House Study Bill 184



                                       HOUSE FILE       
                                       BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON
                                            HUMAN RESOURCES BILL BY
                                            CHAIRPERSON UPMEYER)


    Passed House, Date               Passed Senate, Date             
    Vote:  Ayes        Nays           Vote:  Ayes        Nays         
                 Approved                            

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to requests for correction of child abuse data or
  2    findings by establishing a time frame and procedure for
  3    addressing the requests.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  5 TLSB 2546YC 81
  6 jp/gg/14

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 235A.19, subsection 2, paragraph a,
  1  2 Code 2005, is amended to read as follows:
  1  3    a.  A subject of a child abuse report may file with the
  1  4 department within six months of the date of the notice of the
  1  5 results of an assessment performed in accordance with section
  1  6 232.71B, a written statement to the effect that report data
  1  7 and disposition data referring to the subject is in whole or
  1  8 in part erroneous, and may request a correction of that data
  1  9 or of the findings of the assessment report.  The Within
  1 10 ninety days of the filing of the request the department shall
  1 11 respond to the subject in writing, either correcting the data
  1 12 or findings identified in the request in whole or in part or
  1 13 denying the request in whole or in part.  The reasons for a
  1 14 denial shall be stated in the response.  At the request of the
  1 15 subject, the department shall promptly provide the subject
  1 16 with an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing pursuant to
  1 17 chapter 17A to correct the data or the findings, unless the
  1 18 department corrects the data or findings as requested contest
  1 19 the denial.  The However, the department may defer the hearing
  1 20 until the conclusion of a pending juvenile or district court
  1 21 case relating to the data or findings.  Judicial review of the
  1 22 department's final decision shall be available pursuant to the
  1 23 provisions of section 17A.19.
  1 24                           EXPLANATION
  1 25    This bill relates to requests made to the department of
  1 26 human services for correction of child abuse data or findings
  1 27 by establishing a time frame and procedure for addressing the
  1 28 requests.
  1 29    Under current law, within six months of receiving notice of
  1 30 the results of a child abuse report, a subject of the report
  1 31 may file with the department a request for correction of the
  1 32 child abuse data or the findings of the child abuse assessment
  1 33 report.  Unless the department corrects the data or findings
  1 34 as requested, the department must provide the subject with an
  1 35 opportunity for an evidentiary hearing under Code chapter 17A.
  2  1    The bill requires the department to respond to the request
  2  2 in writing within 90 days, either correcting the data or
  2  3 findings identified in the request in whole or in part or
  2  4 denying the request in whole or in part.  The reasons for a
  2  5 denial must be stated in the response.  If requested by a
  2  6 subject, the department must promptly provide the subject with
  2  7 an evidentiary hearing to contest the denial.  Once there is a
  2  8 final decision from the department, the subject has an
  2  9 opportunity for judicial review as provided in Code section
  2 10 17A.19.  Code section 17A.19 establishes the process by which
  2 11 an agency's final decision may be contested in court.
  2 12 LSB 2546YC 81
  2 13 jp:nh/gg/14