Senate Study Bill 1230 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SODDERS) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the transfer of jurisdiction from the 1 juvenile court to the district court related to a child in 2 need of assistance case. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 2518XC (1) 86 pf/nh

S.F. _____ Section 1. NEW SECTION . 232.103A Transfer of jurisdiction 1 related to child in need of assistance case —— bridge order. 2 1. The juvenile court may close a child in need of 3 assistance case by transferring jurisdiction over the child’s 4 custody to the district court determining issues of legal 5 custody, physical care, and visitation through a bridge order, 6 if all of the following criteria are met: 7 a. The child has been adjudicated a child in need 8 of assistance in an active juvenile court case, and a 9 dispositional order in that case is in place. 10 b. Paternity of the child has been legally established. 11 c. The child is safely unified with a parent. 12 d. There is not a current district court order for custody 13 in place. 14 e. The juvenile court has determined that the child in need 15 of assistance case can safely close once there is a custody and 16 visitation order in place. 17 f. A parent qualified for a court appointed attorney in the 18 juvenile court case. 19 2. Any party to a child in need of assistance proceeding 20 in juvenile court may petition for a bridge order when the 21 criteria specified in subsection 1 are met. Such petition 22 shall be set for hearing no less than thirty days nor more than 23 ninety days from the filing date of the petition. The juvenile 24 court, on its own motion, may set a hearing on the issue of a 25 bridge order if such hearing is set no less than thirty days 26 from the date of notice to the parties. 27 3. The juvenile court shall designate the petitioner and 28 respondent for the purposes of the bridge order. A bridge 29 order shall only address matters of custody and visitation. 30 All other matters, including child support, shall be filed by 31 separate petition and shall be subject to existing applicable 32 statutory provisions. 33 4. Upon transferring jurisdiction from the juvenile court 34 to the district court, the clerk of court shall docket the 35 -1- LSB 2518XC (1) 86 pf/nh 1/ 3

S.F. _____ case. Filing fees and other court costs shall not be assessed 1 against the parties. 2 5. The district court shall take judicial notice of the 3 juvenile file in any hearing related to the case. Records 4 contained in the district court case file that were copied or 5 transferred from the juvenile court file concerning the case 6 shall be subject to section 232.147 and other confidentiality 7 provisions of this chapter for cases not involving juvenile 8 delinquency. 9 6. Following the issuance of a bridge order, a party 10 may file a motion for modification of the bridge order. If 11 the motion for modification is filed within one year of 12 the filing date of the bridge order, the party requesting 13 modification shall not be required to show a substantial change 14 of circumstances. If a motion for modification is filed 15 within one year of the filing date of the bridge order, filing 16 fees and other court costs shall not be assessed against the 17 parties. 18 EXPLANATION 19 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 20 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 21 This bill provides for the closing of a child in need of 22 assistance (CINA) case by transferring jurisdiction from the 23 juvenile court to the district court determining issues of 24 legal custody, physical care, and visitation through a bridge 25 order. In order to utilize a bridge order, the case must meet 26 all of the following criteria: the child has been adjudicated 27 a CINA in an active juvenile court case, and the dispositional 28 order is in place; paternity of the child has been legally 29 established; the child is safely unified with a parent; there 30 is not a current district court order for custody in place; the 31 juvenile court has determined that the CINA case can safely 32 close once there is a custody and visitation order in place; 33 and a parent qualified for a court appointed attorney in the 34 juvenile case. 35 -2- LSB 2518XC (1) 86 pf/nh 2/ 3

S.F. _____ Under the bill, any party to a child in need of assistance 1 proceeding in juvenile court may petition for a bridge order 2 when the criteria specified in the bill are met. Such a 3 petition is to be set for hearing no less than 30 days nor 4 more than 90 days from the filing date of the petition. The 5 juvenile court, on its own motion, may set a hearing on the 6 issue of a bridge order if such hearing is set no less than 30 7 days from the date of notice to the parties. 8 The bill provides that the juvenile court must designate 9 the petitioner and respondent for the purposes of the bridge 10 order and that the bridge order shall only address matters of 11 custody and visitation, with all other matters, including child 12 support, required to be filed by separate petition subject to 13 existing statutory provisions. The bill provides for docketing 14 of the case and that filing fees and other court costs shall 15 not be assessed against the parties. 16 The bill provides that the district court shall take 17 judicial notice of the juvenile file in any hearing related to 18 the case. Records contained in the district court case file 19 that were copied or transferred from the juvenile court file 20 concerning the case are subject to existing confidentiality 21 provisions under Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice) not 22 involving juvenile delinquency. The bill provides that 23 after a bridge order is filed a party may file a motion for 24 modification and if the motion is filed within one year of 25 the filing date of the bridge order, the party requesting 26 modification shall not be required to show a substantial change 27 of circumstances and filing fees and other court costs are not 28 to be assessed against the parties. 29 -3- LSB 2518XC (1) 86 pf/nh 3/ 3