HF 2390 (LSB 5168HV (2) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2390

BY  COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 624)

(COMPANION TO SF 2174 BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to child welfare, including provisions relating to foster care and the child advocacy board.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 232.2, subsection 9, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  “Court appointed special advocate” means a person duly certified by the child advocacy board created in section 237.16 for participation in the court appointed special advocate program and appointed by the court to represent the interests of a child in any judicial proceeding to which the child is a party or is called as a witness or relating to any dispositional order involving the child resulting from such proceeding carry out the duties required by section 237.24.
    Sec. 2.  Section 237.15, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  “Fictive kin” means an adult person who is not a relative of a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s family.
    Sec. 3.  Section 237.16, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsection:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4.  The department and the department of inspections and appeals shall jointly develop written protocols detailing the responsibilities of each department with regard to children under the purview of the state board. The protocols shall be reviewed by the departments on an annual basis.
    Sec. 4.  Section 237.17, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   237.17  Foster care registry.
   1.  The state board shall establish a registry of the placements of all children receiving foster care. The department agency responsible for the placement shall notify the state board of each placement within five working days of the department’s notification of the placement in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4. The notification to the state board shall include information identifying the child receiving foster care and placement information for that child.
   2.  Within thirty days of the placement or two days after the dispositional hearing the The agency responsible for the placement shall submit the case permanency plan and all case permanency plan revisions to the state board a local board in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4. All subsequent revisions of the case permanency plan shall be submitted when the revisions are developed.
    Sec. 5.  Section 237.18, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   237.18  Duties of state board.
   The state board shall:
   1.  Review the activities and actions of local boards and the court appointed special advocate program.
   2.  Adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to:
   a.  Establish a recordkeeping system for the files of local review boards including individual case reviews.
   b.  Accumulate data and develop an annual report regarding children in foster care served by the state board. The report shall include:
   (1)  Personal data Data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care.
   (2)  The number of placements of children in foster care.
   (3)  The frequency and results of court reviews.
   c.  Evaluate the judicial and administrative data collected on foster care by local boards and court appointed special advocates, and disseminate the data to the governor, the supreme court, the chief judge of each judicial district, the department, and child-placing agencies, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district.
   d.  Establish mandatory training programs for members of the state and local review boards including an initial training program and periodic in-service training programs board. Training shall focus on, but not be limited to, the following:
   (1)  The history, philosophy and role of the juvenile court in the child protection system The duties of the state board.
   (2)  Juvenile court procedures under the juvenile justice act The duties of local boards.
   (3)  The foster care administrative review process of the department of human services The duties of court appointed special advocates.
   (4)  The role and procedures of the citizen’s foster care review system Applicable child welfare laws and practices that influence the work of local boards and court appointed special advocates.
   (5)  The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-272.
   (6)  The purpose of case permanency plans, and the type of information that will be available in those plans.
   (7)  The situations where the goals of either reuniting the child with the child’s family or adoption would be appropriate.
   (8)  The legal processes that may lead to foster care placement.
   (9)  The types and number of children involved in those legal processes.
   (10)  The types of foster care placement available, with emphasis on the types and number of facilities available on a regional basis.
   (11)  The impact of specific physical or mental conditions of a child on the type of placement most appropriate and the kind of progress that should be expected in those situations.
   e.  Establish a mandatory training program and procedures for the local review board boards consistent with the provisions of section 237.20.
   f.  Establish grounds and procedures for removal of a local review board member.
   g.  f.  Establish procedures and protocols for administering the court appointed special advocate program in accordance with subsection 7 6.
   3.  Assign the cases of children receiving foster care to the appropriate local boards.
   4.  Assist local boards in reviewing cases of children receiving foster care, as provided in section 237.20.
   5.  4.  Employ appropriate staff in accordance with available funding. The board shall coordinate with the department of inspections and appeals regarding administrative functions of the board.
   6.  5.  In conjunction with the legislative services agency and in consultation with the department of human services, supreme court, and private foster care providers, develop and maintain Maintain an evaluation program regarding citizen foster care review programming. The evaluation program shall be designed to evaluate the effectiveness of citizen reviews in improving case permanency planning and meeting case permanency planning goals, identify the amount of time children spend in foster care placements, and identify problem issues in the foster care system. The state board shall submit an annual evaluation report to the governor and the general assembly.
   7.  6.  Administer the court appointed special advocate program, including but not limited to performance of all of the following:
   a.  Establish standards for the program, including but not limited to standards for selection and screening of volunteers, preservice training, ongoing continuing education, and assignment and supervision of volunteers. Identifying information concerning a court appointed special advocate, other than the advocate’s name, shall not be considered to be a public record under chapter 22.
   b.  Implement the court appointed special advocate program in additional areas of the state as deemed necessary to effectuate its purpose including but not limited to employing court appointed special advocate program staff as available funding provides.
   c.  Promote adherence to the national guidelines for state and local court appointed special advocate programs.
   d.  Issue an annual report of the court appointed special advocate program for submission to the general assembly, the governor, and the supreme court.
   e.  Employ appropriate court appointed special advocate program staff in accordance with available funding. The state board shall coordinate with the department of inspections and appeals the performance of the administrative functions of the state board.
   8.  7.  Receive gifts, grants, or donations made for any of the purposes of the state board’s programs and disburse and administer the funds received in accordance with the terms of the donor and under the direction of program staff. The funds received shall be used according to any restrictions attached to the funds and any unrestricted funds shall be retained and applied to the applicable program budget for the next succeeding fiscal year.
   9.  8.  Make recommendations to the general assembly, the department, to child-placing agencies, the governor, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court, and the chief judge of each judicial district, and to the judicial branch. The recommendations shall include but are not limited to identification of systemic problems in the foster care and the juvenile justice systems, specific proposals for improvements that assist the systems in being more cost-effective and better able to protect the best interests of children, and necessary changes relating to the data collected and the annual report made under subsection 2, paragraph “b”.
    Sec. 6.  Section 237.19, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   237.19  Local citizen foster care review boards.
   1.  The state board shall establish local citizen foster care review boards to review cases of children receiving foster care. The department shall discontinue its foster care review process for those children reviewed by local boards as local boards are established and operating. The state board shall select a minimum of five members and two alternate a maximum of seven members to serve on each local board in consultation with the chief judge of each judicial district. The actual number of local boards needed and established shall be determined by the state board. The members of each local board shall consist of persons of, to the extent possible, reflect the various social, economic, racial, and ethnic groups and various occupations of their district. A person employed by the state board, or the department, the department of inspections and appeals, or the district court, or an employee of an agency with which the department contracts for services for children under foster care, a foster parent providing foster care, or a child-placing agency shall not serve on a local board. The state board shall provide the names of the members of the local boards to the department.
   2.  Vacancies on a local board shall be filled in the same manner as original appointments. The members shall not receive per diem but shall receive reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in their duties as members.
   3.  A local board member shall be required to pass a background check and complete requirements as established by the state board prior to taking an oath of confidentiality to serve on a local board. 
   4.  A local board member shall be required to receive periodic continuing education during each term of service as established by the state board.
    Sec. 7.  Section 237.20, subsection 1, unnumbered paragraph 1, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   Review the case of each child receiving foster care assigned to the a local board by the state board in accordance with written protocols adopted pursuant to section 237.16, subsection 4, to determine whether satisfactory progress is being made toward the goals of the case permanency plan pursuant to section 237.22. The timing and frequency of a review of each case by a local board shall take into consideration the permanency goals, placement setting, and frequency of any court reviews of the case.
    Sec. 8.  Section 237.20, subsection 1, paragraph a, subparagraph (2), Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   (2)  The efforts of the agency responsible for the placement of the child to locate and provide services to the child’s biological or adoptive parents of the child, legal guardians, or fictive kin providing the majority of a child’s daily food, lodging, and support.
    Sec. 9.  Section 237.20, subsection 1, paragraphs b, c, and d, Code 2022, are amended to read as follows:
   b.  The review shall include issues pertaining to the case permanency plan and shall not include issues that do not pertain to the case permanency plan. A person notified pursuant to subsection 4 shall either attend the review or submit testimony a statement as requested by the local board or in accordance with a written protocol jointly developed by the state board and the department. Oral testimony Statements may, upon the request of the testifier an interested party or upon motion of the local board, be given in a private setting when to do so would facilitate the presentation of evidence. Statements may be made in written, oral, or electronic form. Local board questions reviews shall pertain to the permanency plan and shall not include issues that do not pertain to the permanency plan.
   c.  A person who gives an oral testimony statement has the right to representation by counsel at the review.
   d.  An agency or individual providing services to the child shall submit testimony statements as requested by the local board. The testimony may be written or oral, or may be a tape recorded telephone call. Written testimony or recorded statements from other interested parties may also be considered by the board in its review.
    Sec. 10.  Section 237.20, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  Submit to the appropriate court and the department within fifteen days after the review under subsection 1, the findings and recommendations of the review. The local board shall ensure that the most recent report is available for a court hearing. The report to the court shall include information regarding the case permanency plan and the progress in attaining the permanency goals. The report shall not include issues that do not pertain to the case permanency plan. The findings and recommendations shall include the proposed date of the next review by the local board. The local board shall notify the persons specified in subsection 4 of the findings and recommendations.
    Sec. 11.  Section 237.20, subsection 4, paragraph a, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subparagraph:
   NEW SUBPARAGRAPH.  (9)  An intervenor. 
    Sec. 12.  Section 237.21, subsection 2, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Information and records relating to a child receiving foster care and to the child’s family shall be provided to a court appointed special advocate, a local board, or the state board by the department, the department’s agent, or a child-care child placement agency receiving purchase-of-service funds from the department contracted by the department upon request by the court appointed special advocate or either board. A court having jurisdiction of a child receiving foster care shall release the information and records the court deems necessary to determine the needs of the child, if the information and records are not obtainable elsewhere, to a local board or the state board court appointed special advocate upon request by either the local board or court appointed special advocate. If confidential information and records are distributed to individual members in advance of a meeting of the state board or a local board, the information and records shall be clearly identified as confidential and the members shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure.  If confidential information and records are distributed to a court appointed special advocate or court appointed special advocate program staff, the information shall be confidential and the court appointed special advocate and court appointed special advocate program staff shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure.
    Sec. 13.  Section 237.21, subsection 4, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   4.  A court appointed special advocate may disclose case-related observations and recommendations to the agency assigned by the court to supervise the case, to the county attorney, or to the child’s legal representative or guardian ad litem, or at a local board meeting.  Case-related observations and recommendations about a child and the child’s parent or about a child and the child’s legal guardian may also be disclosed to the parent or guardian to which the observations and recommendations pertain or to such parent or guardian’s legal representative.
    Sec. 14.  Section 237.22, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   237.22  Case permanency plan.
   The agency responsible for the placement of the child shall create a case permanency plan. The plan shall In addition to requirements stated in section 232.2, subsection 4, the plan shall also include, but not be limited to:
   1.  Plans for carrying out the voluntary placement agreement or judicial determination pursuant to which the child entered care.
   2.  1.  Time frames to meet the stated permanency goal and short-term objectives.
   3.  The type and appropriateness of the placement and services to be provided to the child.
   4.  2.  The care and services that will be provided to the child, biological parents, the child’s fictive kin, and foster parents.
   5.  How the care and services will meet the needs of the child while in care and will facilitate the child’s return home or other permanent placement.
   6.  3.  The efforts to place the child with a relative or fictive kin.
   7.  4.  The rationale for an out-of-state placement, and the efforts to prevent such placement, if the child has been placed out of state.
    Sec. 15.  NEW SECTION.  237.24  Court appointed special advocates.
   1.  A court appointed special advocate shall receive notice of all depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter to which the court appointed special advocate is appointed.
   2.  The duties of a court appointed special advocate with respect to a child, unless otherwise enlarged or circumscribed by a court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over the child after a finding of good cause, shall include all of the following:
   a.  Conducting in-person interviews with the child every thirty days, if the child’s age is appropriate for the interview, and interviewing each parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child as needed, if authorized by counsel.
   b.  Visiting the home, residence, or both home and residence of the child and any prospective home or residence of the child, including each time placement is changed.
   c.  Interviewing any person providing medical, mental health, social, educational, or other services to the child.
   d.  Obtaining firsthand knowledge, if possible, of the facts, circumstances, and parties involved in the matter in which the court appointed special advocate is appointed.
   e.  Attending any depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter to which the court appointed special advocate is appointed for the purpose of supporting the child and advocating for the child’s protection.
   f.  Assisting the transition committee in the development of a transition plan if the child’s case permanency plan calls for the development of a transition plan.
   g.  (1)  Submitting a written report to the juvenile court and to each of the parties identified in section 237.21, subsection 4, prior to each court hearing unless otherwise ordered by the court.
   (2)  The report shall include but not be limited to the identified strengths of the child and the child’s family, concerns identified by the court appointed special advocate, the court appointed special advocate’s recommendations regarding the child’s placement, and other recommendations the court appointed special advocate believes are in the child’s best interests.
   h.  Submitting periodic reports to the court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over a child and interested parties detailing the child’s situation as long as the child remains under the jurisdiction of the court or juvenile court.
   i.  Filing other reports as ordered by a court or juvenile court.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to child welfare, including provisions relating to foster care and the child advocacy board (CAB).
   CHILD ADVOCACY BOARD. The bill requires the department of inspections and appeals (DIA) and the department of human services (DHS) to jointly develop written protocols relating to the responsibilities of each department with regard to children under the purview of CAB. The protocols must be reviewed by both departments on an annual basis.
   The bill requires the agency responsible for the placement of a child in foster care to notify CAB of each placement and submit the child’s case permanency plan and any case permanency plan revisions to a local citizen foster care review board (local board) according to protocols developed by DIA and DHS. Under current law, notifications of a child’s placement must be given to CAB by DHS within five working days of DHS’s notification of the placement, case permanency plans must be submitted to CAB by the agency responsible for a child’s placement within 30 days of placement or two days after the child’s dispositional hearing, and revisions to case permanency plans must be submitted to CAB by the agency responsible for a child’s placement when revisions are developed.
   The bill requires CAB to review the activities and actions of the court appointed special advocate program.
   The bill changes the scope of the annual report prepared by CAB. Under current law, the report must include personal data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care; the number of placements of children in foster care; and the frequency and results of court reviews. The bill provides that the annual report shall include information on all children served by CAB and all data regarding the total number of days of foster care provided and the characteristics of the children receiving foster care, and eliminates the requirement to include the frequency and results of court reviews.
   The bill requires CAB to evaluate the data collected by local boards and court appointed special advocates, and disseminate the data to the governor, DHS, child-placing agencies, and the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district. Under current law, data collected is limited to judicial and administrative data on foster care, and CAB must give the evaluation directly to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district instead of the state court administrator.
   The bill replaces mandatory training requirements for CAB members with mandatory training concerning the duties of CAB; the duties of local boards; the duties of court appointed special advocates; and applicable child welfare laws and practices that influence the work of local boards and court appointed special advocates.
   The bill combines CAB’s duty to establish procedures for local boards with the requirement to establish a mandatory training program for local board members; eliminates the requirement that CAB assist local boards in reviewing cases of children receiving foster care; eliminates the requirement that CAB coordinate with DIA regarding the administrative functions of the board; and eliminates the requirement for CAB to work in conjunction with the legislative services agency and in consultation with DHS, the supreme court, and private foster care providers to develop and maintain an evaluation program regarding citizen foster care review programming.
   The bill requires CAB to implement the court appointed special advocate program as deemed necessary to effectuate its purpose, rather than to implement the program in additional areas of the state. The bill also combines this requirement with the duty to employ court appointed special advocate program staff as available funding provides.
   The bill makes terminology changes from “ongoing education” to “continuing education” for the purpose of establishing continuing education requirements for court appointment special advocates (CASAs).
   The bill provides that the duties of a CASA with respect to a child, unless directed by a court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over the child after a finding of good cause, shall include conducting in-person interviews with the child every 30 days, if the child’s age is appropriate for the interview, and interviewing each parent, guardian, or other person having custody of the child as needed, if authorized by counsel; visiting the home, residence, or both the home and residence of the child and any prospective home or residence of the child, including each time placement is changed; interviewing any person providing medical, mental health, social, educational, or other services to the child; obtaining firsthand knowledge, if possible, of the facts, circumstances, and parties involved in the matter in which the CASA is appointed; attending any depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings in a matter in which the CASA is appointed; assisting the transition committee in the development of a transition plan if the child’s case permanency plan calls for the development of a transition plan; submitting a written report to the juvenile court and to each of the parties that a CASA may disclose case-related observations and recommendations prior to each hearing unless otherwise ordered by the court; submitting periodic reports to the court or juvenile court with jurisdiction over a child and interested parties detailing the child’s situation as long as the child remains under the jurisdiction of the court or juvenile court; and filing other reports as ordered by a court or juvenile court. The bill also requires that a CASA report prepared for a hearing include but not be limited to the identified strengths of the child and the child’s family, concerns identified by the CASA, the CASA’s recommendations regarding placement of the child, and other recommendations the CASA believes are in the child’s best interests.
   The bill requires that a CASA receive notice of all depositions, hearings, and trial proceedings relating to a matter to which the CASA is appointed.
   The bill requires CAB to make recommendations to the state court administrator for dissemination to the supreme court and the chief judge of each judicial district instead of providing the recommendations to the supreme court and chief judge of each judicial district directly.
   LOCAL CITIZEN FOSTER CARE REVIEW BOARDS. The bill changes the required composition of local boards from five members and two alternate members to a minimum of five members and a maximum of seven members. The bill also allows CAB to appoint local board members without consulting the chief judge of the appropriate judicial district. 
   Under current law, local board members must consist of persons of various social, economic, racial, and ethnic groups and occupations of their district. The bill changes this requirement to provide that members of each local board, to the extent possible, must consist of the various racial and ethnic groups and occupations of their district. The bill also allows a person employed by DIA to serve on a local board and eliminates the requirement for CAB to provide the names of the members of local boards to DHS.
   The bill removes language relating to the payment of local board members.
   The bill requires members of a local board to pass background checks and complete requirements as established by CAB prior to taking an oath of confidentiality to serve on a local board, and requires local board members to receive periodic continuing education during each term of service as established by CAB.
   The bill requires local boards to review the efforts of the foster care agency responsible for the placement of a child to locate and provide services to a child’s biological or adoptive parents, legal guardians, or fictive kin providing the majority of a child’s daily food, lodging, and support. Under current law, the local board is not required to review an agency’s efforts to locate and provide services to a child’s legal guardian or fictive kin.
   The bill allows a person to either attend a local board meeting or submit a statement rather than provide testimony. The bill also allows an interested party to provide a statement in a private setting upon request of the interested party or motion of the local board. Statements may be made in written, oral, or electronic form.
   The bill specifies that a local board review shall pertain to a permanency plan and shall not include issues that do not pertain to the permanency plan.
   The bill allows an agency or individual providing foster care services to a child to submit written or recorded statements as requested by a local board. Under current law, such testimony may be written or oral or may be a tape recorded telephone call. The bill also allows local boards to consider written or recorded statements from other interested parties in its review. Under current law, a local board is only allowed to consider written testimony from other interested parties.
   The bill requires a local board to submit to DHS, within 15 days after a review of a child’s case, the findings and recommendations of the review.
   The bill adds an intervenor in a child’s case as a person a local board is required to notify of a local board meeting.
   CONFIDENTIALITY OF FOSTER CARE RECORDS. The bill requires DHS, an agent of DHS, or a child placement agency contracted by DHS to provide information and records relating to a child receiving foster care and to the child’s family to a court appointed special advocate, a local board, or CAB upon request by the court appointed special advocate, CAB, or a local board. Under current law, such information and records can only be provided to a local board or to CAB, and the information can only be provided by DHS or a child placement agency receiving purchase-of-service funds from DHS.
   The bill allows a court with jurisdiction of a child receiving foster care to release information and records the court deems necessary to determine the needs of the child to a local board or court appointed special advocate upon request of the local board or court appointed special advocate.
   The bill requires that if confidential information and records are distributed to a court appointed special advocate or court appointed special advocate program staff, the information shall be confidential and the court appointed special advocate and court appointed special advocate program staff shall take appropriate steps to prevent unauthorized disclosure.
   The bill allows a court appointed special advocate to disclose case-related observations and recommendations at a local board meeting. The bill also allows a court appointed special advocate to disclose case-related observations and recommendations about a child and the child’s parent or about a child and the child’s legal guardian to the parent or guardian to which the observations and recommendations pertain or to such parent or guardian’s legal representative.
   CASE PERMANENCY PLAN. The bill includes care and services provided to a child’s fictive kin and efforts made to place a child with fictive kin as information to be included in a child’s case permanency plan. 
   DEFINITIONS. The bill amends the definition of “court appointed special advocate” for purposes of Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice) and in Code chapter 237 (foster care review) to mean a person duly certified by the child advocacy board created in Code section 237.16 for participation in the court appointed special advocate program and appointed by the court to carry out the duties required of a court appointed special advocate.
   The bill defines “fictive kin” as an adult person who is not a relative of a child but who has an emotionally significant relationship with the child or the child’s family.
   CONFORMING CODE CHANGES. The bill makes conforming changes to Code sections 237.18 (duties of CAB), 237.20 (local citizen foster care review board duties), and 237.22 (case permanency plan).