House Study Bill 108 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the modification of a bridge order issued 1 pursuant to a previous child in need of assistance case. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1410YC (1) 90 dg/rh

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 232.103A, Code 2023, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 6A. a. If a bridge order currently 3 exists for a child, a juvenile court may close a child in 4 need of assistance case by transferring jurisdiction over the 5 child’s custody, physical care, and visitation to the district 6 court through modification of that bridge order, if all of 7 the criteria in section 1, paragraphs “a” , “b” , “c” , and “f”, 8 are met and the juvenile court has determined that the child 9 in need of assistance case can safely close once the child’s 10 previous bridge order is modified and entered by the district 11 court. 12 b. The modification of a bridge order pursuant to paragraph 13 “a” shall designate the petitioner and respondent in the 14 existing bridge order as petitioner and respondent in their 15 previously designated roles. A modification of a bridge order 16 shall only address custody, physical care, and visitation. 17 All other matters, including child support, shall be filed by 18 separate petition or by action of the child support recovery 19 unit, and shall be subject to existing applicable statutory 20 provisions. 21 c. Filing fees and other court costs shall not be assessed 22 against the parties. 23 d. The district court shall take judicial notice of the 24 juvenile file in any hearing related to the case. Records 25 contained in the district court case file that were copied or 26 transferred from the juvenile court file concerning the case 27 shall be subject to section 232.147 and other confidentiality 28 provisions of this chapter for cases not involving juvenile 29 delinquency, and shall be disclosed, upon request, to the child 30 support recovery unit without a court order. 31 EXPLANATION 32 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 33 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 34 This bill relates to the ability of a juvenile court to 35 -1- LSB 1410YC (1) 90 dg/rh 1/ 3

H.F. _____ close a child in need of assistance (CINA) case by transferring 1 jurisdiction through modification of a bridge order issued 2 pursuant to a previous CINA case. 3 Under current law, a juvenile court may close a CINA case by 4 issuing a bridge order that would transfer jurisdiction to the 5 district court. If the child is subject to a subsequent CINA 6 case, the juvenile court is required to issue a new order for 7 the case and a court would have to rescind the previous bridge 8 order. The bill provides that if a bridge order currently 9 exists for a child in a CINA case, a juvenile court may close 10 a CINA case by transferring jurisdiction over the child’s 11 custody, physical care, and visitation to the district court 12 through a modification of the bridge order issued pursuant 13 to the previous CINA case if the child has been adjudicated 14 a CINA in an active juvenile court case, and a dispositional 15 order in that case is in place; paternity of the child has been 16 legally established, including by operation of law due to the 17 individual’s marriage to the mother at the time of conception, 18 birth, or at any time during the period between conception 19 and birth of the child, by order of a court of competent 20 jurisdiction, or by administrative order when authorized by 21 state law; the child is safely placed by the juvenile court 22 with a parent; a parent qualified for a court-appointed 23 attorney in the juvenile court case; and the juvenile court has 24 determined that the CINA case can safely close once the child’s 25 previous bridge order is modified and entered by the district 26 court. 27 The bill requires a bridge order to designate the petitioner 28 and respondent in the existing bridge order as petitioner and 29 respondent in their previously designated roles. 30 The bill restricts the scope of a modification of a bridge 31 order to issues pertaining to custody, physical care, and 32 visitation. All other matters, including child support, shall 33 be filed by separate petition or by action of the child support 34 recovery unit, and shall be subject to existing applicable 35 -2- LSB 1410YC (1) 90 dg/rh 2/ 3

H.F. _____ statutory provisions. 1 The bill waives filing fees and other court costs related 2 to the juvenile court transferring jurisdiction to a district 3 court pursuant to a modification of a bridge order. 4 The bill requires the district court to take judicial notice 5 of the juvenile file in any hearing related to the case being 6 transferred pursuant to a modification of a bridge order. 7 Records contained in the district court case file that were 8 copied or transferred from the juvenile court file concerning 9 the case are subject to all Code chapter 232 (juvenile justice) 10 confidentiality provisions, and must be disclosed, upon 11 request, to the child support recovery unit without a court 12 order. 13 -3- LSB 1410YC (1) 90 dg/rh 3/ 3