H.F. 2135 Section 1. Section 232.2, subsection 6, paragraph q, Code 1 2011, is amended to read as follows: 2 q. Who is a newborn an infant whose parent has voluntarily 3 released custody of the child in accordance with chapter 233 . 4 Sec. 2. Section 232.111, subsection 2, paragraph a, 5 subparagraph (3), Code 2011, is amended to read as follows: 6 (3) The child is less than twelve months of age and has been 7 judicially determined to have been abandoned or the child is a 8 newborn an infant whose parent has voluntarily released custody 9 of the child in accordance with chapter 233 . 10 Sec. 3. Section 232.116, subsection 1, paragraph c, Code 11 Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows: 12 c. The court finds that there is clear and convincing 13 evidence that the child is a newborn an infant whose parent has 14 voluntarily released custody of the child in accordance with 15 chapter 233 . 16 Sec. 4. Section 232.117, subsection 10, Code 2011, is 17 amended to read as follows: 18 10. If a termination of parental rights order is issued on 19 the grounds that the child is a newborn an infant whose parent 20 has voluntarily released custody of the child in accordance 21 with chapter 233 under section 232.116, subsection 1 , paragraph 22 “c” , the court shall retain jurisdiction to change a guardian 23 or custodian and to allow a parent whose rights have been 24 terminated to request vacation or appeal of the termination 25 order which request must be made within thirty days of issuance 26 of the granting of the termination order. The period for 27 request for vacation or appeal by a parent whose rights have 28 been terminated shall not be waived or extended and a vacation 29 or appeal shall not be granted for a request made after the 30 expiration of this period. The court shall grant the vacation 31 request only if it is in the best interest of the child. The 32 supreme court shall prescribe rules to establish the period of 33 thirty days, which shall not be waived or extended, in which a 34 parent whose parental rights have been terminated may request a 35 -1- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 1/ 8

H.F. 2135 vacation or appeal of such a termination order. 1 Sec. 5. Section 233.1, Code 2011, is amended to read as 2 follows: 3 233.1 Newborn Infant safe haven Act —— definitions. 4 1. This chapter may be cited as the “Newborn “Infant Safe 5 Haven Act” . 6 2. For the purposes of this chapter , unless the context 7 otherwise requires: 8 a. “Infant” means a child who is, or who appears to be, one 9 year of age or younger. 10 a. b. “Institutional health facility” means a hospital 11 as defined in section 135B.1 , including a facility providing 12 medical or health services that is open twenty-four hours per 13 day, seven days per week and is a hospital emergency room or a 14 health care facility as defined in section 135C.1 . 15 b. “Newborn infant” means a child who is, or who appears to 16 be, fourteen days of age or younger. 17 Sec. 6. Section 233.2, Code 2011, is amended to read as 18 follows: 19 233.2 Newborn infant Infant custody release procedures. 20 1. A parent of a newborn an infant may voluntarily release 21 custody of the newborn infant by relinquishing physical custody 22 of the newborn infant, without expressing an intent to again 23 assume physical custody, at an institutional health facility or 24 by authorizing another person to relinquish physical custody 25 on the parent’s behalf. If physical custody of the newborn 26 infant is not relinquished directly to an individual on duty 27 at the institutional health facility, the parent may take 28 other actions to be reasonably sure that an individual on 29 duty is aware that the newborn infant has been left at the 30 institutional health facility. The actions may include but are 31 not limited to making telephone contact with the institutional 32 health facility or a 911 service. For the purposes of this 33 chapter and for any judicial proceedings associated with the 34 newborn infant, a rebuttable presumption arises that the 35 -2- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 2/ 8

H.F. 2135 person who relinquishes physical custody at an institutional 1 health facility in accordance with this section is the newborn 2 infant’s parent or has relinquished physical custody with the 3 parent’s authorization. 4 2. a. Unless the parent or other person relinquishing 5 physical custody of a newborn an infant clearly expresses 6 an intent to return to again assume physical custody of the 7 newborn infant, an individual on duty at the facility at 8 which physical custody of the newborn infant was relinquished 9 pursuant to subsection 1 shall take physical custody of the 10 newborn infant. The individual on duty may request the parent 11 or other person to provide the name of the parent or parents 12 and information on the medical history of the newborn infant 13 and the newborn infant’s parent or parents. However, the 14 parent or other person is not required to provide the names or 15 medical history information to comply with this section . The 16 individual on duty may perform reasonable acts necessary to 17 protect the physical health or safety of the newborn infant. 18 The individual on duty and the institutional health facility in 19 which the individual was on duty are immune from criminal or 20 civil liability for any acts or omissions made in good faith to 21 comply with this section . 22 b. If the physical custody of the newborn infant is 23 relinquished at an institutional health facility, the state 24 shall reimburse the institutional health facility for the 25 institutional health facility’s actual expenses in providing 26 care to the newborn infant and in performing acts necessary to 27 protect the physical health or safety of the newborn infant. 28 The reimbursement shall be paid from moneys appropriated for 29 this purpose to the department of human services. 30 c. If the name of the parent is unknown to the institutional 31 health facility and it is reasonable to assume that a 32 certificate of birth has not been filed for the infant , 33 the individual on duty or other person designated by the 34 institutional health facility at which physical custody of the 35 -3- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 3/ 8

H.F. 2135 newborn infant was relinquished shall submit the certificate 1 of birth report as required pursuant to section 144.14 . If 2 the name of the parent is disclosed to the institutional 3 health facility, the facility shall submit the certificate 4 of birth report as required pursuant to section 144.13 . The 5 department of public health shall not file the certificate of 6 birth with the county of birth and shall otherwise maintain the 7 confidentiality of the birth certificate in accordance with 8 section 144.43 . 9 3. As soon as possible after the individual on duty 10 assumes physical custody of a newborn an infant released under 11 subsection 1 , the individual shall notify the department of 12 human services and the department shall take the actions 13 necessary to assume the care, control, and custody of the 14 newborn infant. The department shall immediately notify the 15 juvenile court and the county attorney of the department’s 16 action and the circumstances surrounding the action and 17 request an ex parte order from the juvenile court ordering, 18 in accordance with the requirements of section 232.78 , the 19 department to take custody of the newborn infant. Upon 20 receiving the order, the department shall take custody of the 21 newborn infant. Within twenty-four hours of taking custody of 22 the newborn infant, the department shall notify the juvenile 23 court and the county attorney in writing of the department’s 24 action and the circumstances surrounding the action. 25 4. a. Upon being notified in writing by the department 26 under subsection 3 , the county attorney shall file a 27 petition alleging the newborn infant to be a child in need of 28 assistance in accordance with section 232.87 and a petition 29 for termination of parental rights with respect to the newborn 30 infant in accordance with section 232.111, subsection 2 , 31 paragraph “a” . A hearing on a child in need of assistance 32 petition filed pursuant to this subsection shall be held at 33 the earliest practicable time. A hearing on a termination of 34 parental rights petition filed pursuant to this subsection 35 -4- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 4/ 8

H.F. 2135 shall be held no later than thirty days after the day the 1 physical custody of the newborn child infant was relinquished 2 in accordance with subsection 1 unless the juvenile court 3 continues the hearing beyond the thirty days for good cause 4 shown. 5 b. Notice of a petition filed pursuant to this subsection 6 shall be provided to any known parent and others in accordance 7 with the provisions of chapter 232 and shall be served upon any 8 putative father registered with the state registrar of vital 9 statistics pursuant to section 144.12A . In addition, prior to 10 holding a termination of parental rights hearing with respect 11 to the newborn infant, notice by publication shall be provided 12 as described in section 600A.6, subsection 5 . 13 5. Reasonable efforts, as defined in section 232.102 , that 14 are made in regard to the newborn infant shall be limited to 15 the efforts made in a timely manner to finalize a permanency 16 plan for the newborn infant. 17 6. An individual on duty at an institutional health facility 18 who assumes custody of a newborn an infant upon the release of 19 the newborn infant under subsection 1 shall be provided notice 20 of any hearing held concerning the newborn infant at the same 21 time notice is provided to other parties to the hearing and the 22 individual may provide testimony at the hearing. 23 Sec. 7. Section 233.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as 24 follows: 25 233.3 Immunity. 26 Any person authorized by the parent to assist with release 27 of custody in accordance with section 233.2 by relinquishing 28 physical custody of the newborn infant or to otherwise act on 29 the parent’s behalf is immune from criminal prosecution for 30 abandonment or neglect of the newborn infant under section 31 726.3 or 726.6 and civil liability for any reasonable acts or 32 omissions made in good faith in assisting with the release. 33 Sec. 8. Section 233.4, Code 2011, is amended to read as 34 follows: 35 -5- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 5/ 8

H.F. 2135 233.4 Rights of parents. 1 Either parent of a newborn an infant whose custody was 2 released in accordance with section 233.2 may intervene in the 3 child in need of assistance or termination of parental rights 4 proceedings held regarding the newborn infant and request that 5 the juvenile court grant custody of the newborn infant to 6 the parent. The requester must show by clear and convincing 7 evidence that the requester is the parent of the newborn 8 infant. If the court determines that the requester is the 9 parent of the newborn infant and that granting custody of the 10 newborn infant to the parent is in the newborn infant’s best 11 interest, the court shall issue an order granting custody of 12 the newborn infant to the parent. In addition to such order, 13 the court may order services for the newborn infant and the 14 parent as are in the best interest of the newborn infant. 15 Sec. 9. Section 233.5, subsections 1 and 2, Code 2011, are 16 amended to read as follows: 17 1. In addition to any other privacy protection established 18 in law, a record that is developed, acquired, or held in 19 connection with an individual’s good faith good-faith effort 20 to voluntarily release a newborn an infant in accordance with 21 this chapter and any identifying information concerning the 22 individual shall be kept confidential. Such record shall not 23 be inspected or the contents disclosed except as provided in 24 this section . 25 2. A record described in subsection 1 may be inspected and 26 the contents disclosed without court order to the following: 27 a. The court and professional court staff, including 28 juvenile court officers. 29 b. The newborn infant and the newborn infant’s counsel. 30 c. The newborn infant’s parent, guardian, custodian, and 31 those persons’ counsel. 32 d. The newborn infant’s court appointed special advocate and 33 guardian ad litem. 34 e. The county attorney and the county attorney’s assistants. 35 -6- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 6/ 8

H.F. 2135 f. An agency, association, facility, or institution which 1 has custody of the newborn infant, or is legally responsible 2 for the care, treatment, or supervision of the newborn infant. 3 g. The newborn infant’s foster parent or an individual 4 providing preadoptive care to the newborn infant. 5 Sec. 10. Section 233.6, Code 2011, is amended to read as 6 follows: 7 233.6 Educational and public information. 8 The department of human services, in consultation with the 9 Iowa department of public health and the department of justice, 10 shall develop and distribute the following: 11 1. An information card or other publication for 12 distribution by an institutional health facility to a parent 13 who releases custody of a newborn an infant in accordance with 14 this chapter . The publication shall inform the parent of a 15 parent’s rights under section 233.4 , explain the request for 16 medical history information under section 233.2, subsection 17 2 , and provide other information deemed pertinent by the 18 departments. 19 2. Educational materials, public information announcements, 20 and other resources to develop awareness of the availability 21 of the newborn infant safe haven Act among adolescents, young 22 parents, and others who might avail themselves of this chapter . 23 3. Signage that may be used to identify the institutional 24 health facilities at which physical custody of a newborn an 25 infant may be relinquished in accordance with this chapter . 26 Sec. 11. Section 726.3, Code 2011, is amended to read as 27 follows: 28 726.3 Neglect or abandonment of a dependent person. 29 A person who is the father, mother, or some other person 30 having custody of a child, or of any other person who by 31 reason of mental or physical disability is not able to care 32 for the person’s self, who knowingly or recklessly exposes 33 such person to a hazard or danger against which such person 34 cannot reasonably be expected to protect such person’s self or 35 -7- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 7/ 8

H.F. 2135 who deserts or abandons such person, knowing or having reason 1 to believe that the person will be exposed to such hazard or 2 danger, commits a class “C” felony. However, a parent or 3 person authorized by the parent shall not be prosecuted for a 4 violation of this section involving abandonment of a newborn an 5 infant, if the parent or the person authorized by the parent 6 has voluntarily released custody of the newborn infant in 7 accordance with section 233.2 . 8 Sec. 12. Section 726.6, subsection 2, Code 2011, is amended 9 to read as follows: 10 2. A parent or person authorized by the parent shall not 11 be prosecuted for a violation of subsection 1 , paragraph “f” , 12 relating to abandonment, if the parent or person authorized by 13 the parent has voluntarily released custody of a newborn an 14 infant in accordance with section 233.2 . 15 EXPLANATION 16 This bill expands the newborn safe haven Act established 17 in Code chapter 233 to include a child who is, or who appears 18 to be, one year of age or younger. Current law extends the 19 provisions of the Act to only a newborn infant who is defined 20 as a child who is, or who appears to be, 14 days of age or 21 younger. 22 -8- LSB 5787YH (4) 84 ec/nh 8/ 8