Senate File 481 - Introduced



                                     SENATE FILE       
                                     BY  COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

                                     (SUCCESSOR TO SF 210)


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

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act establishing a program for providing voluntary home visits
  2    for all households in the state with a newborn child.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
  4 TLSB 2081SV 82
  5 jp/je/5

PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  28.11  HOUSEHOLDS WITH A NEWBORN
  1  2 CHILD == HOME VISITS.
  1  3    1.  a.  The Iowa empowerment board shall develop a program
  1  4 with the goal of offering all households in the state with a
  1  5 newborn child a voluntary home visit.  The components of the
  1  6 home visit shall include but are not limited to assessing the
  1  7 child's home environment, identifying the family and child
  1  8 needs and the services that could appropriately meet those
  1  9 needs, and assisting the family in accessing appropriate
  1 10 services.
  1 11    b.  The Iowa board shall coordinate with existing programs
  1 12 that provide home=based instruction or support to households
  1 13 with a newborn child as necessary to make the best use of
  1 14 resources while expanding the availability of home visits.
  1 15    2.  All of the following requirements shall apply to
  1 16 services provided under the program:
  1 17    a.  Home visits shall be made by qualified and trained
  1 18 staff.
  1 19    b.  Staff shall demonstrate a capacity to competently
  1 20 complete home visits, including the ability to identify family
  1 21 and child needs and facilitate referrals to and interventions
  1 22 by other resources available in the community, based upon
  1 23 needs identified during a home visit.
  1 24    c.  The program shall have a plan for implementing a
  1 25 cooperative arrangement with local hospitals and birthing
  1 26 centers for the hospitals and centers to provide referral
  1 27 information for contacting families with a newborn child.
  1 28    d.  The program shall incorporate performance measures and
  1 29 provide for reporting of outcome measures on a regular basis,
  1 30 both as identified by the Iowa board.
  1 31    3.  The Iowa board shall implement the provisions of this
  1 32 section subject to the funding provided for purposes of this
  1 33 section.
  1 34                           EXPLANATION
  1 35    This bill establishes a program for providing voluntary
  2  1 home visits for all households in the state with a newborn
  2  2 child.
  2  3    New Code section 28.11 directs the Iowa empowerment board
  2  4 to develop the program with the goal of making available a
  2  5 home visit for each household in the state with a family that
  2  6 has a newborn child.  The board is required to coordinate this
  2  7 program with existing programs providing home visits to
  2  8 families with a newborn child.
  2  9    The bill includes requirements for the program staff to be
  2 10 qualified and trained and to have the capacity to competently
  2 11 determine needs and make referrals, for the programs to have a
  2 12 plan for a cooperative arrangement, and for the program to
  2 13 incorporate performance measures and for reporting of outcome
  2 14 measures.  The Iowa empowerment board's implementation of the
  2 15 program is subject to the funding provided for purposes of the
  2 16 program.
  2 17 LSB 2081SV 82
  2 18 jp:nh/je/5