HF 2114 (LSB 5434YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 2114

BY  A. MEYER and LATHAM

A BILL FOR

An Act authorizing the parent or legal guardian of a child to have the child committed for substance use or mental health treatment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 125.33, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   125.33  Voluntary treatment of persons adults with a substance use disorder.
   1.  A person For purposes of this section, “adult” means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.
   2.  An adult with a substance use disorder may apply for voluntary treatment or rehabilitation services directly to a facility or to a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or to a mental health professional. If the proposed patient is a minor or an incompetent person, a parent, a legal guardian, or other legal representative may make the application. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or any employee or person acting under the direction or supervision of the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or facility shall not report or disclose the name of the person adult or the fact that treatment was requested or has been undertaken to any law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency; nor shall such information be admissible as evidence in any court, grand jury, or administrative proceeding unless authorized by the person adult seeking treatment. If the person seeking such treatment or rehabilitation is a minor who has personally made application for treatment, the fact that the minor sought treatment or rehabilitation or is receiving treatment or rehabilitation services shall not be reported or disclosed to the parents or legal guardian of such minor without the minor’s consent, and the minor may give legal consent to receive such treatment and rehabilitation.
   2.  3.  Subject to rules adopted by the department, the administrator or the administrator’s designee in charge of a facility may determine who shall be admitted for treatment or rehabilitation. If a person an adult is refused admission, the administrator or the administrator’s designee, subject to rules adopted by the department, shall refer the person adult to another facility for treatment if possible and appropriate.
   3.  4.  A person An adult with a substance use disorder seeking treatment or rehabilitation and who is either addicted to or dependent on a chemical substance may first be examined and evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or a mental health professional who may prescribe, if authorized or licensed to do so, a proper course of treatment and medication, if needed. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or mental health professional may further prescribe a course of treatment or rehabilitation and authorize another licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or facility to provide the prescribed treatment or rehabilitation services. Treatment or rehabilitation services may be provided to a person an adult individually or in a group. A facility providing or engaging in treatment or rehabilitation shall not report or disclose to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency the name of any person an adult receiving or engaged in the treatment or rehabilitation; nor shall a person an adult receiving or participating in treatment or rehabilitation report or disclose the name of any other person engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation or that the program is in existence, to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency. Such information shall not be admitted in evidence in any court, grand jury, or administrative proceeding. However, a person an adult engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation may authorize the disclosure of the person’s adult’s name and individual participation.
   4.  5.  If a patient an adult receiving inpatient or residential care leaves a facility, the patient shall be encouraged to consent to appropriate outpatient or halfway house treatment. If it appears to the administrator in charge of the facility that the patient is a person with has a substance use disorder who and requires help, the director may arrange for assistance in obtaining supportive services.
   5.  6.  If a patient leaves a facility, with or against the advice of the administrator in charge of the facility, the director may make reasonable provisions for the patient’s transportation to another facility or to the patient’s home. If the patient has no home, the patient shall be assisted in obtaining shelter. If the patient is a minor or an incompetent person, the request for discharge from an inpatient facility shall be made by a parent, legal guardian, or other legal representative, or by the minor or incompetent person patient if the patient was the original applicant.
   6.  7.  Any person who reports or discloses the name of a person an adult receiving treatment or rehabilitation services to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency or any person individual receiving treatment or rehabilitation services who discloses the name of any other person individual receiving treatment or rehabilitation services without the written consent of the person in violation of the provisions of this section individual shall upon conviction be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
    Sec. 2.  NEW SECTION.  125.33A  Treatment of minors with a substance use disorder.
   1.  For purposes of this section, “minor” means an individual who is under eighteen years of age.
   2.  A minor with a substance use disorder, or the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or other legal representative, may apply for treatment or rehabilitation services directly to a facility or to a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or to a mental health professional. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or any employee or person acting under the direction or supervision of the physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or facility shall not report or disclose the minor’s name or the fact that treatment was requested or has been undertaken to any law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency; nor shall such information be admissible as evidence in any court, grand jury, or administrative proceeding unless authorized by the minor seeking treatment.
   3.  a.  Subject to rules adopted by the department, the administrator or the administrator’s designee in charge of a facility may determine who shall be admitted for treatment or rehabilitation.
   b.  If a minor is refused admission to a facility, the administrator or the administrator’s designee, subject to rules adopted by the department, shall refer the minor to another facility for treatment if possible and appropriate.
   c.  A minor’s admission to a facility shall not be subject to court jurisdiction unless the minor and the minor’s parents, legal guardians, or custodians refuse to consent to the minor’s admission.
   4.  A minor with a substance use disorder seeking treatment or rehabilitation and who is either addicted to or dependent on a chemical substance may first be examined and evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or a mental health professional who may prescribe, if authorized or licensed to do so, a proper course of treatment and medication, if needed. The licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon or mental health professional may further prescribe a course of treatment or rehabilitation and authorize another licensed physician and surgeon or osteopathic physician and surgeon, mental health professional, or facility to provide the prescribed treatment or rehabilitation services. Treatment or rehabilitation services may be provided to a minor individually or in a group. A facility providing or engaging in treatment or rehabilitation shall not report or disclose to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency the name of a minor receiving or engaged in the treatment or rehabilitation; nor shall a minor receiving or participating in treatment or rehabilitation report or disclose the name of any other individual engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation or that the program is in existence, to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency. Such information shall not be admitted in evidence in any court, grand jury, or administrative proceeding. However, a minor engaged in or receiving treatment or rehabilitation, or the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or other legal representative, may authorize the disclosure of the minor’s name and individual participation.
   5.  If a minor receiving inpatient or residential care leaves a facility, the minor shall be encouraged to consent to appropriate outpatient or halfway house treatment. If it appears to the administrator in charge of the facility that the minor has a substance use disorder and requires help, the director may arrange for assistance in obtaining supportive services.
   6.  If a minor admitted to a facility leaves the facility, with or against the advice of the administrator in charge of the facility, the director shall make reasonable provisions for the minor’s transportation to another facility or to the minor’s home. If the minor has no home, the minor shall be assisted in obtaining shelter. The request for a minor’s discharge from an inpatient facility shall be made by a parent, legal guardian, or other legal representative, or by the minor if the minor was the original applicant.
   7.  Any person who reports or discloses the name of a minor receiving treatment or rehabilitation services to a law enforcement officer or law enforcement agency or any individual receiving treatment or rehabilitation services who discloses the name of any other individual receiving treatment or rehabilitation services without the written consent of the individual shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.
    Sec. 3.  Section 229.2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   229.2  Application for adult voluntary admission —— authority to receive adult voluntary patients.
   1.  a.  For purposes of this section, “adult” means an individual who is eighteen years of age or older.
   2.  An application for admission to a public or private hospital for observation, diagnosis, care, and treatment as a voluntary patient may be made by any person adult who is mentally ill or has symptoms of mental illness.
   b.  In the case of a minor, the parent, guardian, or custodian may make application for admission of the minor as a voluntary patient.
   (1)  Upon receipt of an application for voluntary admission of a minor, the chief medical officer shall provide separate prescreening interviews and consultations with the parent, guardian, or custodian and the minor to assess the family environment and the appropriateness of the application for admission.
   (2)  During the interview and consultation the chief medical officer shall inform the minor orally and in writing that the minor has a right to object to the admission. If the chief medical officer of the hospital to which application is made determines that the admission is appropriate but the minor objects to the admission, the parent, guardian, or custodian must petition the juvenile court for approval of the admission before the minor is actually admitted.
   (3)  As soon as is practicable after the filing of a petition for juvenile court approval of the admission of the minor, the juvenile court shall determine whether the minor has an attorney to represent the minor in the hospitalization proceeding, and if not, the court shall assign to the minor an attorney. If the minor is financially unable to pay for an attorney, the attorney shall be compensated by an administrative services organization at an hourly rate to be established by the administrative services organization in substantially the same manner as provided in section 815.7.
   (4)  The juvenile court shall determine whether the admission is in the best interest of the minor and is consistent with the minor’s rights.
   (5)  The juvenile court shall order hospitalization of a minor, over the minor’s objections, only after a hearing in which it is shown by clear and convincing evidence that:
   (a)  The minor needs and will substantially benefit from treatment.
   (b)  No other setting which involves less restriction of the minor’s liberties is feasible for the purposes of treatment.
   (6)  Upon approval of the admission of a minor over the minor’s objections, the juvenile court shall appoint an individual to act as an advocate representing the interests of the minor in the same manner as an advocate representing the interests of patients involuntarily hospitalized pursuant to section 229.19.
   2.  Upon receiving an application for admission as a voluntary patient, made pursuant to subsection 1:
   a.  The chief medical officer of a public hospital shall receive and may admit the person adult whose admission is sought, subject in cases other than medical emergencies to availability of suitable accommodations and to the provisions of section 229.41.
   b.  The chief medical officer of a private hospital may receive and may admit the person adult whose admission is sought.
    Sec. 4.  NEW SECTION.  229.2B  Application for admission of minor —— authority to receive minor patients.
   1.  For purposes of this section, “minor” means an individual under eighteen years of age.
   2.  An application for admission to a public or private hospital for observation, diagnosis, care, and treatment as a voluntary patient may be made by a minor who is mentally ill or has symptoms of mental illness, or the minor’s parent, legal guardian, or custodian.
   3.  Upon receipt of an application for voluntary admission of a minor, the chief medical officer of the hospital shall provide separate prescreening interviews and consultations with the parent, guardian, or custodian and the minor to assess the family environment and the appropriateness of the application for admission.
   4.  a.  The chief medical officer of a public hospital shall receive and may admit a minor whose admission is sought, subject in cases other than medical emergencies to availability of suitable accommodations and to the provisions of section 229.41.
   b.  The chief medical officer of a private hospital may receive and may admit a minor whose admission is sought.
   5.  A minor’s admission to a hospital shall not be subject to court jurisdiction unless the minor and the minor’s parents, legal guardians, or custodians refuse to consent to the minor’s admission.
   6.  If a minor is admitted to a hospital over the minor’s objections, the chief medical officer of the hospital admitting the minor shall notify the juvenile court and the juvenile court shall appoint an individual to act as an advocate representing the interests of the minor in the same manner as an advocate representing the interests of patients involuntarily hospitalized pursuant to section 229.19.
    Sec. 5.  Section 229.4, subsection 2, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  If the patient is a minor who was admitted on the application of the patient’s parent, guardian, or custodian pursuant to section 229.2, subsection 1 229.2B, the patient’s release prior to becoming eighteen years of age may be conditioned upon the consent of the parent, guardian, or custodian, or upon the approval of the juvenile court if the admission was approved by the juvenile court.
    Sec. 6.  Section 229.6A, subsections 1 and 3, Code 2026, are amended to read as follows:
   1.  Notwithstanding section 229.11, the juvenile court has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings concerning a minor for whom an application is filed under section 229.6 or for whom an application for voluntary admission is made under section 229.2, subsection 1, to which the minor objects. In proceedings under this chapter concerning a minor, notwithstanding section 229.11, the term “court”, “judge”, or “clerk” means the juvenile court, judge, or clerk.
   3.  It is the intent of this chapter that when a minor is involuntarily or voluntarily hospitalized, or hospitalized with juvenile court approval over the minor’s objection the minor’s family shall be included in counseling sessions offered during the minor’s stay in a hospital when feasible. Prior to the discharge of the minor, the juvenile court may, after a hearing, order that the minor’s family be evaluated and receive therapy ordered if the juvenile court finds therapy is necessary to facilitate the return of the minor to the family setting.
    Sec. 7.  Section 229.41, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   229.41  Voluntary admission —— state mental health institute.
   Persons making application pursuant to section 229.2 or 229.2B on their own behalf or on behalf of another person who is under eighteen years of age, if the person whose admission is sought is received for observation and treatment on the application, shall be required to pay the costs of hospitalization at rates established by the department. The costs may be collected weekly in advance and shall be payable to the state mental health institute. The collections shall be remitted to the department monthly to be credited to the general fund of the state.
    Sec. 8.  Section 321J.3, subsection 3, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  The state department of transportation, in cooperation with the judicial branch, shall adopt rules, pursuant to the procedure in section 125.33 or 125.33A, regarding the assignment of persons ordered under section 321J.17 to submit to substance use disorder evaluation and treatment. The rules shall be applicable only to persons other than those committed to the custody of the director of the department of corrections under section 321J.2. The rules shall be consistent with the practices and procedures of the judicial branch in sentencing persons to substance use disorder evaluation and treatment under section 321J.2. The rules shall include the requirement that the treatment programs utilized by a person pursuant to an order of the department of transportation meet the licensure standards of the department of health and human services for substance use disorder treatment programs under chapter 125. The rules shall also include provisions for payment of costs by the offenders, including insurance reimbursement on behalf of offenders, or other forms of funding, and shall also address reporting requirements of the facility, consistent with the provisions of sections 125.84 and 125.86. The department of transportation shall be entitled to treatment information contained in reports to the department of transportation, notwithstanding any provision of chapter 125 that would restrict department access to treatment information and records.
    Sec. 9.  Section 331.910, subsection 3, paragraph a, Code 2026, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  An administrative services organization may contract with a receiving agency in a bordering state to secure substance use disorder or mental health care and treatment under this subsection for persons who receive substance use disorder or mental health care and treatment pursuant to section 125.33, 125.33A, 125.91, 229.2, 229.2B, or 229.22.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   Under current law, if a minor refuses to receive treatment or rehabilitation services (SUD treatment) for the child’s substance use disorder, or refuses observation, diagnosis, care, or treatment (mental health treatment) for the child’s mental health disorder, the child’s parents, or any other interested person, need to obtain a court order to have the child committed for SUD treatment or mental health treatment.
   This bill authorizes a parent, legal guardian, or custodian of a child to have the child committed over the objections of the child for SUD treatment, mental health treatment, or both. Judicial proceedings will not be required to commit a child unless both the child and the child’s parents, legal guardians, or custodians object to the commitment.
   If a minor is admitted for SUD treatment or mental health treatment over the minor’s objections, the chief medical officer of the hospital admitting the minor must notify the juvenile court, and the juvenile court must appoint an advocate for the minor.
   The bill makes conforming changes to Code sections 125.33, 229.2, 229.4, 229.6A, 229.41, 321J.3, and 331.910.