Bill Text: IA HF352 | 2019-2020 | 88th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to procedures for child abuse investigations by the department of human services.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-13 - Introduced, referred to Human Resources. H.J. 262. [HF352 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2019-HF352-Introduced.html
House File 352 - Introduced HOUSE FILE 352 BY B. MEYER A BILL FOR An Act relating to procedures for child abuse investigations by 1 the department of human services. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 2299HH (3) 88 hb/rh
H.F. 352 Section 1. Section 232.71B, Code 2019, is amended by adding 1 the following new subsection: 2 NEW SUBSECTION . 2A. Notice of rights. 3 a. (1) Upon commencing an assessment, the department, at 4 the time of an initial face-to-face contact with the person 5 responsible for the care of the child, shall provide that 6 person with written notice of all of the following: 7 (a) The person responsible for the care of the child is 8 not required to permit the child protection worker to enter 9 the residence of the person responsible for the care of the 10 child. However, if permission is refused, the juvenile court 11 or district court may authorize the child protection worker to 12 enter the home to interview or observe the child upon a showing 13 of probable cause. 14 (b) The person responsible for the care of the child is not 15 required to speak with the child protection worker. 16 (c) The person responsible for the care of the child is 17 entitled to seek the representation of an attorney and to have 18 an attorney present when the person responsible for the care of 19 the child is questioned by the child protection worker. 20 (d) Any statement made by the person responsible for 21 the care of the child or other family member may be used 22 against the person responsible for the care of the child in an 23 administrative or court proceeding. 24 (e) The child protection worker is not an attorney and 25 cannot provide legal advice to the person responsible for the 26 care of the child. 27 (f) The person responsible for the care of the child is not 28 required to sign any document presented by the child protection 29 worker including but not limited to a release of claims or a 30 service agreement, and is entitled to have an attorney review 31 such document before agreeing to sign the document. 32 (g) A failure of the person responsible for the care of the 33 child to communicate with the child protection worker may have 34 serious consequences, which may include the department’s filing 35 -1- LSB 2299HH (3) 88 hb/rh 1/ 4
H.F. 352 of a petition for the removal of the child from the home of the 1 person responsible for the care of the child, and it is in the 2 best interest of the person responsible for the care of the 3 child to speak with the child protection worker or immediately 4 seek the advice of a qualified attorney. 5 (2) The child protection worker shall request the person 6 responsible for the care of the child to sign and date the 7 notice described in subparagraph (1) as evidence of having 8 received the notice. If the person responsible for the 9 care of the child refuses to sign and date the notice upon 10 such request, the child protection worker shall specifically 11 indicate on the notice that the person responsible for the care 12 of the child was requested to sign and date the notice and 13 refused to do so and the child protection worker shall sign the 14 notice as witness to the refusal by the person responsible for 15 the care of the child to sign the notice. The department shall 16 provide the person responsible for the care of the child with 17 a copy of the signed notice at the time of the department’s 18 initial face-to-face contact with the person responsible for 19 the care of the child. 20 b. Notwithstanding paragraph “a” , if an initial contact 21 with the person responsible for the care of the child occurs 22 telephonically, the department shall orally provide that person 23 with notice of that person’s rights as described in paragraph 24 “a” , subparagraph (1), subparagraph divisions (a) through (g). 25 If the department has provided oral notice pursuant to this 26 paragraph, the department shall also provide written notice 27 as described in paragraph “a” upon the department’s initial 28 face-to-face contact with the person responsible for the care 29 of the child. 30 c. The department shall make reasonable efforts to ensure 31 that the notice provided to a person responsible for the care 32 of the child pursuant to this section is provided in a manner 33 that will be understood by the person responsible for the care 34 of the child. For purposes of this paragraph, “reasonable 35 -2- LSB 2299HH (3) 88 hb/rh 2/ 4
H.F. 352 efforts” includes but is not limited to ensuring that the notice 1 is provided in language understood by the person responsible 2 for the care of the child. 3 d. Any statement made by the person responsible for 4 the care of the child, or by a child who is a member of the 5 person’s family or household to the child protection worker 6 prior to the provision of notice as described in paragraph 7 “a” , or any statement made by the person responsible for 8 the care of the child prior to the provision of notice as 9 described in paragraph “b” , shall be deemed inadmissible in any 10 administrative or court proceeding. 11 e. For purposes of this subsection only, “person responsible 12 for the care of a child” means a person responsible for the 13 care of a child as described in section 232.68, subsection 8, 14 paragraphs “a” and “b” . 15 EXPLANATION 16 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 17 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 18 This bill adds a notice component to department of human 19 services (DHS) child abuse investigations. The bill requires 20 a DHS child protection worker to provide written notice to a 21 person responsible for the care of the child, meaning a parent, 22 guardian, foster parent, or relative or any other person with 23 whom the child resides and who assumes care or supervision of 24 the child when DHS conducts an initial face-to-face contact 25 with that person. 26 The bill also requires DHS to provide oral notice to a person 27 responsible for the care of the child when DHS conducts an 28 initial contact telephonically. If a DHS child protection 29 worker has a face-to-face contact with the person responsible 30 for the care of the child after an initial telephone contact, 31 the DHS worker must provide written notice at the first initial 32 face-to-face contact as well. 33 The notice must provide that the person responsible for 34 the care of the child is not required to allow the DHS child 35 -3- LSB 2299HH (3) 88 hb/rh 3/ 4
H.F. 352 protection worker into the residence, is not required to 1 speak to the DHS child protection worker, is entitled to seek 2 representation of an attorney, and is not required to sign any 3 document presented by the DHS child protection worker. The 4 notice must also provide that any statement made by the person 5 responsible for the care of the child or other family member 6 may be used against the person, that the DHS child protection 7 worker is not an attorney and cannot provide legal advice, 8 and that the person’s failure to communicate with the child 9 protection worker may have serious consequences. 10 The bill requires DHS to make reasonable efforts to provide 11 the notice in a manner which the person responsible for the 12 care of the child can understand. The written notice for 13 face-to-face contacts must be signed and dated. 14 The bill provides that any statement made by the person 15 responsible for the care of the child, or by a child who 16 is a family member of that person, is inadmissible in any 17 administrative or court proceeding prior to the provision 18 of the written notice. Additionally, any statement made 19 by the person responsible for the care of the child is 20 inadmissible in any administrative or court proceeding prior to 21 provision of oral notice when an initial contact was conducted 22 telephonically. 23 -4- LSB 2299HH (3) 88 hb/rh 4/ 4
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