235A.1 Child abuse prevention program.

1. A program for the prevention of child abuse is established within the state department of human services. Any moneys appropriated by the general assembly for child abuse prevention shall be used by the department of human services solely for the purposes of child abuse prevention and shall not be expended for treatment or other service delivery programs regularly maintained by the department. Moneys appropriated for child abuse prevention shall be used by the department through contract with an agency or organization which shall administer the funds with maximum use of voluntary administrative services for the following:

a. Matching federal funds to purchase services relating to community-based programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

b. Funding the establishment or expansion of community-based prevention projects or educational programs for the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

c. To study and evaluate community-based prevention projects and educational programs for the problems of families and children.

Funds for the programs or projects shall be applied for and received by a community-based volunteer coalition or council.

2. The director of human services may accept grants, gifts, and bequests from any source for the purposes designated in subsection 1. The director shall remit funds so received to the treasurer of state who shall deposit them in the general fund of the state for the use of the child abuse prevention program.

3. The child abuse prevention program advisory council is created consisting of five members appointed by and serving at the pleasure of the governor. Two members shall be appointed on the basis of expertise in the area of child abuse and neglect, and three members shall be private citizens. The council shall select its own chairperson. Members of the council are entitled to receive actual expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties. A member of the council may also be eligible to receive an additional expense allowance as provided in section 7E.6.

4. The advisory council shall:

a. Advise the director of human services and the administrator of the division of the department of human services responsible for child and family programs regarding expenditures of funds received for the child abuse prevention program.

b. Review the implementation and effectiveness of legislation and administrative rules concerning the child abuse prevention program.

c. Recommend changes in legislation and administrative rules to the general assembly and the appropriate administrative officials.

d. Require reports from state agencies and other entities as necessary to perform its duties.

e. Receive and review complaints from the public concerning the operation and management of the child abuse prevention program.

f. Approve grant proposals.

235A.12 Legislative findings and purposes.

The general assembly finds and declares that a central registry is required to provide a single source for the state-wide collection, maintenance and dissemination of child abuse information. Such a registry is imperative for increased effectiveness in dealing with the problem of child abuse. The general assembly also finds that vigorous protection of rights of individual privacy is an indispensable element of a fair and effective system of collecting, maintaining and disseminating child abuse information.

The purposes of this section and sections 235A.13 to 235A.23 are to facilitate the identification of victims or potential victims of child abuse by making available a single, statewide source of child abuse data; to facilitate research on child abuse by making available a single, statewide source of child abuse data; and to provide maximum safeguards against the unwarranted invasions of privacy which such a registry might otherwise entail.

235A.13 Definitions.

As used in chapter 232, division III, part 2, and sections 235A.13 to 235A.23, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. "Assessment data" means any of the following information pertaining to the department's evaluation of a family:

a. Identification of the strengths and needs of the child, and of the child's parent, home, and family.

b. Identification of services available from the department and informal and formal services and other support available in the community to meet identified strengths and needs.

2. "Child abuse information" means any or all of the following data maintained by the department in a manual or automated data storage system and individually identified:

a. Report data.

b. Assessment data.

c. Disposition data.

3. "Confidentiality" means the withholding of information from any manner of communication, public or private.

4. "Department" means the department of human services.

5. "Disposition data" means information pertaining to an opinion or decision as to the occurrence of child abuse, including:

a. Any intermediate or ultimate opinion or decision reached by assessment personnel.

b. Any opinion or decision reached in the course of judicial proceedings.

c. The present status of any case.

6. "Expungement" means the process of destroying child abuse information.

7. "Individually identified" means any report, assessment, or disposition data which names the person or persons responsible or believed responsible for the child abuse.

8. "Multidisciplinary team" means a group of individuals who possess knowledge and skills related to the diagnosis, assessment, and disposition of child abuse cases and who are professionals practicing in the disciplines of medicine, nursing, public health, substance abuse, mental health, social work, child development, education, law, juvenile probation, or law enforcement, or a group established pursuant to section 235B.1, subsection 1.

9. "Report data" means any of the following information pertaining to an assessment of an allegation of child abuse in which the department has determined the alleged child abuse meets the definition of child abuse:

a. The name and address of the child and the child's parents or other persons responsible for the child's care.

b. The age of the child.

c. The nature and extent of the injury, including evidence of any previous injury.

d. Additional information as to the nature, extent, and cause of the injury, and the identity of the person or persons alleged to be responsible for the injury.

e. The names and conditions of other children in the child's home.

f. Any other information believed to be helpful in establishing the information in paragraph "d".

10. "Sealing" means the process of removing child abuse information from authorized access as provided by this chapter.

235A.14 Creation and maintenance of a central registry.

1. There is created within the state department of human services a central registry for child abuse information. The department shall organize and staff the registry and adopt rules for its operation.

2. The registry shall collect, maintain and disseminate child abuse information as provided for by this chapter.

3. The department shall maintain a toll-free telephone line, which shall be available on a twenty-four hour a day, seven-day a week basis and which the department of human services and all other persons may use to report cases of suspected child abuse and that all persons authorized by this chapter may use for obtaining child abuse information.

4. An oral report of suspected child abuse initially made to the central registry shall be immediately transmitted by the department to the appropriate county department of social services or law enforcement agency, or both.

5. The registry, upon receipt of a report of suspected child abuse, shall search the records of the registry, and if the records of the registry reveal any previous report of child abuse involving the same child or any other child in the same family, or if the records reveal any other pertinent information with respect to the same child or any other child in the same family, the appropriate office of the department of human services or law enforcement agency shall be immediately notified of that fact.

6. The central registry shall include report data and disposition data which is subject to placement in the central registry under section 232.71D. The central registry shall not include assessment data.

235A.15 Authorized access--procedures involving other states.

1. Notwithstanding chapter 22, the confidentiality of all child abuse information shall be maintained, except as specifically provided by subsection 2, 3, or 4.

2. Access to report data and disposition data subject to placement in the central registry pursuant to section 232.71D is authorized only to the following persons or entities:

a. Subjects of a report as follows:

(1) To a child named in a report as a victim of abuse or to the child's attorney or guardian ad litem.

(2) To a parent or to the attorney for the parent of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse.

(3) To a guardian or legal custodian, or that person's attorney, of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse.

(4) To a person or the attorney for the person named in a report as having abused a child.

b. Persons involved in an assessment of child abuse as follows:

(1) To a health practitioner or mental health professional who is examining, attending, or treating a child whom such practitioner or professional believes or has reason to believe has been the victim of abuse or to a health practitioner or mental health professional whose consultation with respect to a child believed to have been the victim of abuse is requested by the department.

(2) To an employee or agent of the department of human services responsible for the assessment of a child abuse report.

(3) To a law enforcement officer responsible for assisting in an assessment of a child abuse allegation or for the temporary emergency removal of a child from the child's home.

(4) To a multidisciplinary team, if the department of human services approves the composition of the multidisciplinary team and determines that access to the team is necessary to assist the department in the diagnosis, assessment, and disposition of a child abuse case.

(5) In an individual case, to the mandatory reporter who reported the child abuse.

(6) To the county attorney.

(7) To the juvenile court.

(8) To a licensing authority for a facility providing care to a child named in a report, if the licensing authority is notified of a relationship between facility policy and the alleged child abuse under section 232.71B.

(9) To a person or agency responsible for the care or supervision of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse or a person named in a report as having abused a child, if the juvenile court or department deems access to report data and disposition data by the person or agency to be necessary.

c. Individuals, agencies, or facilities providing care to a child, but only with respect to disposition data and, if authorized in law to the extent necessary for purposes of an employment evaluation, report data, for cases of founded child abuse placed in the central registry in accordance with section 232.71D as follows:

(1) To an administrator of a psychiatric medical institution for children licensed under chapter 135H.

(2) To an administrator of a child foster care facility licensed under chapter 237 if the data concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by the facility.

(3) To an administrator of a child care facility registered or licensed under chapter 237A if the data concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by or living in the facility.

(4) To the superintendent of the Iowa braille and sight saving school if the data concerns a person employed or being considered for employment or living in the school.

(5) To the superintendent of the school for the deaf if the data concerns a person employed or being considered for employment or living in the school.

(6) To an administrator of a community mental health center accredited under chapter 230A if the data concerns a person employed or being considered for employment by the center.

(7) To an administrator of a facility or program operated by the state, a city, or a county which provides services or care directly to children, if the data concerns a person employed by or being considered for employment by the facility or program.

(8) To an administrator of an agency certified by the department of human services to provide services under a medical assistance home and community-based services waiver, if the data concerns a person employed by or being considered by the agency for employment.

(9) To the administrator of an agency providing mental health, mental retardation, or developmental disability services under a county management plan developed pursuant to section 331.439, if the data concerns a person employed by or being considered by the agency for employment.

(10) To an administrator of a child care resource and referral agency which has entered into an agreement authorized by the department to provide child care resource and referral services. Access is authorized if the data concerns a person providing child care services or a person employed by a provider of such services and the agency includes the provider as a referral or the provider has requested to be included as a referral.

d. Report data and disposition data, and assessment data to the extent necessary for resolution of the proceeding, relating to judicial and administrative proceedings as follows:

(1) To a juvenile court involved in an adjudication or disposition of a child named in a report.

(2) To a district court upon a finding that data is necessary for the resolution of an issue arising in any phase of a case involving child abuse.

(3) To a court or administrative agency hearing an appeal for correction of report data and disposition data as provided in section 235A.19.

(4) To an expert witness at any stage of an appeal necessary for correction of report data and disposition data as provided in section 235A.19.

(5) To a probation or parole officer, juvenile court officer, court appointed special advocate as defined in section 232.2, or adult correctional officer having custody or supervision of, or conducting an investigation for a court or the board of parole regarding, a person named in a report as a victim of child abuse or as having abused a child.

(6) To the department of justice for purposes of review by the prosecutor's review committee or the commitment of sexually violent predators as provided in chapter 229A.

(7) Each board of examiners specified under chapter 147 and the Iowa department of public health for the purpose of licensure, certification or registration, disciplinary investigation, or the renewal of licensure, certification or registration, or disciplinary proceedings of health care professionals.

e. Others as follows, but only with respect to report data and disposition data for cases of founded child abuse subject to placement in the registry pursuant to section 232.71D:

(1) To a person conducting bona fide research on child abuse, but without data identifying individuals named in a child abuse report, unless having that data open to review is essential to the research or evaluation and the authorized registry officials give prior written approval and the child, the child's guardian or guardian ad litem and the person named in a report as having abused a child give permission to release the data.

(2) To registry or department personnel when necessary to the performance of their official duties or to a person or agency under contract with the department to carry out official duties and functions of the department.

(3) To the department of justice for the sole purpose of the filing of a claim for restitution or compensation pursuant to sections 915.21 and 915.84. Data provided pursuant to this subparagraph is subject to the provisions of section 915.90.

(4) To a legally constituted child protection agency of another state which is investigating or assessing or treating a child named in a report as having been abused or which is investigating or assessing or treating a person named as having abused a child.

(5) To a public or licensed child placing agency of another state responsible for an adoptive or foster care preplacement or placement evaluation.

(6) To the attorney for the department of human services who is responsible for representing the department.

(7) To the state and local citizen foster care review boards created pursuant to sections 237.16 and 237.19.

(8) To an employee or agent of the department of human services regarding a person who is providing child care if the person is not registered or licensed to operate a child care facility.

(9) To the board of educational examiners created under chapter 272 for purposes of determining whether a practitioner's license should be denied or revoked.

(10) To a legally constituted child protection agency in another state if the agency is conducting a records check of a person who is providing care or has applied to provide care to a child in the other state.

(11) To the legally authorized protection and advocacy agency recognized in section 135C.2, if a person identified in the information as a victim or a perpetrator of abuse resides in or receives services from a facility or agency because the person is diagnosed as having a developmental disability or a mental illness.

(12) To the department of human services for a record check relating to employment or residence pursuant to section 218.13.

(13) To the Iowa board for the treatment of sexual abusers for purposes of certifying sex offender treatment providers.

(14) To an employee or agent of the department responsible for registering or licensing or approving the registration or licensing of an agency or facility, or to an individual providing care to a child and regulated by the department.

(15) To an employee of the department responsible for an adoptive placement, a certified adoption investigator, or licensed child placing agency responsible for an adoptive placement.

f. The following, but only with respect to disposition data for cases of founded child abuse subject to placement in the central registry pursuant to section 232.71D:

(1) To a person who submits written authorization from an individual allowing the person access to data pursuant to this subsection on behalf of the individual in order to verify whether the individual is named in a founded child abuse report as having abused a child.

(2) To an individual who is requesting information on a specific case of child abuse which resulted in a child fatality or near fatality.

3. Access to report data and disposition data for a case of child abuse determined to meet the definition of child abuse, which data is not subject to placement in the central registry pursuant to section 232.71D, is authorized only to the following persons:

a. Subjects of a report identified in subsection 2, paragraph "a".

b. Persons involved in an assessment of child abuse identified in subsection 2, paragraph "b", subparagraphs (2), (3), (4), (6), (7), and (9).

c. Others identified in subsection 2, paragraph "e", subparagraphs (2), (3), and (6).

d. The department of justice for purposes of review by the prosecutor's review committee or the commitment of sexually violent predators as provided in chapter 229A.

4. Access to report data for a case of child abuse determined to not meet the definition of child abuse, which data is not subject to placement in the central registry pursuant to section 232.71D, is authorized only to the following:

a. Subjects of a report identified in subsection 2, paragraph "a".

b. Persons involved in an assessment of child abuse identified in subsection 2, paragraph "b", subparagraphs (2), (6), and (7).

c. Others identified in subsection 2, paragraph "e", subparagraph (2).

d. The department of justice for purposes of review by the prosecutor's review committee or the commitment of sexually violent predators as provided in chapter 229A.

5. Access to disposition data subject to placement in the central registry pursuant to section 232.71D is authorized to the department of personnel or to the personnel office of a public employer, as defined in section 20.3, as necessary for presentation in grievance or arbitration procedures provided for in sections 19A.14 and 20.18. Disposition data introduced into a grievance or arbitration proceeding shall not be considered a part of the public record of a case.

6. a. If a child who is a legal resident of another state is present in this state and a report of child abuse is made concerning the child, the department shall act to ensure the safety of the child. The department shall contact the child's state of legal residency to coordinate the assessment of the report. If the child's state of residency refuses to conduct an assessment, the department shall commence an appropriate assessment.

b. If a report of child abuse is made concerning an alleged perpetrator who resides in this state and a child who resides in another state, the department shall assist the child's state of residency in conducting an assessment of the report. The assistance shall include but is not limited to an offer to interview the alleged perpetrator and any other relevant source. If the child's state of residency refuses to conduct an assessment of the report, the department shall commence an appropriate assessment. The department shall seek to develop protocols with states contiguous to this state for coordination in the assessment of a report of child abuse when a person involved with the report is a resident of another state.

235A.16 Requests for child abuse information.

1. Requests for child abuse information shall be in writing on forms prescribed by the department, except as otherwise provided by subsection 2. Request forms shall require information sufficient to demonstrate authorized access.

2. Requests for child abuse information may be made orally by telephone where a person making such a request believes that the information is needed immediately and where information sufficient to demonstrate authorized access is provided. In the event that a request is made orally by telephone, a written request form shall nevertheless be filed within seventy-two hours.

3. Subsections 1 and 2 do not apply to child abuse information that is disseminated to an employee of the department of human services, to a juvenile court, or to the attorney representing the department as authorized by section 235A.15.

235A.17 Redissemination of child abuse information.

1. A person, agency or other recipient of child abuse information authorized to receive such information shall not redisseminate such information, except that redissemination shall be permitted when all of the following conditions apply:

a. The redissemination is for official purposes in connection with prescribed duties or, in the case of a health practitioner, pursuant to professional responsibilities.

b. The person to whom such information would be redisseminated would have independent access to the same information under section 235A.15.

c. A written record is made of the redissemination, including the name of the recipient and the date and purpose of the redissemination.

d. The written record is forwarded to the registry within thirty days of the redissemination.

2. The department of human services may notify orally the mandatory reporter in an individual child abuse case of the results of the case assessment and of the confidentiality provisions of sections 235A.15 and 235A.21. The department shall subsequently transmit a written notice to the mandatory reporter of the results and confidentiality provisions. If the report data and disposition data have been placed in the registry as founded child abuse pursuant to section 232.71D, a copy of the written notice shall be transmitted to the registry and shall be maintained by the registry as provided in section 235A.18. Otherwise, a copy of the written notice shall be retained by the department with the case file.

235A.18 Sealing and expungement of founded child abuse information.

1. Report data and disposition data relating to a particular case of alleged abuse which has been determined to be founded child abuse and placed in the central registry in accordance with section 232.71D shall be maintained in the registry as follows:

a. Report and disposition data relating to a particular case of alleged child abuse shall be sealed ten years after the initial placement of the data in the registry unless good cause be shown why the data should remain open to authorized access. If a subsequent report of an alleged case of child abuse involving the child named in the initial data placed in the registry as the victim of abuse or a person named in the data as having abused a child is received by the department within this ten-year period, the data shall be sealed ten years after receipt of the subsequent report unless good cause be shown why the data should remain open to authorized access. However, such report and disposition data shall be made available to the department of justice if the department requests access to the alleged child abuse records for purposes of review by the prosecutor's review committee or commitment of sexually violent predators under chapter 229A.

b. Data sealed in accordance with this section shall be expunged eight years after the date the data was sealed. However, if the report data and the disposition data involve child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraphs "c" and* "e", the data shall not be expunged for a period of thirty years. Sealed data shall be made available to the department of justice upon request if the prosecutor's review committee is reviewing records or if a prosecuting attorney has filed a petition to commit a sexually violent predator under chapter 229A.

2. The juvenile or district court and county attorney shall expunge child abuse information upon notice from the registry. The supreme court shall prescribe rules establishing the period of time child abuse information is retained by the juvenile and district courts. A county attorney shall not retain child abuse information in excess of the time period the information would be retained under the rules prescribed by the supreme court.

3. If required by this subsection, for child abuse information in the central registry as of July 1, 1997, the central registry shall perform a review of the information utilizing the requirements for referral of child abuse information to the central registry as founded child abuse under section 232.71D. If the review indicates the information would not be placed in the registry as founded child abuse under section 232.71D, the information shall be expunged from the central registry. Child abuse information which is expunged from the central registry under this subsection shall not be retained by the department any longer than the time period in the rule for retaining information which is not placed in the central registry, allowing credit for the amount of time the information was held in the central registry. If the review indicates the child abuse information would be placed in the central registry under section 232.71D, the information shall be subject to the provisions of subsection 1, as to the time period the information is to be retained in the registry. A review shall be performed under any of the following conditions:

a. The department is considering the information while performing a record check evaluation under law or administrative rule.

b. A review is indicated under a procedure for performing reviews adopted by the department.

4. The department of human services shall adopt rules establishing the period of time child abuse information which is not maintained in the central registry is retained by the department.

Section
*"Paragraphs 'c' or 'e'" probably intended; corrective legislation is pending

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235A.19 Examination, requests for correction or expungement and appeal.

1. A subject of a child abuse report, as identified in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph "a", shall have the right to examine report data and disposition data which refers to the subject. The department may prescribe reasonable hours and places of examination.

2. a. A subject of a child abuse report may file with the department within six months of the date of the notice of the results of an assessment performed in accordance with section 232.71B, a written statement to the effect that report data and disposition data referring to the subject is in whole or in part erroneous, and may request a correction of that data or of the findings of the assessment report. The department shall provide the subject with an opportunity for an evidentiary hearing pursuant to chapter 17A to correct the data or the findings, unless the department corrects the data or findings as requested. The department may defer the hearing until the conclusion of a pending juvenile or district court case relating to the data or findings.

b. The department shall not disclose any report data or disposition data until the conclusion of the proceeding to correct the data or findings, except as follows:

(1) As necessary for the proceeding itself.

(2) To the parties and attorneys involved in a judicial proceeding.

(3) For the regulation of child care or child placement.

(4) Pursuant to court order.

(5) To the subject of an assessment or a report.

(6) For the care or treatment of a child named in a report as a victim of abuse.

(7) To persons involved in an assessment of child abuse.

3. The subject of a child abuse report may appeal the decision resulting from a hearing held pursuant to subsection 2 to the district court of Polk county or to the district court of the district in which the subject of the child abuse report resides. Immediately upon appeal the court shall order the department to file with the court a certified copy of the report data or disposition data. Appeal shall be taken in accordance with chapter 17A.

4. Upon the request of the appellant, the record and evidence in such cases shall be closed to all but the court and its officers, and access to the record and evidence shall be prohibited unless otherwise ordered by the court. The clerk shall maintain a separate docket for such actions. A person other than the appellant shall not permit a copy of any of the testimony or pleadings or the substance of the testimony or pleadings to be made available to any person other than a party to the action or the party's attorney. Violation of the provisions of this subsection shall be a public offense punishable under section 235A.21.

5. Whenever the department corrects or eliminates data as requested or as ordered by the court, the department shall advise all persons who have received the incorrect data of such fact. Upon application to the court and service of notice on the department, any subject of a child abuse report may request and obtain a list of all persons who have received report data or disposition data referring to the subject.

6. In the course of any proceeding provided for by this section, the identity of the person who reported the disputed data and the identity of any person who has been reported as having abused a child may be withheld upon a determination by the department that disclosure of their identities would be detrimental to their interests.

235A.2 to 235A.11

Transferred to § 232.68 to 232.77.

235A.20 Civil remedy.

Any aggrieved person may institute a civil action for damages under chapter 669 or 670 or to restrain the dissemination of child abuse information in violation of this chapter, and any person, agency or other recipient proven to have disseminated or to have requested and received child abuse information in violation of this chapter, or any employee of the department who knowingly destroys assessment data except in accordance with rule as established by the department for retention of child abuse information under section 235A.18 shall be liable for actual damages and exemplary damages for each violation and shall be liable for court costs, expenses, and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the party bringing the action. In no case shall the award for damages be less than one hundred dollars.

235A.21 Criminal penalties.

1. Any person who willfully requests, obtains, or seeks to obtain child abuse information under false pretenses, or who willfully communicates or seeks to communicate child abuse information to any agency or person except in accordance with sections 235A.15 and 235A.17, or any person connected with any research authorized pursuant to section 235A.15 who willfully falsifies child abuse information or any records relating to child abuse information, or any employee of the department who knowingly destroys assessment data except in accordance with rule as established by the department for retention of child abuse information under section 235A.18 is guilty of a serious misdemeanor. Any person who knowingly, but without criminal purposes, communicates or seeks to communicate child abuse information except in accordance with sections 235A.15 and 235A.17 shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor.

2. Any reasonable grounds for belief that a person has violated any provision of this chapter shall be grounds for the immediate withdrawal of any authorized access such person might otherwise have to child abuse information.

235A.22 Education program.

The department of human services shall require an educational program for employees of the department with access to child abuse information on the proper use and control of child abuse information.

235A.23 Reports.

1. The department of human services may compile statistics, conduct research, and issue reports on child abuse, provided identifying details of the subject of child abuse reports are deleted from any report issued.

2. The department shall issue an annual report on its administrative operation, including information as to the number of requests for child abuse data, the proportion of requests attributable to each type of authorized access, the frequency and nature of irregularities, and other pertinent matters.

235A.24 Council on child abuse information.

Repealed by 84 Acts, ch 1035, § 3.