Senate File 152 - Reprinted
SENATE FILE
BY COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RESOURCES
(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1104)
Passed Senate, Date Passed House, Date
Vote: Ayes Nays Vote: Ayes Nays
Approved
A BILL FOR
1 An Act relating to administrative and planning requirements
2 involving children for whom the department of human services
3 has responsibility under state or federal law.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN
1 1 DIVISION I
1 2 TRANSITION PLANNING
1 3 Section 1. Section 232.2, subsection 4, paragraph f, Code
1 4 2009, is amended to read as follows:
1 5 f. (1) When a child is sixteen years of age or older, a
1 6 written transition plan of services which, based upon an
1 7 assessment of the child's needs, would assist the child in
1 8 preparing for the transition from foster care to adulthood.
1 9 The written transition plan of services and needs assessment
1 10 shall be developed with a focus on the services, other
1 11 support, and actions necessary to facilitate the child's
1 12 successful entry into adulthood. The transition plan shall be
1 13 personalized at the direction of the child and shall be
1 14 developed with the child present, honoring the goals and
1 15 concerns of the child, and shall address the following areas
1 16 of need when the child becomes an adult, including but not
1 17 limited to all of the following:
1 18 (a) Education.
1 19 (b) Employment services and other workforce support.
1 20 (c) Health and health care coverage.
1 21 (d) Housing.
1 22 (e) Relationships, including local opportunities to have a
1 23 mentor.
1 24 (f) If the needs assessment indicates the child is
1 25 reasonably likely to need or be eligible for services or other
1 26 support from the adult service system upon reaching age
1 27 eighteen, the transition plan shall provide for the child's
1 28 application for adult services.
1 29 (2) The transition plan shall be considered a working
1 30 document and shall be reviewed and updated for each permanency
1 31 hearing by the court or other formal case permanency plan
1 32 review. The transition plan shall also be reviewed and
1 33 updated during the ninety calendar=day period preceding the
1 34 child's eighteenth birthday and during the ninety calendar=day
1 35 period immediately preceding the date the child is expected to
2 1 exit foster care, if the child remains in foster care after
2 2 the child's eighteenth birthday. The transition plan may be
2 3 reviewed and updated more frequently.
2 4 (3) The transition plan shall be developed and reviewed by
2 5 the department in collaboration with a child=centered
2 6 transition team. The transition team shall be comprised of
2 7 the child's caseworker and persons selected by the child,
2 8 persons who have knowledge of services available to the child,
2 9 and any person who may reasonably be expected to be a service
2 10 provider for the child when the child becomes an adult or to
2 11 become responsible for the costs of services at that time,
2 12 including. If the child is reasonably likely to need or be
2 13 eligible for adult services, the transition team membership
2 14 shall include representatives from the adult services system.
2 15 The adult services system representatives may include but are
2 16 not limited to the administrator of county general relief
2 17 under chapter 251 or 252 or of the central point of
2 18 coordination process implemented under section 331.440. The
2 19 membership of the transition team and the meeting dates for
2 20 the team shall be documented in the transition plan.
2 21 (4) The final transition plan shall specifically identify
2 22 how the need for housing will be addressed.
2 23 (5) If the child is interested in pursuing higher
2 24 education, the transition plan shall provide for the child's
2 25 participation in the college student aid commission's program
2 26 of assistance in applying for federal and state aid under
2 27 section 261.2.
2 28 (2) (6) If the needs assessment indicates the child is
2 29 reasonably likely to need or be eligible for services or other
2 30 support from the adult service system upon reaching age
2 31 eighteen, the transition plan shall be reviewed and approved
2 32 by the transition committee for the area in which the child
2 33 resides, in accordance with section 235.7, before the child
2 34 reaches age seventeen and one=half. The transition
2 35 committee's review and approval shall be indicated in the case
3 1 permanency plan.
3 2 (3) (7) Provision for the department or a designee of the
3 3 department on or before the date the child reaches age
3 4 eighteen to provide to the child a certified copy of the
3 5 child's birth certificate and to facilitate securing a federal
3 6 social security card. The fee for the certified copy that is
3 7 otherwise chargeable under section 144.13A, 144.46, or 331.605
3 8 shall be waived by the state or county registrar.
3 9 DIVISION II
3 10 EDUCATION=RELATED REQUIREMENTS, RELATIVE
3 11 PLACEMENT, AND SIBLING CONSIDERATIONS
3 12 Sec. 2. Section 232.2, subsection 4, Code 2009, is amended
3 13 by adding the following new paragraph:
3 14 NEW PARAGRAPH. m. Documentation of the educational
3 15 stability of the child while in foster care. The
3 16 documentation shall include but is not limited to all of the
3 17 following:
3 18 (1) Evidence there was an evaluation of the
3 19 appropriateness of the child's educational setting while in
3 20 placement and of the setting's proximity to the educational
3 21 setting in which the child was enrolled at the time of
3 22 placement.
3 23 (2) An assurance either that the department coordinated
3 24 with appropriate local educational agencies to identify how
3 25 the child could remain in the educational setting in which the
3 26 child was enrolled at the time of placement or, if it was
3 27 determined it was not in the child's best interest to remain
3 28 in that setting, that the affected educational agencies would
3 29 immediately and appropriately enroll the child in another
3 30 educational setting during the child's placement and ensure
3 31 that the child's educational records were provided for use in
3 32 the new educational setting. For the purposes of this
3 33 subparagraph, "local educational agencies" means the same as
3 34 defined in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act
3 35 of 1965, section 9101, as codified in 20 U.S.C. section
4 1 7801(26).
4 2 Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 232.84 TRANSFER OF CUSTODY ==
4 3 NOTICE TO ADULT RELATIVES.
4 4 1. For the purposes of this section, unless the context
4 5 otherwise requires, "agency" means the department, juvenile
4 6 court services, or a private agency.
4 7 2. Within thirty days after the entry of an order under
4 8 this chapter transferring custody of a child to an agency for
4 9 placement, the agency shall exercise due diligence in
4 10 identifying and providing notice to the child's grandparents,
4 11 aunts, uncles, adult siblings, and adult relatives suggested
4 12 by the child's parents, subject to exceptions due to the
4 13 presence of family or domestic violence.
4 14 3. The notice content shall include but is not limited to
4 15 all of the following:
4 16 a. A statement that the child has been or is being removed
4 17 from the custody of the child's parent or parents.
4 18 b. An explanation of the options the relative has under
4 19 federal, state, and other law to participate in the care and
4 20 placement of the child on a temporary or permanent basis. The
4 21 options addressed shall include but are not limited to
4 22 assistance and support options, options for participating in
4 23 legal proceedings, and any options that may be lost by failure
4 24 to respond to the notice.
4 25 c. A description of the requirements for the relative to
4 26 serve as a foster family home provider or other type of care
4 27 provider for the child and the additional services, training,
4 28 and other support available for children receiving such care.
4 29 d. Information concerning the option to apply for kinship
4 30 guardianship assistance payments.
4 31 Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 234.4 EDUCATION OF CHILDREN IN
4 32 DEPARTMENTAL PROGRAMS.
4 33 If the department of human services has custody or has
4 34 other responsibility for a child based upon the child's
4 35 involvement in a departmental program involving foster care,
5 1 preadoption or adoption, or subsidized guardianship placement
5 2 and the child is subject to the compulsory attendance law
5 3 under chapter 299, the department shall fulfill the
5 4 responsibilities outlined in section 299.1 and other
5 5 responsibilities under federal and state law regarding the
5 6 child's school attendance. As part of fulfilling the
5 7 responsibilities described in this section, if the department
5 8 has custody or other responsibility for placement and care of
5 9 a child and the child transfers to a different school during
5 10 or immediately preceding the period of custody or other
5 11 responsibility, within the first six weeks of the transfer
5 12 date the department shall assess the student's degree of
5 13 success in adjusting to the different school.
5 14 Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 280.29 ENROLLMENT OF CHILDREN IN
5 15 FOSTER CARE == TRANSFER OF EDUCATIONAL RECORDS.
5 16 In order to facilitate the educational stability of
5 17 children in foster care, a school district, upon notification
5 18 by an agency of the state that a child in foster care is
5 19 transferring into the school district, shall provide for the
5 20 immediate and appropriate enrollment of the child. A school
5 21 district or an accredited nonpublic school, upon notification
5 22 by an agency of the state that a child in foster care is
5 23 transferring from the school district or accredited nonpublic
5 24 school to another school district or accredited nonpublic
5 25 school, shall promptly provide for the transfer of all of the
5 26 educational records of the child not later than five school
5 27 days after receiving the notification.
5 28 Sec. 6. Section 282.1, subsection 3, Code 2009, is amended
5 29 to read as follows:
5 30 3. Lives in a juvenile detention center, foster care
5 31 facility, or residential facility in the district.
5 32 Sec. 7. Section 282.19, Code 2009, is amended to read as
5 33 follows:
5 34 282.19 CHILD LIVING IN SUBSTANCE ABUSE OR FOSTER CARE
5 35 FACILITY PLACEMENT.
6 1 1. A child who is living in a licensed child foster care
6 2 facility as defined in section 237.1, or in a facility that
6 3 provides residential treatment as "facility" is defined in
6 4 section 125.2, which is located in a school district other
6 5 than the school district in which the child resided before
6 6 receiving foster care entering the facility may enroll in and
6 7 attend an accredited school in the school district in which
6 8 the child is living.
6 9 2. A child who is living in a licensed individual or
6 10 agency child foster care facility, as defined in section
6 11 237.1, or in an unlicensed relative foster care placement,
6 12 shall remain enrolled in and attend an accredited school in
6 13 the school district in which the child resided and is enrolled
6 14 at the time of placement, unless it is determined by the
6 15 juvenile court or the public or private agency of this state
6 16 that has responsibility for the child's placement that
6 17 remaining in such school is not in the best interests of the
6 18 child. If such a determination is made, the child may attend
6 19 an accredited school located in the school district in which
6 20 the child is living and not in the school district in which
6 21 the child resided prior to receiving foster care.
6 22 3. The instructional costs for students who do not require
6 23 special education shall be paid as provided in section 282.31,
6 24 subsection 1, paragraph "b" or for students who require
6 25 special education shall be paid as provided in section 282.31,
6 26 subsections 2 or 3.
6 27 Sec. 8. Section 282.29, Code 2009, is amended to read as
6 28 follows:
6 29 282.29 CHILDREN PLACED BY DISTRICT COURT.
6 30 Notwithstanding section 282.31, subsection 1, a child who
6 31 has been identified as requiring special education, who has
6 32 been placed in a facility, or home, or other placement by the
6 33 district court, and for whom parental rights have been
6 34 terminated by the district court, shall be provided special
6 35 education programs and services on the same basis as the
7 1 programs and services are provided for children requiring
7 2 special education who are residents of the school district in
7 3 which the child has been placed. The special education
7 4 instructional costs shall be paid as provided in section
7 5 282.31, subsection 2 or 3.
7 6 Sec. 9. Section 282.31, subsection 1, paragraph b,
7 7 subparagraph (1), Code 2009, is amended to read as follows:
7 8 (1) A child who lives in a facility or other placement
7 9 pursuant to section 282.19, and who does not require special
7 10 education and who is enrolled in the educational program of
7 11 the district of residence at the time the child is placed,
7 12 shall be included in the basic enrollment of the school
7 13 district in which the child is enrolled. A child who lives in
7 14 a facility or home other placement pursuant to section 282.19,
7 15 and who does not require special education and who is not
7 16 enrolled in the educational program of the district of
7 17 residence of the child, shall be included in the basic
7 18 enrollment of the school district in which the facility or
7 19 home other placement is located.
7 20 Sec. 10. Section 282.31, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code
7 21 2009, is amended to read as follows:
7 22 a. The actual special education instructional costs
7 23 incurred for a child who lives in a facility or other
7 24 placement pursuant to section 282.19 or for a child who is
7 25 placed in a facility or home pursuant to section 282.29, who
7 26 requires special education and who is not enrolled in the
7 27 educational program of the district of residence of the child
7 28 but who receives an educational program from the district in
7 29 which the facility, or home, or other placement is located,
7 30 shall be paid by the district of residence of the child to the
7 31 district in which the facility, or home, or other placement is
7 32 located, and the costs shall include the cost of
7 33 transportation.
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