This bill focuses on enhancing child welfare and mental health services in Iowa, specifically under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It introduces a new subparagraph to Section 97B.1A to recognize employees of administrative services organizations and amends Section 229.19 to set criteria for appointing advocates for patients who are involuntarily hospitalized due to mental illness. The bill also revises definitions related to foster care, including the term "licensee," and emphasizes the application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard during child placements. Additionally, it introduces the term "fictive kin" to identify individuals with significant emotional ties to a child, while also clarifying confidentiality regarding child abuse information and establishing penalties for unlicensed child foster care.

Moreover, the bill includes provisions aimed at protecting dependent adults, defining "exploitation of a dependent adult" and clarifying what constitutes "personal degradation." It specifies that certain actions, such as taking electronic images for reporting or treatment, do not amount to personal degradation. The bill enhances confidentiality protections for dependent adult abuse information and allows community-based entities to seek funding for child abuse prevention. It also mandates that medical assistance program providers share information with HHS to aid in abuse identification and response. Lastly, it appropriates funds from the region incentive fund to support continuity of care during the transition to a new behavioral health services system.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 97B.1A, 229.19, 229.14, 232.95, 232.102, 234.1, 232.2, 237.1, 237.3, 237A.1, 237.4, 237.6, 237.9, 217.30, 237.12, 237.13, 237.15, 237A.3A, 423.3, 235A.1, 235A.15, 235B.2, 235B.3, 235B.6, 249A.4, 232.68, 22.7