Bill
Bill > HF1003
summary
Introduced
04/10/2025
04/10/2025
In Committee
04/23/2025
04/23/2025
Crossed Over
04/22/2025
04/22/2025
Passed
Dead
Introduced Session
91st General Assembly
Bill Summary
This bill relates to child placements. Under current law, the department of health and human services (HHS) is required to exercise due diligence in identifying and providing notice to certain relatives of a child when the child has been removed from the child’s parent’s custody. The bill requires HHS to employ dedicated staff at HHS’s central office for the sole purpose of exercising HHS’s due diligence requirements related to identifying and providing notice to certain relatives of children removed from parental custody. Under current law, after a dispositional hearing for a child in need of assistance proceeding, if a court determines that placing a child’s custody with either of the child’s parents is not in the child’s best interests, the court must transfer the child’s custody to HHS for placement with certain persons as prioritized in Code section 232.102(1)(a) (transfer of legal custody of child and placement). If a child was placed with a licensed foster parent for at least nine months immediately preceding the dispositional hearing, the bill prohibits the court from placing the child with a different individual unless the court makes a specific finding that placement with the different individual is in the child’s best interests, and the court provides reasons for the finding.
AI Summary
This bill enhances child placement procedures by requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to dedicate specific staff at its central office to identify and notify relatives when a child is removed from parental custody. The bill mandates that HHS must make reasonable efforts to contact grandparents, aunts, uncles, adult siblings, siblings' parents, and other relatives suggested by the child's parents within 30 days of a child's removal, with exceptions for cases involving family or domestic violence. Additionally, the bill introduces new court placement guidelines, stipulating that when a child has been placed with a licensed foster parent for at least nine months, the court cannot change the placement without specifically finding and providing reasons that the new placement is in the child's best interests. The legislation aims to ensure more thorough relative identification and placement processes and to provide stability for children in the foster care system by creating higher standards for changing established placements.
Committee Categories
Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services
Sponsors (0)
No sponsors listed
Other Sponsors (1)
Appropriations (House)
Last Action
Placed on calendar. (on 02/04/2026)
Official Document
bill text
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
Loading...
bill summary
| Document Type | Source Location |
|---|---|
| State Bill Page | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=HF1003 |
| Fiscal Note/Analysis - NOBA: House Floor | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/NOBA/1526493.pdf |
| Fiscal Note/Analysis - NOBA: House Full Approps | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/NOBA/1526441.pdf |
| BillText | https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/attachments/HF1003.html |
Loading...