Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

House File 2242 - Introduced
                                  HOUSE FILE 2242
                                  BY LOHSE, INGELS, HOLT, WILLS,
                                      BLOOMINGDALE, DUNWELL,
                                      SIEGRIST, THOMSON, COLLINS,
                                      M. THOMPSON, and YOUNG
                            A BILL FOR
An Act relating to aid, processes, services, and support staff
  for children in, adopted from, or in need of foster care,
  and making appropriations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
                                         TLSB 5659YH (5) 90
                                         dg/ko
                               H.F. 2242
    Section 1. Section 232.96A, subsection 6, Code 2024, is
 amended to read as follows:
    6. The child is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate a
 serious chemical dependency or mental illness or disorder, or
 emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression,
 withdrawal, or behavioral health disorder that compromises
 the child’s safety or causes untoward aggressive behavior
 toward the child’s self or others in the household, and the
 child’s parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling to provide
 such treatment or the parent’s, guardian’s, or custodian’s
 efforts to secure needed treatment have been exhausted and
 unsuccessful.
    Sec. 2. Section 232.96A, subsections 11, 12, and 13, Code
 2024, are amended by striking the subsections.
    Sec. 3. Section 234.38, Code 2024, is amended to read as
 follows:
    234.38 Foster care reimbursement rates.
    The department shall make reimbursement payments directly to
 foster parents for services provided to children pursuant to
 section 234.6, subsection 1, paragraph “e”, subparagraph (2),
 or section 234.35. In any fiscal year, the reimbursement rate
 shall be based upon sixty-five percent of the United States
 department of agriculture estimate of the cost to raise a child
 in the calendar year immediately preceding the fiscal year.
 The department may pay an additional stipend for a child with
 special needs. The department shall adopt rules to implement
 this section.
    Sec. 4. Section 237A.13, Code 2024, is amended by adding the
 following new subsection:
    NEW SUBSECTION. 2A. Notwithstanding subsections 1 and 2, a
 child who has been adopted from foster care shall be eligible
 to participate in the state child care assistance program.
    Sec. 5. Section 600.8, subsection 3, Code 2024, is amended
 to read as follows:
    3. a. The department, an agency, or a certified adoption
                                           LSB 5659YH (5) 90
                               -1-         dg/ko                 1/5
                                H.F. 2242
 investigator shall conduct all investigations and reports
 required under subsection 2.
    b. The department shall pay the costs of the preplacement
 investigation and the postplacement investigation under
 subsection 2, up to a maximum of two thousand dollars for the
 preplacement investigation and up to a maximum of two thousand
 dollars for the postplacement investigation.
    c. The department shall not pay the costs of the
 preplacement investigation or the postplacement investigation
 as required under paragraph “b” until a prospective adoption
 petitioner has been approved under subsection 1, paragraph “a”,
 subparagraph (3), by the person making the investigation.
    Sec. 6. 2023 Iowa Acts, chapter 112, section 7, subsection
 7, is amended to read as follows:
    7. For child and family protective services:
 .................................................. $ 32,380,654
                                                       35,380,654
    Of the funds appropriated in this subsection, up to
 $3,000,000 shall be used for the kinship caregiver stipend
 program.
    Sec. 7. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES ——
 SUPERVISOR TO SOCIAL WORKER RATIO REDUCTION. There is
 appropriated from the general fund of the state to the
 department of health and human services for the fiscal year
 beginning July 1, 2024, and ending June 30, 2025, the following
 amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the
 purposes designated:
    To lower the required ratio of supervisors to social workers
 from one supervisor for every six and one-half social workers
 to one supervisor for every five social workers:
 .................................................. $ 2,623,748
    Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated under this
 section shall not revert at the close of the fiscal year, but
 shall remain available for the purposes designated.
    Sec. 8. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— FOSTER
                                            LSB 5659YH (5) 90
                               -2-          dg/ko                 2/5
                                        H.F. 2242
 FAMILY CARE PER DIEM RATE INCREASE. There is appropriated from
 the general fund of the state to the department of health and
 human services for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2024, and
 ending June 30, 2025, the following amount, or so much thereof
 as is necessary, to be used for the purposes designated:
    To increase foster care reimbursement rates paid pursuant
 to section 234.38, ten percent higher than the rates in effect
 on June 30, 2024:
 .................................................. $     617,530
    Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated under this
 section shall not revert at the close of the fiscal year, but
 shall remain available for the purposes designated.
    Sec. 9. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES —— ADOPTION
 SUBSIDY RATE INCREASE. The department of health and human
 services shall amend its administrative rules pursuant to
 chapter 17A to increase the adoption subsidy paid to persons
 pursuant to section 600.17 ten percent higher than the rates in
 effect on June 30, 2024.
                            EXPLANATION
         The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
          the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
    This bill relates to aid, processes, services, and support
 staff for children in, adopted from, or in need of foster care.
    The bill allows a court to adjudicate a child in need
 of assistance when the child requires treatment to cure or
 alleviate a serious chemical dependency or mental or behavioral
 health disorder that compromises the child’s safety or causes
 untoward aggressive behavior toward others in the household,
 and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling
 to provide such treatment, or the parent’s, guardian’s, or
 custodian’s efforts to secure needed treatment have been
 exhausted and unsuccessful. Under current law, the child would
 need treatment to cure or alleviate a serious mental illness or
 disorder, or emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety,
 depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive behavior toward
                                                        LSB 5659YH (5) 90
                                       -3-              dg/ko                       3/5
                                H.F. 2242
 the child’s self or others and the child’s parent, guardian, or
 custodian is unwilling to provide such treatment.
    The bill eliminates certain circumstances when a child may
 be adjudicated as a child in need of assistance.
    The bill removes the requirement that certain reimbursements
 to foster parents must be based on 65 percent of the United
 States department of agriculture estimate of the cost to raise
 a child in the calendar year immediately preceding the fiscal
 year. The bill also removes the additional stipend for special
 needs children.
    The bill makes a child who has been adopted from foster care
 automatically eligible for the state child care assistance
 program.
    The bill requires the department of health and human
 services (HHS) to reimburse an adoption petitioner for the
 costs of the preplacement and postplacement investigations
 related to the adoption up to a maximum amount of $2,000
 per investigation. The bill prohibits HHS from making such
 reimbursements until the person performing the preplacement
 background check approves the adoption petitioner’s initial
 required background checks.
    The bill renames the 2023 appropriation for child and family
 services from the federal temporary assistance for needy
 families block grant to “child protective services”. The bill
 also adds an additional $3 million to the appropriation and
 allows up to $3 million to be used from the appropriation for
 the kinship caregiver stipend program.
    The bill makes an appropriation from the general fund of the
 state to HHS for FY 2024-2025 in the amount of $2,623,748 to
 be used to lower the required ratio of supervisors to social
 workers from one supervisor for every six and one-half social
 workers to one supervisor for every five social workers.
 Moneys so appropriated do not revert at the close of the fiscal
 year, but remain available for the purposes designated.
    The bill makes an appropriation from the general fund of
                                            LSB 5659YH (5) 90
                               -4-          dg/ko                 4/5
                                H.F. 2242
 the state to HHS for FY 2024-2025 in the amount of $617,530
 to increase reimbursement rates paid to foster parents for
 foster care provided to a child, or when the state is otherwise
 obligated to pay for a child’s foster care, 10 percent higher
 than the rates in effect as of June 30, 2024. The appropriated
 moneys do not revert at the close of the fiscal year, but
 remain available for the purposes designated.
    The bill requires HHS to amend its administrative rules to
 increase the adoption subsidy 10 percent higher than the rates
 in effect as of June 30, 2024.
                                            LSB 5659YH (5) 90
                               -5-          dg/ko                 5/5
Statutes affected: 
Introduced: 232.96A, 234.6, 600.8