center, a child development home, or a child care home as those terms are defined in section 237A.1.eCare furnished in a hospital licensed under chapter 135B or care furnished in a nursing facility licensed under chapter 135C.fCare furnished by a relative or fictive kin of a child when the child is not under the placement, care, or supervision of the department.7“Department” means the department of health and human services.8“Director” means the director of health and human services.9“Facility” means the personnel, program, physical plant, and equipment of a licensee or approved kinship caregiver. “Facility” includes a foster family home.10“Fictive kin” means the same as defined in section 232.2.11“Foster family home” means a single-family home environment in which child foster care is provided.12“Individual” means a natural person or a married couple.13“Individual licensee” means an individual, including an individual who is a relative or fictive kin, issued a license under this chapter.14“Kinship caregiver” means a relative or fictive kin of a child.15“License” means the authorization issued to an individual or an agency by the department under this chapter to provide child foster care.16“Licensee” means an individual or an agency licensed under this chapter.17“Protective locked environment” means a setting that prevents egress from a building or grounds as a protective measure to ensure safety and security.18“Reasonable and prudent parent standard” means the standard characterized by careful and sensible parenting decisions that maintain the health, safety, and best interests of a child, while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of a child, that a caretaker shall use when determining whether to allow a child in child foster care under the placement, care, or supervision of the department to participate in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activities. For the purposes of this subsection, “caretaker” means a licensee with which a child in child foster care has been placed, an approved kinship caregiver with whom a child in child foster care has been placed, or a juvenile shelter care home approved under chapter 232 in which a child in child foster care has been placed.19“Relative” means an individual related to a child within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity by marriage or through adoption.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a42, -a43; C39, §3661.056, 3661.057; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.1, 237.2; C81, §237.1; 82 Acts, ch 1016, §1]83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §1418; 87 Acts, ch 44, §1; 90 Acts, ch 1039, §14; 99 Acts, ch 192, §29; 2002 Acts, ch 1142, §2, 31; 2016 Acts, ch 1063, §20; 2017 Acts, ch 100, §1; 2019 Acts, ch 126, §4; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §726; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §416; 2025 Acts, ch 86, §33; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §12See Code editor’s note on simple harmonization at the beginning of this Code volumeSection amended237.2Purpose.It is the policy of this state to provide appropriate protection for children who are separated from the direct personal care of their parents, relatives, fictive kin, or guardians and, as a result, are subject to difficulty in achieving appropriate physical, mental, emotional, educational, or social development. This chapter shall be construed and administered to further that policy by assuring that child foster care is adequately provided by competently staffed and well-equipped child foster care facilities, including but not limited to residential treatment centers, group homes, and foster family homes.[C81, §237.2]2025 Acts, ch 135, §13Section amended237.3Rules.1Except as otherwise provided by subsections 3 and 4, the department shall adopt and enforce in accordance with chapter 17A, administrative rules necessary to implement this chapter. Formulation of the rules shall include consultation with representatives of child foster care providers and other persons affected by this chapter. The rules shall encourage the provision of child foster care in foster family homes, and shall exempt foster family homes from inappropriate rules.2Rules relating to individual licensees and agency licensees, as applicable, shall include but are not limited to all of the following:aTypes of facilities which include but are not limited to group foster care facilities and foster family homes.bThe number, qualifications, character, and parenting ability of personnel necessary to assure the health, safety and welfare of children receiving child foster care.cPrograms for education and in-service training of personnel.dThe physical environment of a facility.ePolicies for intake, assessment, admission and discharge.fHousing, health, safety, and medical care policies for children receiving child foster care. The medical care policies shall include but are not limited to all of the following:1Provision of a child’s health records, and any other information possessed or known about the health of the child or about a member of the child’s family that pertains to the child’s health, from the department to a licensee or an approved kinship caregiver at or before the time of a child’s placement with the licensee or approved kinship caregiver.2If the health records supplied to the licensee or approved kinship caregiver in accordance with the child’s case permanency plan are incomplete, or the licensee or approved kinship caregiver requests specific health information, procedures for obtaining additional health information from the child’s parent, or other source, and providing the additional information to the licensee or approved kinship caregiver.3Provision for emergency health coverage of the child while the child is engaged in temporary, out-of-state travel with the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.g1The adequacy of programs available to children receiving child foster care provided by agencies, including but not limited to:aDietary services.bSocial services.cActivity programs.dBehavior management procedures.eEducational programs, including, where appropriate, special education as defined in section 256B.2, which are approved by the state board of education.2The department shall not adopt rules that regulate individual licensees or approved kinship caregivers in the subject areas enumerated in this paragraph.hPolicies for involvement of biological parents.iRecords a licensee or approved kinship caregiver is required to keep, and reports a licensee or approved kinship caregiver is required to make to the department.jPrior to the licensing of an individual, completion of a required, written social assessment of the quality of the living situation in an individual’s prospective foster family home, and completion of a required compilation of personal references for the individual, other than references provided by the individual.kElements of a foster care placement agreement outlining rights and responsibilities associated with an individual or kinship caregiver providing child foster care. The rights and responsibilities shall include but are not limited to all of the following:1Receiving information prior to the child’s placement regarding risk factors concerning the child that are known to the department, including but not limited to notice if the child is required to register under chapter 692A.2Having regularly scheduled meetings with each case manager assigned to the child.3Receiving access to any reports prepared by a service provider who is working with the child unless the access is prohibited by state or federal law.3Rules governing fire safety in a facility in which child foster care is provided by an agency shall be adopted by the director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing pursuant to section 10A.511, after consultation with the director.4Rules governing sanitation, water, and waste disposal standards for facilities shall be adopted by the department pursuant to section 135.11.5In case of a conflict between rules adopted pursuant to subsections 3 and 4 and local ordinances, the more stringent requirement shall apply.6Rules adopted by the department shall not prohibit the licensing of a departmental employee not directly engaged in the administration of the child foster care program pursuant to this chapter, as an individual licensee.7If an agency is accredited by the joint commission under the joint commission’s consolidated standards for residential settings, or by the council on accreditation, the department shall modify the facility licensure standards applied to the agency to avoid duplication of standards applied through accreditation.8The department, in consultation with the judicial branch, residential treatment providers, the foster care provider association, and other parties which may be affected, shall review the rules pertaining to licensing of residential treatment facilities, and determine if the rules allow residential treatment facilities to accept and provide effective treatment to juveniles with serious problems who might not otherwise be placed in residential treatment facilities.9The department shall adopt rules that specify the elements of a preadoptive care agreement outlining the rights and responsibilities associated with a person providing preadoptive care, as defined in section 232.2.10The department shall adopt rules to allow a child care facility to provide respite care in a foster family home for a period of twenty-four hours or more to a child who is placed with an individual licensee, as provided in section 237A.1, subsection 2, paragraph “l”.11The department shall adopt rules to require the department or a representative of the department to visit a child placed with an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver within two weeks of the child being placed with the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver, and at least once each calendar month thereafter.12The department shall adopt rules that allow each individual licensee and each approved kinship caregiver to apply the reasonable and prudent parent standard to create opportunities for a child to participate in age or developmentally appropriate activities.13The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A relating to the application of a protective locked environment to child foster care licensees.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a52; C39, §3661.066; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.11; C81, §237.3]83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 89 Acts, ch 283, §26; 90 Acts, ch 1023, §1; 92 Acts, ch 1231, §39; 93 Acts, ch 172, §40; 94 Acts, ch 1046, §5; 97 Acts, ch 164, §5, 6; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §25; 2001 Acts, ch 105, §1, 2, 4; 2002 Acts, ch 1102, §1, 2; 2006 Acts, ch 1160, §2; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §241; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §232; 2010 Acts, ch 1193, §115, 116; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §727, 1358, 1644; 2023 Acts, ch 80, §1; 2024 Acts, ch 1043, §71; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §417; 2025 Acts, ch 86, §34, 64; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §14See Code editor’s note on simple harmonization at the beginning of this Code volumeSection amended237.4License required exceptions.An individual or an agency shall not provide child foster care unless the individual or agency is a licensee. However, a license under this chapter is not required of the following:1An individual providing child foster care for a total of not more than twenty days in one calendar year.2A residential care facility licensed under chapter 135C which is approved for the care of children.3A hospital licensed under chapter 135B.4A health care facility licensed under chapter 135C.5A juvenile detention home or juvenile shelter care home approved under section 232.142.6An institution listed in section 218.1.7A facility licensed under chapter 125.8An individual providing child care as a babysitter at the request of a parent, guardian, fictive kin, or relative having lawful custody of the child.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a49; C39, §3661.063; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.8; C81, §237.4; 82 Acts, ch 1016, §2]84 Acts, ch 1050, §1; 87 Acts, ch 44, §22023 Acts, ch 19, §728; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §15, 16Unnumbered paragraph 1 amendedSubsection 8 amended237.5License application and issuance denial, suspension, or revocation provisional licenses.1An individual or an agency shall apply for a license by completing an application to the department upon forms furnished by the department. The department shall issue or reissue a license if the department determines that the applicant or licensee is or upon commencing operation will provide child foster care in compliance with this chapter. An initial license for an individual is valid for one year from the date of issuance. After the first two years of licensure, a license for an individual is valid for two years from the most recent date of issuance except that the department, within the director’s discretion and based upon the performance of the licensee, may require annual renewal of the license or may issue a provisional license pursuant to subsection 3. A license for an agency is valid for up to three years from the date of issuance for the period determined by the department in accordance with administrative rules providing criteria for making the determination. The license shall state on its face the name of the licensee, the type of facility, the particular premises for which the license is issued, and the number of children who may be cared for by the facility on the premises at one time. The license shall be posted in a conspicuous place in the physical plant of the facility, except that if the facility is in a single-family home the license may be kept where it is readily available for examination upon request.2The department, after notice and opportunity for an evidentiary hearing, may deny an application for a license, and may suspend or revoke a license, if the applicant or licensee violates this chapter or the rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter, or knowingly makes a false statement concerning a material fact or conceals a material fact on the license application or in a report regarding operation of the facility submitted to the department.3The department may issue a provisional license for not more than one year to a licensee whose facility does not meet the requirements of this chapter, if written plans to bring the facility into compliance with the applicable requirements are submitted to and approved by the department. The plans shall state a specific time when compliance will be achieved. Only one provisional license shall be issued for a facility by reason of the same deficiency.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a44, -a46, -a51, -a53, -a54; C39, §3661.058, 3661.060, 3661.065, 3661.067, 3661.068; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.3, 237.5, 237.10, 237.12, 237.13; C81, §237.5]87 Acts, ch 153, §15; 2002 Acts, ch 1102, §3; 2012 Acts, ch 1039, §1; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §729237.5AFoster parent training.1As a condition for initial licensure, each individual licensee shall complete thirty hours of foster parent training offered or approved by the department. However, if the individual licensee has completed relevant training or has a combination of completed relevant training and experience, and the department deems such training or combination to be an acceptable equivalent to all or a portion of the initial licensure training requirement, or based upon the circumstances of the child and the individual licensee the department finds there is other good cause, the department may waive all or a portion of the training requirement. Prior to renewal of licensure, each individual licensee shall annually complete six hours of foster parent training. The training shall include but is not limited to physical care, education, learning disabilities, referral to and receipt of necessary professional services, behavioral assessment and modification, self-assessment, self-living skills, and biological parent contact. An individual licensee may complete the training as part of an approved training program offered by a public or private agency with expertise in the provision of child foster care or in related subject areas. The department shall adopt rules to implement and enforce this training requirement.2An individual licensee who is unable to complete six hours of foster parent training annually prior to licensure renewal because the individual licensee is engaged in active duty in the military service shall be considered to be in compliance with the training requirement for licensure renewal.3The department or the department’s agent shall notify an individual licensee within a reasonable amount of time of any training the department believes would benefit the individual licensee in the provision of child foster care.84 Acts, ch 1279, §25; 87 Acts, ch 117, §1; 2002 Acts, ch 1102, §4; 2004 Acts, ch 1116, §19; 2006 Acts, ch 1159, §6; 2012 Acts, ch 1039, §2; 2023 Acts, ch 80, §2; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §17Section amended237.5BApproved kinship caregiver.1A kinship caregiver shall not provide child foster care unless the kinship caregiver has been granted approval under this section.2A kinship caregiver shall apply for approval by submitting a completed application to the department on a form furnished by the department.3The department, after notice and opportunity for an evidentiary hearing, may deny an application for approval or continued approval if the applicant or approved kinship caregiver violates this chapter or rules adopted pursuant to this chapter.2025 Acts, ch 135, §18NEW section237.6Restricted use of facility.1A licensee or approved kinship caregiver shall not furnish child foster care in a building or on premises not designated in the licensee’s license or the kinship caregiver’s approval.2A licensee shall not furnish child foster care to a greater number of children than is designated in the licensee’s license, unless authorized by the department. 3The department may issue multiple licenses authorizing separate and distinct parts of an agency licensee’s facility to provide different categories of child foster care.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a50; C39, §3661.064; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.9; C81, §237.6]2023 Acts, ch 19, §730; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §19Section amended237.7Reports and inspections.The department may require submission of reports by a licensee, and shall cause at least one annual unannounced inspection of each facility to assess the quality of the living situation and to determine compliance with applicable requirements and standards. The inspections shall be conducted by the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing. The director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing may examine records of a licensee, including but not limited to corporate records and board minutes, and may inquire into matters concerning a licensee and its employees relating to requirements and standards for child foster care under this chapter.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a55; C39, §3661.069; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.14; C81, §237.7]90 Acts, ch 1204, §532023 Acts, ch 19, §731, 1950237.8Personnel.1A person shall not be allowed to provide services in an agency licensee’s facility if the person has a disease which is transmissible to other persons through required contact in the workplace, which presents a significant risk of infecting other persons, which presents a substantial possibility of harming other persons, or for which no reasonable accommodation can eliminate the risk of infecting other persons.2a1If a person is being considered for licensure or approval under this chapter, or if a person is being considered for employment by an agency licensee and the employment involves direct responsibility for a child, is in a facility where children reside, or requires the person to reside in a facility utilized by an agency licensee, and if the person has been convicted of a crime or has a record of founded child abuse, the record check evaluation system of the department, and the agency licensee for a prospective employee of the agency licensee, shall perform an evaluation to determine whether the crime or founded child abuse warrants prohibition of licensure, approval, employment, or residence in the facility. The record check evaluation system shall conduct criminal and child abuse record checks in this state and may conduct these checks in other states. The evaluation shall be performed in accordance with procedures adopted for this purpose by the department.2If the criminal and child abuse record checks conducted in this state under subparagraph (1) for a person being considered for licensure as an agency licensee under this chapter, or for employment by an agency licensee and the employment involves direct responsibility for a child, is in a facility where children reside, or requires the person to reside in a facility utilized by an agency licensee, have been completed and the person either does not have a record of crime or founded child abuse or the record check evaluation system’s evaluation of the record has determined that prohibition of the licensure or employment is not warranted, the person may be provisionally licensed or employed pending the outcome of the fingerprint-based criminal history check conducted pursuant to subparagraph (4).3A person being considered for licensure as an agency licensee under this chapter, or a person being considered for employment by an agency licensee if the employment involves direct responsibility for a child, is in a facility where children reside, or requires the person to reside in a facility utilized by an agency licensee, shall not be granted a license or be employed and an evaluation shall not be performed under this subsection, if the person has been convicted of any of the following felony offenses:aWithin the five-year period preceding the application date, a drug-related offense.bChild endangerment or neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.cDomestic abuse.dA crime against a child, including but not limited to sexual exploitation of a minor.eA forcible felony.4If a person is being considered for licensure or approval under this chapter, or if a person is being considered for employment by an agency licensee and the employment involves direct responsibility for a child, is in a facility where children reside, or requires the person to reside in a facility utilized by an agency licensee, in addition to the record checks conducted under subparagraph (1), the person’s fingerprints shall be provided to the department of public safety for submission through the state criminal history repository to the United States department of justice, federal bureau of investigation for a national criminal history check. The cost of the criminal history check conducted under this subparagraph shall be the responsibility of the department.5If the criminal and child abuse record checks conducted in this state under subparagraph (1) for a person being considered for licensure as an individual licensee or for approval as an approved kinship caregiver have been completed and the person either does not have a record of crime or founded abuse, or the record check evaluation system’s evaluation of the record has determined that prohibition of the person’s licensure or approval is not warranted, the person may be provisionally licensed or approved pending the outcome of the fingerprint-based criminal history check conducted pursuant to subparagraph (4).6An applicant for a license as an individual licensee or for approval as an approved kinship caregiver shall not be granted a license or approval, and an evaluation shall not be performed under this subsection, if the applicant has been convicted of any of the following felony offenses:aWithin the five-year period preceding the application date, a drug-related offense.bChild endangerment or neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.cDomestic abuse.dA crime against a child, including but not limited to sexual exploitation of a minor.eA forcible felony.bExcept as otherwise provided in paragraph “a”, if the record check evaluation system determines that a person has committed a crime or has a record of founded child abuse and is licensed, approved, employed by an agency licensee, or resides in a licensed facility, the record check evaluation system shall notify the licensee or approved kinship caregiver that an evaluation will be conducted to determine whether prohibition of the person’s licensure, approval, employment, or residence is warranted.cIn an evaluation, the record check evaluation system, and the agency licensee for an employee or prospective employee of the agency licensee shall consider the nature and seriousness of the crime or founded child abuse in relation to the position sought or held, the time elapsed since the commission of the crime or founded child abuse, the circumstances under which the crime or founded child abuse was committed, the degree of rehabilitation, the likelihood that the person will commit the crime or founded child abuse again, and the number of crimes or founded child abuses committed by the person involved. The record check evaluation system may permit a person who is evaluated to be licensed, approved, employed, or to reside in a facility, or to continue to be licensed, approved, employed, or to reside in a facility, if the person complies with the record check evaluation system’s conditions relating to the person’s licensure, approval, employment, or residence, which may include completion of additional training. For an employee or prospective employee of an agency licensee, these conditional requirements shall be developed with the agency licensee. The record check evaluation system shall have final authority in determining whether prohibition of the person’s licensure, approval, employment, or residence is warranted and in developing any conditional requirements under this paragraph.dIf the record check evaluation system determines that the person has committed a crime or has a record of founded child abuse that warrants prohibition of licensure, approval, employment, or residence, the person shall not be licensed or approved under this chapter and shall not be employed by an agency licensee or reside in a facility.3In addition to the record checks required under subsection 2, the record check evaluation system may conduct dependent adult abuse record checks in this state and in other states on a random basis. The provisions of subsection 2, relative to an evaluation following a determination that a person has been convicted of a crime or has a record of founded child abuse, shall also apply to a random check conducted under this subsection.4An agency licensee shall inform all new applicants for employment of the possibility of the performance of a record check and shall obtain, from the applicant, a signed acknowledgment of the receipt of the information.5An agency licensee shall include the following inquiry in an application for employment:Do you have a record of founded child or dependent adult abuse, or have you ever been convicted of a crime, in this state or any other state?[C81, §237.8]87 Acts, ch 153, §16; 88 Acts, ch 1134, §57; 89 Acts, ch 283, §27; 90 Acts, ch 1221, §7; 91 Acts, ch 138, §7; 94 Acts, ch 1130, §14; 98 Acts, ch 1190, §29; 2007 Acts, ch 172, §12; 2019 Acts, ch 126, §5, 6; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §732; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §20Section amended237.9Confidential information.A person who receives information from or through the department shall not disclose that information directly or indirectly, except as authorized by section 217.30, or as authorized or required by section 232.69 if the information concerns any of the following:1A child who has received or is receiving child foster care.2A relative, fictive kin, or guardian of a child who has received or is receiving child foster care.3An individual licensee.4An employee of a licensee.5An approved kinship caregiver.[C81, §237.9]2025 Acts, ch 135, §21Section amended237.10Individual licensees and approved kinship caregivers.1aThe department shall notify an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver of any appropriate meetings relating to the case permanency plan of a child in the care of the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.bThe department shall notify an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver of any meetings known to the department relating to the individualized education program of a child in the care of the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.cThe department shall notify an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver of any medical appointments required or scheduled in consultation with the department relating to a child in the care of the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.d1The department shall notify an individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver, and the parents or guardians of a child, if the department delegates the department’s right to consent to emergency medical care and routine medical care on behalf of the child under section 232.2, subsection 14, paragraph “c”, to the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.2The department shall notify the department of education, an individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver, and the parents or guardians of a child, if the department delegates the department’s right to consent to participation in an individualized education program on behalf of the child under section 232.2, subsection 14, paragraph “c”, to the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver.2The department or the department’s agent may share otherwise confidential information about a child with an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver being considered as a possible placement for the child to the extent such disclosure is relevant to the placement decision and the proper care of the child. The department or the department’s agent may facilitate sharing the contact information of previous individual licensees and approved kinship caregivers for a child with the next individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver in an effort to support the continuity of care for a child.3Upon placement of a child with an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver, the department shall provide the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver with information that would allow the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver to contact the department or an agent of the department for assistance relating to child foster care.4Prior to disclosing an individual licensee’s or approved kinship caregiver’s private address, work address, or contact information, the department shall evaluate possible safety concerns to determine whether such information may be released without posing a risk to the safety of the individual licensee, the approved kinship caregiver, the child, or any other person.5The department shall notify an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver within a reasonable amount of time of any change in a law or rule that would have a substantive impact on the individual licensee’s or approved kinship caregiver’s obligations and responsibilities relating to child foster care.6aThe department shall provide written notice to an individual licensee, or an approved kinship caregiver, a minimum of ten days prior to the removal of a child from the care of the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver. Such notice shall include the reasons for the child’s removal.bThis subsection shall not apply if the health or safety of the child or another person is threatened by the child’s presence in the child’s current placement, if the court orders the removal of a child from the individual licensee or the approved kinship caregiver, if the child is absent from the placement without authorization, if the child is being moved to the home of a biological parent or legal guardian, or if the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver is alleged to have committed child abuse or neglect.7aAn individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver shall provide written notice to the department a minimum of ten days prior to a request to remove a child from the individual licensee’s care or the approved kinship caregiver’s care.bThis subsection shall not apply to a situation where the health or safety of the child or another person is threatened by the child’s presence in the child’s current placement.8At the conclusion of an investigation conducted by the department that may affect an individual licensee’s ability, or an approved kinship caregiver’s ability, to provide child foster care in the future, the department shall provide the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver with a written report that details the conclusions of the investigation.9aThe department shall require an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver to attempt, to the extent reasonably possible, to maintain a child’s culture and beliefs. bAn individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver shall be allowed to provide child foster care, according to the individual licensee’s or the approved kinship caregiver’s own culture and beliefs, if such child foster care does not actively discourage a child to disregard the child’s own culture and beliefs and a biological parent whose parental rights have not been terminated or a legal guardian for the child does not object to the practice or activity that is consistent with the individual licensee’s or the approved kinship caregiver’s own culture and beliefs.10aThe department or the department’s agent shall consider the needs and scheduling demands of a child, the child’s parents, the child’s siblings, and the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver caring for the child when scheduling supervised or any other visitation between the child and the child’s siblings, family members, or fictive kin. bThe department shall not require an individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver to conduct, or to be present during, supervised visits scheduled pursuant to paragraph “a”.11The department shall accept information from an individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver relating to medical appointments, treatment needs, educational progress, and educational services for a child placed with the individual licensee or approved kinship caregiver. The department shall consider all such information when developing or modifying a child’s case permanency plan, and in the coordination of care and decisions related to services and care necessary for the child. The information the department receives from an individual licensee or an approved kinship caregiver shall be reviewed and considered as decisions about the child’s progress and needs are made.12The department shall maintain a process to allow each individual licensee and each approved kinship caregiver to file a complaint with the department electronically for an alleged violation relating to this section.13The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this section.2023 Acts, ch 80, §3; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §22; 2025 Acts, ch 159, §10; 2025 Acts, ch 165, §7, 8See Code editor’s note on simple harmonization at the beginning of this Code volumeSection amended237.11Penalty.An individual or an agency who provides child foster care without obtaining a license under this chapter or who knowingly violates this chapter or the rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter is guilty of a serious misdemeanor.[C27, 31, 35, §3661-a57; C39, §3661.071; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.16; C81, §237.11]237.12Injunctive relief.An individual or an agency who provides child foster care without obtaining a license under this chapter or who knowingly violates this chapter or the rules promulgated pursuant to this chapter may be temporarily or permanently enjoined by a court in an action brought by the state, a political subdivision of the state or an interested person.[C58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, §237.16; C81, §237.12]237.13Foster family home insurance fund.1The foster family home insurance fund shall be administered by the department. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated by the general assembly for deposit in the fund. The department shall use moneys in the fund to provide home and property coverage for foster parents to cover damages to property resulting from the actions of a foster child residing in a foster family home or to reimburse foster parents for the cost of purchasing foster care liability insurance and to perform the administrative functions necessary to carry out this section. The department may establish limitations of liability for individual claims as deemed reasonable by the department.2The department shall adopt rules, pursuant to chapter 17A, to carry out the provisions of this section.88 Acts, ch 1223, §1; 89 Acts, ch 178, §4; 93 Acts, ch 172, §41; 99 Acts, ch 55, §1 – 5; 2001 Acts, ch 135, §1, 2; 2011 Acts, ch 98, §2, 3; 2020 Acts, ch 1121, §56; 2021 Acts, ch 182, §54; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §733; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §23Section amended237.14Enhanced child foster care services.The department shall provide for enhanced child foster care services by establishing supplemental per diem or performance-based contracts that include payment of costs relating to payments of principal and interest for bonds and notes issued pursuant to section 16.57 with facilities that provide special services to children who would otherwise be placed in a state juvenile institution or an out-of-state program. Before completion of the department’s budget estimate as required by section 8.23, the department shall determine and include in the estimate the amount which should be appropriated for enhanced child foster care services for the forthcoming fiscal year in order to provide sufficient services.90 Acts, ch 1239, §14; 2014 Acts, ch 1080, §84, 98; 2015 Acts, ch 29, §38; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §24Section amended237.14AReasonable and prudent parent standard immunity from liability.The department, or any individual, kinship caregiver, agency, or juvenile shelter care home that applies the reasonable and prudent parent standard reasonably and in good faith in regard to a child in child foster care shall have immunity from civil or criminal liability which might otherwise be incurred or imposed. This section shall not remove or limit any existing liability protection afforded under any other law.2016 Acts, ch 1063, §21; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §25Section amendedIIFOSTER CARE REVIEW237.15Definitions.For the purposes of this subchapter unless otherwise defined:1“Case permanency plan” means the same as defined in section 232.2, subsection 6, except the plan shall also include the following:aThe efforts to place the child with a relative or fictive kin.bThe rationale for an out-of-state placement, and the efforts to prevent such placement, if the child has been placed out-of-state.cTime frames to meet the stated permanency goal and short-term objectives.2“Child receiving foster care” means a child who is described by any of the following circumstances:aThe child’s foster care placement is the financial responsibility of the state pursuant to section 234.35.bThe child is under the guardianship of the department.cThe child has been involuntarily hospitalized for mental illness pursuant to chapter 229.dThe child is at-risk of being placed outside the child’s home, the department or court is providing or planning to provide services to the child, and the department or court has requested the involvement of the state or local board.3“Court appointed special advocate” means the same as defined in section 232.2.4“Family” means the social unit consisting of the child and the biological or adoptive parent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, and grandparent of the child.5“Local board” means a local citizen foster care review board created pursuant to section 237.19.6“Person or court responsible for the child” means the department, including but not limited to the department of health and human services, the agency, or the individual who is the guardian of a child by court order issued by the juvenile or district court and has the responsibility of the care of the child, or the court having jurisdiction over the child.7“State board” means the child advocacy board created pursuant to section 237.16.84 Acts, ch 1279, §26; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §1, 2; 89 Acts, ch 296, §22; 90 Acts, ch 1270, §46; 91 Acts, ch 232, §11; 92 Acts, ch 1141, §5; 92 Acts, ch 1231, §40; 94 Acts, ch 1046, §6; 95 Acts, ch 182, §18, 19; 2000 Acts, ch 1067, §13; 2002 Acts, ch 1162, §20, 21; 2016 Acts, ch 1011, §121; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §2; 2022 Acts, ch 1096, §5; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §734; 2025 Acts, ch 135, §26, 27Subsection 1, paragraph a amendedSubsection 5 stricken and former subsections 6 – 8 renumbered as 5 – 7237.16Child advocacy board staff.1The child advocacy board is created within the department. The state board consists of nine members appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the senate and directly responsible to the governor. One member shall be an active court appointed special advocate volunteer, one member shall be an active member of a local citizen foster care review board, and one member shall be a judicial branch employee or judicial officer appointed from nominees submitted by the judicial branch. The appointment is for a term of four years that begins and ends as provided in section 69.19. Vacancies on the state board shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments are made.2The members of the state board shall annually select a chairperson, vice chairperson, and other officers the members deem necessary. The members may be entitled to receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, subject to available funding. Each member of the board may also be eligible to receive compensation as provided in section 7E.6. The state board shall meet as necessary.3An employee of the department, an employee of a child-placing agency, an employee of an agency with which the department contracts for services for children under foster care, a foster parent providing foster care, or an employee of the district court is not eligible to serve on the state board. However, the judicial branch employee or judicial officer appointed from nominees submitted by the judicial branch in accordance with subsection 1 shall be eligible to serve on the state board.4The department shall develop written protocols detailing the responsibilities of the department with regard to children under the purview of the state board. The protocols shall be reviewed by the department on an annual basis.5The director shall employ appropriate staff for the state board in accordance with available funding.84 Acts, ch 1279, §27; 86 Acts, ch 1245, §549; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §3; 89 Acts, ch 296, §23; 92 Acts, ch 1141, §6; 92 Acts, ch 1242, §27; 2002 Acts, ch 1162, §22; 2002 Acts, 2nd Ex, ch 1003, §239, 262; 2006 Acts, ch 1049, §1; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §3; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §735; 2024 Acts, ch 1170, §103Confirmation, see §2.32237.17Foster care registry.1The state board shall establish a registry of the placements of all children receiving foster care. The agency responsible for the placement shall notify the state board of each placement in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4. The notification shall include information identifying the child receiving foster care and placement information for that child.2The agency responsible for the placement shall submit the case permanency plan and all case permanency plan revisions to a local board in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4. 84 Acts, ch 1279, §28; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §4; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §4237.18Duties of state board.The state board shall:1Review the activities and actions of local boards and the court appointed special advocate program.2Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to:aEstablish a recordkeeping system for the files of local boards including individual case reviews.bAccumulate data and develop an annual report regarding children served by the state board. The report shall include:1Data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care.2The number of placements of children in foster care.cEvaluate the data collected by local boards and court appointed special advocates, and disseminate the data to the governor, the department, child-placing agencies, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district.dEstablish mandatory training programs for members of the state board. Training shall focus on but not be limited to the following:1The duties of the state board.2The duties of local boards.3The duties of court appointed special advocates.4Applicable child welfare laws and practices that influence the work of local boards and court appointed special advocates.eEstablish a mandatory training program and procedures for local boards consistent with the provisions of section 237.20.fEstablish procedures and protocols for administering the court appointed special advocate program in accordance with subsection 5.3Assign the cases of children receiving foster care to the appropriate local boards.4Maintain an evaluation program regarding citizen foster care review programming. The evaluation program shall be designed to evaluate the effectiveness of citizen reviews in improving case permanency planning and meeting case permanency planning goals, identify the amount of time children spend in foster care placements, and identify problem issues in the foster care system. The state board shall submit an annual evaluation report to the governor and the general assembly.5Administer the court appointed special advocate program, including but not limited to performance of all of the following:aEstablish standards for the program, including but not limited to standards for selection and screening of volunteers, preservice training, continuing education, and assignment and supervision of volunteers. Identifying information concerning a court appointed special advocate, other than the advocate’s name, shall not be considered to be a public record under chapter 22.bImplement the court appointed special advocate program as deemed necessary to effectuate its purpose including but not limited to employing court appointed special advocate program staff as available funding provides.cPromote adherence to the national guidelines for state and local court appointed special advocate programs.dIssue an annual report of the court appointed special advocate program for submission to the general assembly, the governor, and the supreme court.6Receive gifts, grants, or donations made for any of the purposes of the state board’s programs and disburse and administer the funds received in accordance with the terms of the donor and under the direction of program staff. The funds received shall be used according to any restrictions attached to the funds and any unrestricted funds shall be retained and applied to the applicable program budget for the next succeeding fiscal year.7Make recommendations to the general assembly, the department, child-placing agencies, the governor, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district. The recommendations shall include but are not limited to identification of systemic problems in the foster care and the juvenile justice systems, specific proposals for improvements that assist the systems in being more cost-effective and better able to protect the best interests of children, and necessary changes relating to the data collected and the annual report made under subsection 2, paragraph “b”.84 Acts, ch 1279, §29; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §5 – 8; 92 Acts, ch 1141, §7; 92 Acts, ch 1242, §28; 98 Acts, ch 1047, §26; 2002 Acts, ch 1162, §23, 24; 2003 Acts, ch 35, §45, 49; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §98; 2009 Acts, ch 181, §113; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §5; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §736; 2023 Acts, ch 64, §33237.19Local citizen foster care review boards.1The state board shall establish local citizen foster care review boards to review cases of children receiving foster care. The department shall discontinue its foster care review process for those children reviewed by local boards as local boards are established and operating. The state board shall select a minimum of five members and a maximum of seven members to serve on each local board. The actual number of local boards needed and established shall be determined by the state board. The members of each local board shall, to the extent possible, reflect the various racial and ethnic groups and various occupations of their district. A person employed by the state board, the department, or the district court, or an employee of an agency with which the department contracts for services for children under foster care, a foster parent providing foster care, or a child-placing agency shall not serve on a local board. 2Vacancies on a local board shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments. 3A local board member shall be required to pass a background check and complete requirements as established by the state board prior to taking an oath of confidentiality to serve on a local board. 4A local board member shall be required to receive periodic continuing education during each term of service as established by the state board.84 Acts, ch 1279, §30; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §9; 92 Acts, ch 1141, §8; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §6Local boards to be established in additional judicial districts as moneys become available; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §21237.20Local board duties.A local board shall, except in delinquency cases, do the following:1Review the case of each child receiving foster care assigned to a local board in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4, to determine whether satisfactory progress is being made toward the goals of the case permanency plan pursuant to section 237.22. The timing and frequency of a review of each case by a local board shall take into consideration the permanency goals, placement setting, and frequency of any court reviews of the case.aDuring each review, the agency responsible for the placement of or services provided to the child shall attend the review and the local board shall review all of the following:1The past, current, and future status of the child and placement as shown through the case permanency plan and case progress reports submitted by the agency responsible for the placement of the child and other information the board may require.2The efforts of the agency responsible for the placement of the child to locate and provide services to the child’s biological or adoptive parents, legal guardians, or fictive kin providing the majority of a child’s daily food, lodging, and support.3The efforts of the agency responsible for the placement of the child to facilitate the return of the child to the home or to find an alternative permanent placement other than foster care if reunion with the parent or previous custodian is not feasible. The agency shall report to the board all factors which either favor or mitigate against a decision or alternative with regard to these matters.4Any problems, solutions, or alternatives which may be capable of investigation, or other matters with regard to the child which the agency responsible for the placement of the child or the board feels should be investigated with regard to the best interests of the state or of the child.5The compliance of the interested parties with the decision-making rights and responsibilities contained in the family foster care or preadoptive care agreement applicable to a child.b A person notified pursuant to subsection 4 shall either attend the review or submit a statement as requested by the local board or in accordance with a written protocol jointly developed by the state board and the department. Statements may, upon the request of an interested party or upon motion of the local board, be given in a private setting. Statements may be made in written, oral, or electronic form. Local board reviews shall pertain to the permanency plan and shall not include issues that do not pertain to the permanency plan.cA person who gives an oral statement has the right to representation by counsel at the review.dAn agency or individual providing services to the child shall submit statements as requested by the local board. Written or recorded statements from other interested parties may also be considered by the board in its review.2aSubmit to the appropriate court and the department within fifteen days after the review under subsection 1, the findings and recommendations of the review. The local board shall ensure that the most recent report is available for a court hearing. The report shall include information regarding the case permanency plan and the progress in attaining the permanency goals. The report shall not include issues that do not pertain to the case permanency plan. The findings and recommendations shall include the proposed date of the next review by the local board. The local board shall notify the persons specified in subsection 4 of the findings and recommendations.bIf the person or agency responsible for services provided to the child disagrees with the review findings or recommendations, the person or agency shall respond during the review or submit a statement to the local board and the court within ten working days of receiving the local board’s report. The response shall explain the reasons the person or agency disagrees with the board’s findings or does not plan to implement the board’s recommendations.3Encourage placement of the child in the most appropriate setting reflecting the provisions of chapter 232.4aNotify the following persons at least ten days before the review of a case of a child receiving foster care:1The person, court, or agency responsible for the child.2The parent or parents of the child unless termination of parental rights has occurred pursuant to section 232.117.3The foster care provider of the child.4The child receiving foster care if the child is fourteen years of age or older. The child shall be informed of the review’s purpose and procedure, and of the right to have a guardian ad litem present.5The guardian ad litem of the foster child. An attorney appointed as guardian ad litem shall be eligible for compensation under section 232.141, subsection 2.6The department.7The county attorney.8The person providing services to the child or the child’s family.9An intervenor. bThe notice shall include a statement that the person notified has the right to representation by counsel at the review.84 Acts, ch 1279, §31; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §10 – 15; 89 Acts, ch 64, §1 – 3; 92 Acts, ch 1141, §9 – 12; 97 Acts, ch 164, §7; 99 Acts, ch 135, §22; 2003 Acts, ch 151, §8; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §263; 2009 Acts, ch 181, §114; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §7 – 11237.21Confidentiality of records — penalty.1The information and records of or provided to a local board, state board, or court appointed special advocate regarding a child who is receiving foster care or who is under the court’s jurisdiction and the child’s family when relating to services provided or the foster care placement are not public records pursuant to chapter 22. The state board and local boards, with respect to hearings involving specific children receiving foster care and the child’s family, are not subject to chapter 21.2Information and records relating to a child receiving foster care and to the child’s family shall be provided to a court appointed special advocate, a local board, or the state board by the department, the department’s agent, or a child placement agency contracted by the department upon request by the court appointed special advocate or either board. A court having jurisdiction of a child receiving foster care shall release the information and records the court deems necessary to determine the needs of the child to a local board or court appointed special advocate upon request by the local board or court appointed special advocate. If confidential information and records are distributed to individual members in advance of a meeting of a local board, the information and records shall be clearly identified as confidential and the members shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure. If confidential information and records are distributed to a court appointed special advocate or court appointed special advocate program staff, the information shall be confidential and the court appointed special advocate and court appointed special advocate program staff shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure.3A court appointed special advocate may attend family team decision-making meetings or youth transition decision-making meetings upon request by the family or child and disclose case-related observations and recommendations relating to a child or a child’s family while attending the meetings.4A court appointed special advocate may disclose case-related observations and recommendations to the agency assigned by the court to supervise the case, to the county attorney, or to the child’s legal representative or guardian ad litem, or at a local board meeting. Case-related observations and recommendations about a child and the child’s parent or about a child and the child’s legal guardian may also be disclosed to the parent or guardian to which the observations and recommendations pertain or to such parent or guardian’s legal representative.5Members of the state board and local boards, court appointed special advocates, and the employees of the department are subject to standards of confidentiality pursuant to sections 217.30, 228.6, subsection 1, sections 235A.15, 600.16, and 600.16A. Members of the state and local boards, court appointed special advocates, and employees of the department who disclose information or records of the board or department, other than as provided in subsections 2, 3, and 4, section 232.126, and section 237.20, subsection 2, are guilty of a simple misdemeanor.84 Acts, ch 1279, §32; 87 Acts, ch 117, §2; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §16, 17; 89 Acts, ch 64, §4; 92 Acts, ch 1196, §1; 2005 Acts, ch 55, §3; 2015 Acts, ch 21, §1 – 3; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §12, 13; 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §88; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §737237.22Case permanency plan.The agency responsible for the placement of the child shall create a case permanency plan. In addition to requirements stated in section 232.2, subsection 6, the plan shall also include but not be limited to:1Time frames to meet the stated permanency goal and short-term objectives.2The care and services that will be provided to the child, biological parents, the child’s fictive kin, and foster parents.3The efforts to place the child with a relative or fictive kin.4The rationale for an out-of-state placement, and the efforts to prevent such placement, if the child has been placed out of state.84 Acts, ch 1279, §33; 88 Acts, ch 1233, §18, 19; 94 Acts, ch 1046, §7; 2022 Acts, ch 1055, §14Section not amended; internal reference change applied237.23Reserved.237.24Court appointed special advocates.1A court appointed special advocate shall receive notice of all depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter to which the court appointed special advocate is appointed.2The duties of a court appointed special advocate with respect to a child, unless otherwise enlarged or circumscribed by a court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over the child after a finding of good cause, shall include all of the following:aConducting in-person interviews with the child every thirty days, if the child’s age is appropriate for the interview, and interviewing each parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child as needed, if authorized by counsel.bVisiting the home, residence, or both home and residence of the child and any prospective home or residence of the child, including each time placement is changed.cInterviewing any person providing medical, mental health, social, educational, or other services to the child.dObtaining firsthand knowledge, if possible, of the facts, circumstances, and parties involved in the matter in which the court appointed special advocate is appointed.eAttending any depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter to which the court appointed special advocate is appointed for the purpose of supporting the child and advocating for the child’s protection.fAssisting the transition committee in the development of a transition plan if the child’s case permanency plan calls for the development of a transition plan.g1Submitting a written report to the juvenile court and to each of the parties identified in section 237.21, subsection 4, prior to each court hearing unless otherwise ordered by the court.2The report shall include but not be limited to the identified strengths of the child and the child’s family, concerns identified by the court appointed special advocate, the court appointed special advocate’s recommendations regarding the child’s placement, and other recommendations the court appointed special advocate believes are in the child’s best interests.hSubmitting periodic reports to the court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over a child and interested parties detailing the child’s situation as long as the child remains under the jurisdiction of the court or juvenile court.iFiling other reports as ordered by a court or juvenile court.2022 Acts, ch 1055, §15; 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §65