HF 330 (LSB 1142YH (8) 86)

HOUSE FILE 330

BY  DAWSON, WESSEL-KROESCHELL, and HEDDENS

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to subsidized guardianships.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  SUBSIDIZED GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAM —— ELIGIBILITY.  In determining eligibility requirements for financial assistance to guardians under the subsidized guardianship program, the department of human services shall amend its administrative rules to provide the following:
   1.  Any adult person who is the grandparent or other relative of a child and who has been named as a guardian of the child under chapter 232 or 633 may be eligible to receive a subsidy.
   2.  The guardian must provide evidence of financial need in the subsidized guardianship application.
   3.  The child who is the subject of the guardianship may be of any age and need not be part of a sibling group.
   4.  The child who is the subject of the guardianship has been the subject of a child abuse or family assessment report and has been in the custody of the department of human services.
    Sec. 2.  TITLE IV-E GUARDIANSHIP ASSISTANCE STATE PLAN AMENDMENT —— SUBSIDIZED GUARDIANSHIP PROGRAM.  The department of human services shall submit a Title IV-E guardianship assistance state plan amendment to the United States department of health and human services to allow Title IV-E funding to be used for a subsidized guardianship program to enable children in the care of grandparents and other relatives to exit state care and be placed in permanent homes.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill requires the department of human services to amend its administrative rules contained in 441 IAC ch. 204 relating to eligibility requirements for guardians under the subsidized guardianship program. The bill provides that any adult person who is the grandparent or other relative of a child who has been named as a guardian of the child under Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice) or 633 (probate) may be eligible to receive a subsidy and that a guardian applicant must provide evidence of financial need. The child who is the subject of the guardianship may be of any age regardless of whether the child is part of a sibling group, and must have been the subject of a child abuse or family assessment report and in the custody of the department of human services.
   The bill requires the department of human services to submit a Title IV-E guardianship assistance state plan amendment to the United States department of health and human services to allow Title IV-E funding through the federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-351) to be used for a subsidized guardianship program to enable children to remain in the care of grandparents and other relatives to avoid placement in state care.