House File 355 - Introduced
HOUSE FILE
BY MASCHER
Passed House, Date Passed Senate, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act providing for the state to assume the entire cost of
2 shelter care services.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
4 TLSB 2329HH 81
5 jp/gg/14
PAG LIN
1 1 Section 1. Section 232.141, subsection 1, Code 2005, is
1 2 amended to read as follows:
1 3 1. Except as otherwise provided by law, the court shall
1 4 inquire into the ability of the child or the child's parent to
1 5 pay expenses incurred pursuant to subsections 2, and 4, and 8.
1 6 After giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard,
1 7 the court may order the parent to pay all or part of the costs
1 8 of the child's care, examination, treatment, legal expenses,
1 9 or other expenses. An order entered under this section does
1 10 not obligate a parent paying child support under a custody
1 11 decree, except that part of the monthly support payment may be
1 12 used to satisfy the obligations imposed by the order entered
1 13 pursuant to this section. If a parent fails to pay as
1 14 ordered, without good reason, the court may proceed against
1 15 the parent for contempt and may inform the county attorney who
1 16 shall proceed against the parent to collect the unpaid amount.
1 17 Any payment ordered by the court shall be a judgment against
1 18 each of the child's parents and a lien as provided in section
1 19 624.23. If all or part of the amount that the parents are
1 20 ordered to pay is subsequently paid by the county or state,
1 21 the judgment and lien shall thereafter be against each of the
1 22 parents in favor of the county to the extent of the county's
1 23 payments and in favor of the state to the extent of the
1 24 state's payments.
1 25 Sec. 2. Section 232.141, subsections 4 and 5, Code 2005,
1 26 are amended to read as follows:
1 27 4. Upon certification of the court, all of the following
1 28 expenses are a charge upon the state to the extent provided in
1 29 subsection 5:
1 30 a. The expenses of transporting a child to or from a place
1 31 designated by the court for the purpose of care or treatment.
1 32 b. Expenses for mental or physical examinations of a child
1 33 if ordered by the court.
1 34 c. The expenses of care or treatment ordered by the court.
1 35 d. Shelter care services.
2 1 5. If no other provision of law requires the county to
2 2 reimburse costs incurred pursuant to subsection 4, the
2 3 department shall reimburse the costs as follows:
2 4 a. The department shall prescribe by administrative rule
2 5 all services eligible for reimbursement pursuant to subsection
2 6 4 and shall establish an allowable rate of reimbursement for
2 7 each service. Shelter care homes shall be reimbursed as
2 8 provided in section 234.38.
2 9 b. The department shall receive billings for services
2 10 provided and, after determining allowable costs, shall
2 11 reimburse providers at a rate which is not greater than
2 12 allowed by administrative rule. Reimbursement paid to a
2 13 provider by the department shall be considered reimbursement
2 14 in full unless a county voluntarily agrees to pay any
2 15 difference between the reimbursement amount and the actual
2 16 cost. When there are specific program regulations prohibiting
2 17 supplementation those regulations shall be applied to
2 18 providers requesting supplemental payments from a county.
2 19 Billings for services not listed in administrative rule shall
2 20 not be paid. However, if the court orders a service not
2 21 currently listed in administrative rule, the department shall
2 22 review the order and, if reimbursement for the service of the
2 23 department is not in conflict with other law or administrative
2 24 rule, and meets the criteria of subsection 4, the department
2 25 shall reimburse the provider.
2 26 Sec. 3. Section 232.141, subsection 8, Code 2005, is
2 27 amended by striking the subsection.
2 28 Sec. 4. Section 232.142, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2005,
2 29 are amended to read as follows:
2 30 1. County boards of supervisors which singly or in
2 31 conjunction with one or more other counties provide and
2 32 maintain juvenile detention and homes or establish and operate
2 33 juvenile shelter care homes are subject to this section.
2 34 2. For the purpose of providing and maintaining a county
2 35 or multicounty juvenile detention home or establishing a
3 1 juvenile shelter care home, the board of supervisors of any
3 2 county may issue general county purpose bonds in accordance
3 3 with sections 331.441 to 331.449. Expenses for providing and
3 4 maintaining a multicounty juvenile detention home or for
3 5 establishing a multicounty juvenile shelter care home shall be
3 6 paid by the counties participating in a manner to be
3 7 determined by the boards of supervisors.
3 8 Sec. 5. Section 234.35, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph
3 9 1, Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
3 10 The department of human services is responsible for paying
3 11 the cost of foster care or shelter care provided for a child,
3 12 according to rates established pursuant to section 234.38,
3 13 under any of the following circumstances:
3 14 Sec. 6. Section 234.35, subsection 1, paragraph h, Code
3 15 2005, is amended to read as follows:
3 16 h. When the child is placed in shelter care pursuant to
3 17 section 232.20, subsection 1, or section 232.21.
3 18 Sec. 7. Section 234.38, Code 2005, is amended by adding
3 19 the following new unnumbered paragraph:
3 20 NEW UNNUMBERED PARAGRAPH. Shelter care home providers
3 21 shall receive cost=based reimbursement for one hundred percent
3 22 of the reasonable costs for the provision of shelter care home
3 23 services to children.
3 24 Sec. 8. Section 331.441, subsection 2, paragraph b,
3 25 subparagraph (5), unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2005, is
3 26 amended to read as follows:
3 27 Public buildings, including the site or grounds of, and the
3 28 erection, equipment, remodeling, or reconstruction of, and
3 29 additions or extensions to the buildings, and including the
3 30 provision and maintenance of juvenile detention home
3 31 facilities or the establishment of juvenile shelter care home
3 32 facilities, when the cost does not exceed the following
3 33 limits:
3 34 Sec. 9. Section 331.441, subsection 2, paragraph c,
3 35 subparagraph (9), Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
4 1 (9) Public buildings, including the site or grounds of,
4 2 the erection, equipment, remodeling, or reconstruction of, and
4 3 additions or extensions to the buildings, and including the
4 4 provision and maintenance of juvenile detention home
4 5 facilities or the establishment of juvenile shelter care home
4 6 facilities, when the cost exceeds the limits stated in
4 7 subsection 2, paragraph "b", subparagraph (5).
4 8 EXPLANATION
4 9 This bill provides for the state to assume the entire cost
4 10 of shelter care services. Under current law, shelter care
4 11 costs are borne partially by the state but counties may assume
4 12 a portion of the cost not covered by the state.
4 13 Code section 232.141 is amended to explicitly make shelter
4 14 care services a state responsibility and to eliminate the
4 15 authorization for counties to assume part of the cost that is
4 16 unpaid by the state. Subsection 8 of that Code section,
4 17 relating to county recovery of unpaid costs from the county of
4 18 legal settlement, is stricken.
4 19 Code section 232.142, relating to county responsibilities
4 20 for providing and maintaining county or multicounty juvenile
4 21 detention and shelter care homes, is amended to narrow county
4 22 responsibility for shelter care to voluntarily establishing
4 23 and operating a county or multicounty shelter care home.
4 24 Code section 234.35, relating to state responsibility for
4 25 paying for the costs of foster care, is amended to expand the
4 26 state responsibility for shelter care. This Code section
4 27 currently limits the state's shelter care responsibility to
4 28 pay for care for up to 72 hours under Code section 232.20 when
4 29 a court orders it, when a child is arrested for a delinquent
4 30 act, or when a peace officer believes a child has run away or
4 31 is a chronic runaway youth; or for care for up to 48 hours
4 32 under Code section 232.21 when a child desires it, when a
4 33 court orders it, a parent, guardian, adult relative, or other
4 34 responsible adult approved by the court is not available,
4 35 while the child's parent, guardian, or custodian is being
5 1 contacted, or while the child is being held for transfer to
5 2 another jurisdiction. A child may be held for longer periods
5 3 in shelter care with a court order. The bill strikes these
5 4 limitations to provide the state with general responsibility
5 5 for shelter care. In addition, Code section 234.38 is amended
5 6 to provide that the shelter care reimbursement rate is based
5 7 upon 100 percent of the reasonable costs of providing the
5 8 shelter care.
5 9 The bill amends county bonding authority under Code chapter
5 10 331 in regard to juvenile shelter care homes to limit the
5 11 authority to establishment costs.
5 12 LSB 2329HH 81
5 13 jp:nh/gg/14