Bill Text: IA SF473 | 2021-2022 | 89th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to child welfare including the temporary custody of a child and judicial proceedings in child in need of assistance and termination of parental rights cases.(See SF 525.)
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-03 - Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 525. S.J. 511. [SF473 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2021-SF473-Introduced.html
Senate
File
473
-
Introduced
SENATE
FILE
473
BY
EDLER
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
child
welfare
including
the
temporary
1
custody
of
a
child
and
judicial
proceedings
in
child
in
need
2
of
assistance
and
termination
of
parental
rights
cases.
3
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
4
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473
Section
1.
Section
232.78,
Code
2021,
is
amended
by
adding
1
the
following
new
subsection:
2
NEW
SUBSECTION
.
8.
a.
If
the
department
or
a
court
with
3
jurisdiction
over
the
child
determines
that
the
child
should
be
4
removed
from
the
custody
of
a
parent,
placement
of
the
child
5
with
the
child’s
relatives
shall
be
considered
in
the
following
6
order
of
priority:
7
(1)
The
child’s
other
parent.
8
(2)
A
grandparent
of
the
child.
9
(3)
An
adult
sibling
of
the
child.
10
(4)
An
uncle
or
aunt
of
the
child.
11
(5)
Any
other
blood
relative.
12
b.
A
court
shall
not
order
placement
of
a
child
with
a
13
nonrelative
without
a
specific
finding
that
a
placement
with
14
a
relative
identified
in
paragraph
“a”
is
inappropriate
and
15
providing
reasons
for
such
a
finding.
16
Sec.
2.
Section
232.91,
subsection
1,
Code
2021,
is
amended
17
to
read
as
follows:
18
1.
Any
hearings
or
proceedings
under
this
subchapter
19
subsequent
to
the
filing
of
a
petition
shall
not
take
place
20
without
the
presence
of
the
child’s
parent,
guardian,
21
custodian,
or
guardian
ad
litem
in
accordance
with
and
subject
22
to
section
232.38
.
A
parent
without
custody
may
petition
23
the
court
to
shall
be
made
a
party
to
proceedings
under
this
24
subchapter
.
25
Sec.
3.
Section
232.117,
subsection
6,
Code
2021,
is
amended
26
by
striking
the
subsection
and
inserting
in
lieu
thereof
the
27
following:
28
6.
a.
If
the
court
orders
the
termination
of
parental
29
rights
and
transfers
guardianship
and
custody
under
subsection
30
3,
the
guardian
shall
submit
a
case
permanency
plan
to
the
31
court
and
shall
make
every
effort
to
establish
a
stable
32
placement
for
the
child
by
adoption
or
other
permanent
33
placement.
34
b.
If
the
parental
rights
of
the
child’s
biological
parents
35
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had
previously
been
terminated,
and
the
court
has
ordered
the
1
termination
of
the
parental
rights
of
the
child’s
adoptive
2
parents,
the
guardian
shall
investigate
whether
the
child’s
3
biological
parents
are
appropriate
for
placement
or
adoption
4
of
the
child.
If
the
guardian
finds
the
child’s
biological
5
parents
are
appropriate
for
placement
or
adoption
of
the
child,
6
the
biological
parents
shall
be
given
priority
for
placement
or
7
adoption
of
the
child.
8
c.
Within
forty-five
days
of
receipt
of
the
termination
9
order,
and
every
forty-five
days
thereafter
until
the
court
10
determines
such
reports
are
no
longer
necessary,
the
guardian
11
shall
report
to
the
court
regarding
efforts
made
to
place
12
the
child
for
adoption
or
providing
the
rationale
as
to
why
13
adoption
would
not
be
in
the
child’s
best
interest.
14
EXPLANATION
15
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
16
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
17
This
bill
relates
to
child
welfare
including
the
temporary
18
custody
of
a
child
and
judicial
proceedings
in
child
in
need
of
19
assistance
and
termination
of
parental
rights
cases.
20
The
bill
provides
that,
in
cases
where
a
child
has
been
21
ordered
to
be
removed
from
the
custody
of
a
parent
prior
to
the
22
filing
of
a
petition
under
Code
chapter
232
(juvenile
justice),
23
the
department
of
human
services
or
a
court
with
jurisdiction
24
over
the
child
shall
consider
placing
the
child
with
a
relative
25
in
the
following
order
of
priority:
the
child’s
other
parent;
26
a
grandparent
of
the
child;
an
adult
sibling
of
the
child;
an
27
uncle
or
aunt
of
the
child;
and
any
other
blood
relative.
The
28
bill
prohibits
a
court
from
placing
a
child
with
a
nonrelative
29
without
a
specific
finding
that
a
relative
as
prioritized
30
in
the
bill
is
inappropriate
for
placement
of
the
child
and
31
providing
reasons
for
such
a
finding.
32
The
bill
requires
that
parents
without
custody
of
33
their
child
be
made
a
party
to
child
in
need
of
assistance
34
proceedings
involving
the
parent’s
child.
Under
current
law,
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473
parents
without
custody
of
their
child
may
petition
the
court
1
to
become
a
party
to
a
child
in
need
of
assistance
proceeding.
2
The
bill
requires
the
guardian
of
a
child
whose
adoptive
3
parents
have
been
terminated
by
court
order
to
investigate
4
whether
the
child’s
biological
parents
are
appropriate
for
5
placement
or
adoption
of
the
child
if
the
parental
rights
of
6
the
child’s
biological
parents
had
previously
been
terminated.
7
The
bill
requires
biological
parents
to
be
given
priority
for
8
placement
or
adoption
if
the
guardian
finds
that
placement
or
9
adoption
with
the
biological
parents
is
appropriate.
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