Bill Text: IA HF259 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to adjudicating newborns testing positive for drugs at birth as a child in need of assistance or as part of a family in need of assistance.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-02-09 - Subcommittee: Bergan, Heddens and Salmon. H.J. 263. [HF259 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2017-HF259-Introduced.html

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House File 259 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  HEATON

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to adjudicating newborns testing positive for
  2    drugs at birth as a child in need of assistance or as part of
  3    a family in need of assistance.
  4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
    TLSB 2222YH (2) 87
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 232.2, subsection 6, Code 2017, is
  1  2 amended by adding the following new paragraph:
  1  3    NEW PARAGRAPH.  0p.  Who is a newborn in whose body there is
  1  4 an illegal drug present at the time of birth and whose mother
  1  5 is unwilling to voluntarily receive substance abuse treatment.
  1  6 The presence of the drug shall be determined in accordance
  1  7 with a medically relevant test as defined in section 232.73.
  1  8 However, if the mother of such a newborn voluntarily agrees to
  1  9 receive and receives substance abuse treatment, the newborn
  1 10 shall not be considered a child in need of assistance and
  1 11 instead the mother and newborn shall be considered a family in
  1 12 need of assistance under section 232.125, subsection 6.
  1 13    Sec. 2.  Section 232.127, Code 2017, is amended by adding the
  1 14 following new subsection:
  1 15    NEW SUBSECTION.  06.  The court may adjudicate the family
  1 16 to be a family in need of assistance and enter an appropriate
  1 17 dispositional order if the court finds the child is a newborn
  1 18 in whose body there is an illegal drug present at the time of
  1 19 birth and whose mother has voluntarily agreed to receive and
  1 20 receives substance abuse treatment.
  1 21                           EXPLANATION
  1 22 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  1 23 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  1 24    This bill relates to adjudicating newborns testing positive
  1 25 for drugs at birth as a child in need of assistance or as part
  1 26 of a family in need of assistance.  The bill provides that a
  1 27 newborn with an illegal drug present in the newborn's system
  1 28 at the time of birth shall be considered a child in need of
  1 29 assistance.  The bill provides an exception that the newborn
  1 30 in whose body there is an illegal drug shall not be a child in
  1 31 need of assistance if the mother voluntarily agrees to receive
  1 32 substance abuse treatment.
  1 33    If the mother voluntarily agrees to receive substance
  1 34 abuse treatment, the family shall be considered a family in
  1 35 need of assistance under Code section 232.125(6).  The bill
  2  1 creates Code section 232.127(6) to provide that the court may
  2  2 adjudicate the family to be a family in need of assistance
  2  3 and enter an appropriate dispositional order if the court
  2  4 finds that the child is a newborn in whose body there is an
  2  5 illegal drug present at the time of birth and whose mother has
  2  6 voluntarily agreed to receive substance abuse treatment.
  2  7    Under Code section 232.127(7), a child shall not be placed
  2  8 outside of the home if the family is adjudicated as a family in
  2  9 need of assistance unless the court finds clear and convincing
  2 10 evidence that the child could be a child in need of assistance
  2 11 as defined under Code section 232.2(6).
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