SF 2177 (LSB 5574XS (4) 84)

SENATE FILE 2177

BY  SODDERS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to county and multicounty juvenile detention homes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 232.142, Code Supplement 2011, is amended to read as follows:
   232.142  Maintenance and cost of juvenile homes —— fund.
   1.  County boards of supervisors which singly or in conjunction with one or more other counties provide and maintain juvenile detention and juvenile shelter care homes are subject to this section.

For the purposes of this section, unless the context otherwise requires, “division” means the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights.
   2.  For the purpose of providing and maintaining a county or multicounty home, the board of supervisors of any county may issue general county purpose bonds in accordance with sections 331.441 to 331.449. Expenses for providing and maintaining a multicounty home shall be paid by the counties participating in a manner to be determined by the boards of supervisors.
   3.  A county or multicounty juvenile detention home approved pursuant to this section shall receive financial aid from the state in a manner approved by the director
 
division. Aid paid by the state shall be at least ten percent and not more than fifty percent of the total cost of the establishment, improvements, operation, and maintenance of the home
 
that is attributed to children under the jurisdiction of this state.
   4.  The director shall adopt minimal rules and standards for the establishment, maintenance, and operation of such homes as shall be necessary to effect the purposes of this chapter. The rules shall apply the requirements of section 237.8, concerning employment and evaluation of persons with direct responsibility for a child or with access to a child when the child is alone and persons residing in a child foster care facility, to persons employed by, residing in, or volunteering for a home approved under this section. The director shall, upon request, give guidance and consultation in the establishment and administration of the homes and programs for the homes.
   5.  The director shall approve annually all such homes established and maintained under the provisions of this chapter. A home shall not be approved unless it complies with minimal rules and standards adopted by the director and has been inspected by the department of inspections and appeals.
   6.  A juvenile detention home fund is created in the state treasury under the authority of the department
 
division. The fund shall consist of moneys deposited in the fund pursuant to sections 321.218A and 321A.32A. The moneys in the fund shall be used for the costs of the establishment, improvement, operation, and maintenance of county or multicounty juvenile detention homes
 
attributed to children under the jurisdiction of this state’s courts in accordance with annual appropriations made by the general assembly from the fund for these purposes.

The distribution formula for the moneys in the fund shall be determined by the administrator of the division pursuant to a recommendation provided by the criminal and juvenile justice planning advisory council to equitably distribute the available moneys to help support the financial needs of juvenile detention homes. The distribution formula shall be based upon a detention home’s proportionate share of the statewide bed days utilized during the formula period by all detention homes eligible to receive moneys from the fund. The distribution formula shall include an allocation for the division’s costs to administer the fund and shall specify a base amount for each detention home receiving an allocation under the formula.
EXPLANATION
   This bill relates to county and multicounty juvenile detention homes under Code section 232.142. County and multicounty juvenile detention homes are subject to approval by the department of human services in accordance with rules and standards adopted by the department. Inspections are performed by the department of inspections and appeals. State funding for the detention homes is provided through the juvenile detention home fund administered by the department of human services.
   The fund receives civil penalties collected under Code sections 321.218A and 321A.32A, when the department of transportation suspends, revokes, or bars a person’s driver’s license or nonresident operating privilege for a conviction under Code chapter 321, relating to motor vehicle laws, or Code chapter 321A, relating to motor vehicle financial responsibility. The bill transfers the responsibility to administer the fund from the department of human services to the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning of the department of human rights. The bill also restricts the use of the fund to costs attributed to children under the jurisdiction of this state’s courts.
   Current law provides for distribution of the moneys in the fund in accordance with annual appropriations. For fiscal year 2011-2012, under 2011 Iowa Acts, chapter 129, section 17, moneys in the fund are allocated among eligible detention homes, prorated on the basis of an eligible detention home’s proportion of the costs of all eligible detention homes in the previous fiscal year, as determined by the department of human services based on the amount available to distribute. The bill provides for the administrator of the division of criminal and juvenile justice planning to determine the distribution formula for the moneys in the fund pursuant to a recommendation made by the criminal and juvenile justice planning advisory council. The bill requires the distribution formula to be based upon a juvenile detention home’s proportionate share of the statewide bed days utilized during the formula period by all juvenile detention homes eligible to receive moneys from the fund. The bill also requires the formula to include an allocation for the division’s costs to administer the fund and to specify a base amount for each detention home receiving an allocation under the formula.