House Resolution 150 - Introduced

PAG LIN





  1  1                HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2 BY  HUSER, HEATON, WISE, BOAL, MASCHER, SHOULTZ, BELL,
  1  3    BERRY, PETTENGILL, SHOMSHOR, LUKAN, STRUYK, DIX,
  1  4              PETERSEN, DANDEKAR, and MERTZ
  1  5 A Resolution requesting the legislative council to
  1  6    create an adoption subsidy program advisory committee
  1  7    for the 2006 Legislative Interim.
  1  8    WHEREAS, Iowa's adoption subsidy program is
  1  9 successful in securing and supporting adoptive
  1 10 families for children who have been separated from
  1 11 birth parents by the state; and
  1 12    WHEREAS, the success of the adoption subsidy
  1 13 program has resulted in significant annual increases
  1 14 in expenditures for the program; and
  1 15    WHEREAS, it is important to develop a strategy for
  1 16 addressing expenditure increases without negatively
  1 17 impacting the families participating in the program;
  1 18 NOW THEREFORE,
  1 19    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
  1 20 That the legislative council is requested to create an
  1 21 adoption subsidy program advisory committee for the
  1 22 2006 Legislative Interim to study the rising rate of
  1 23 adoption subsidy program expenditures in order to
  1 24 identify possible approaches for containing program
  1 25 expenditures without negatively impacting the families
  1 26 participating in the program; and
  1 27    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the advisory committee
  1 28 membership should include at least four legislators
  1 29 and the following persons or their representatives:
  1 30 the director of human services, the director of the
  2  1 child advocacy board within the department of
  2  2 inspections and appeals, the chairperson of the family
  2  3 law section of the Iowa state bar association, and the
  2  4 director of the Iowa foster and adoptive parent
  2  5 association; and
  2  6    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the information and
  2  7 issues considered by the advisory committee should
  2  8 include all of the following:  The effects of rising
  2  9 adoption subsidy program expenditures, the potential
  2 10 effects of changes in the subsidy program on adoption
  2 11 rates, the level of maintenance subsidy payment rates
  2 12 in this state as compared to those paid in other
  2 13 states similar to Iowa, the relative financial burden
  2 14 of all adoption subsidies including those for special
  2 15 needs, the potential effects of redirecting funds
  2 16 provided to family and group foster care to the
  2 17 adoption subsidy program, and identification of
  2 18 alternative funding sources for the adoption subsidy
  2 19 program; and
  2 20    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the department of
  2 21 human services shall provide necessary information to
  2 22 the advisory committee concerning the current status
  2 23 of the adoption subsidy program, expenditure
  2 24 information, and other data; and
  2 25    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the advisory committee
  2 26 should be directed to report with findings and
  2 27 recommendations to the joint appropriations
  2 28 subcommittee on health and human services and the
  2 29 committees on human resources of the senate and house
  2 30 of representatives for consideration during the 2007
  3  1 Legislative Session.
  3  2 LSB 6624HH 81
  3  3 jp:nh/sh/8