This bill establishes two new positions within the state of Iowa: an ombudsman assistant specifically for child foster care and a state foster care advocate. The bill amends Section 2C.6 of the Code 2025 to include the appointment of an ombudsman assistant responsible for investigating complaints related to child foster care, while deleting the previous designation of deputy assistants for penal agencies. Additionally, a new section (237.14B) is introduced, mandating that all public materials related to child foster care include information about both the ombudsman assistant and the foster care advocate, including their contact details.

The state foster care advocate will be designated by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and will operate within the compliance division, separate from the family well-being and protection division. The advocate's responsibilities include improving administrative functions related to child foster care, engaging in policy discussions, making recommendations, and receiving complaints about foster care services. The bill also requires HHS to provide new foster care licensees with the advocate's contact information and a description of their services. Furthermore, HHS is tasked with submitting proposed legislation by December 1, 2025, to formally define the advocate's role and duties, after soliciting public input on the matter.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 2C.6