Iowa Code § 232.141 — IA Code / Title VI / Chapter 232 / Section 232.141
Expenses.
Status: in_force

(1) Except as otherwise provided by law, the court shall inquire into the ability of the child or the child’s parent to pay expenses incurred pursuant to subsections 2, 4, and 8. After giving the parent a reasonable opportunity to be heard, the court may order the parent to pay all or part of the costs of the child’s care, physical assessment, behavioral health evaluation, treatment, legal expenses, or other expenses. An order entered under this section does not obligate a parent paying child support under a custody decree, except that part of the monthly support payment may be used to satisfy the obligations imposed by the order entered pursuant to this section. If a parent fails to pay as ordered, without good reason, the court may proceed against the parent for contempt and may inform the county attorney who shall proceed against the parent to collect the unpaid amount. Any payment ordered by the court shall be a judgment against each of the child’s parents and a lien as provided in section 624.23. If all or part of the amount that the parents are ordered to pay is subsequently paid by the county or state, the judgment and lien shall thereafter be against each of the parents in favor of the county to the extent of the county’s payments and in favor of the state to the extent of the state’s payments.

(2) All of the following juvenile court expenses are a charge upon the county in which the proceedings are held, to the extent provided in subsection 3:

(2) (a) Juvenile court expenses incurred by an attorney appointed by the court to serve as counsel to any party or to serve as a guardian ad litem for any child, including fees and expenses for foreign language interpreters, costs of depositions and transcripts, fees and mileage of witnesses, and the expenses of officers serving notices and subpoenas.

(2) (b) Reasonable compensation for an attorney appointed by the court to serve as counsel to any party or as guardian ad litem for any child in juvenile court.

(2) (c) Fees and expenses incurred by the juvenile court for foreign language interpreters for court proceedings.

(3) Costs incurred under subsection 2 shall be paid as follows:

(3) (a) A county shall be required to pay for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1989, an amount equal to the county’s base cost for witness and mileage fees and attorney fees established pursuant to section 232.141, subsection 8, paragraph “d”, Code 1989, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1988, plus an amount equal to the percentage rate of change in the consumer price index as tabulated by the federal bureau of labor statistics for the current year times the county’s base cost.

(3) (b) A county’s base cost for a fiscal year plus the percentage rate of change amount as computed in paragraph “a” is the county’s base cost for the succeeding fiscal year. The amount to be paid in the succeeding year by the county shall be computed as provided in paragraph “a”.

(3) (c) The county, on an annual basis, shall pay to the indigent defense fund created under section 815.11 the amount of the county’s base cost as determined in accordance with this subsection.

(3) (d) Costs incurred under subsection 2 shall be paid by the state from the appropriations to the indigent defense fund under section 815.11 in accordance with this chapter, chapter 815, and the rules adopted by the state public defender. The county shall be required to reimburse the indigent defense fund for costs incurred by the state up to the county’s base in this subsection.

(4) Upon certification of the court, all of the following expenses are a charge upon the state to the extent provided in subsection 5:

(4) (a) The expenses of transporting a child to or from a place designated by the court for the purpose of care or treatment.

(4) (b) Expenses for physical assessments or behavioral health evaluations of a child if ordered by the court.

(4) (c) The expenses of care or treatment ordered by the court.

(5) If no other provision of law requires the county to reimburse costs incurred pursuant to subsection 4, the department shall reimburse the costs as follows:

(5) (a) The department shall prescribe by administrative rule all services eligible for reimbursement pursuant to subsection 4 and shall establish an allowable rate of reimbursement for each service.

(5) (b) The department shall receive billings for services provided and, after determining allowable costs, shall reimburse providers at a rate which is not greater than allowed by administrative rule. Reimbursement paid to a provider by the department shall be considered reimbursement in full unless a county voluntarily agrees to pay any difference between the reimbursement amount and the actual cost. When there are specific program regulations prohibiting supplementation those regulations shall be applied to providers requesting supplemental payments from a county. Billings for services not listed in administrative rule shall not be paid. However, if the court orders a service not currently listed in administrative rule, the department shall review the order and, if reimbursement for the service of the department is not in conflict with other law or administrative rule, and meets the criteria of subsection 4, the department shall reimburse the provider.

(6) A physical assessment, behavioral health evaluation, or any treatment relating to an assessment performed pursuant to section 232.71B, shall be paid by the state if physical assessment, behavioral health evaluation, or other treatment was performed with the consent of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian and no other provision of law requires payment for the costs. The department shall reimburse costs under this subsection in accordance with subsection 5.

(7) A county charged with the costs and expenses under subsections 2 and 3 may recover the costs and expenses from the child’s custodial parent’s county of residence, as defined in section 331.190, by filing verified claims which are payable as are other claims against the county. A detailed statement of the facts upon which a claim is based shall accompany the claim.

(8) This subsection applies only to placements in a juvenile shelter care home which is publicly owned, operated as a county or multicounty shelter care home, organized under a chapter 28E agreement, or operated by a private juvenile shelter care home. If the actual and allowable costs of a child’s shelter care placement exceed the amount the department is authorized to pay, the unpaid costs may be recovered from the child’s custodial parent’s county of residence. However, the maximum amount of the unpaid costs which may be recovered under this subsection is limited to the difference between the amount the department is authorized to pay and the statewide average of the actual and allowable rates as reasonably determined by the department annually. A home may only be reimbursed for the lesser of the home’s actual and allowable costs or the statewide average of the actual and allowable rates as determined by the department in effect on the date the costs were paid. The unpaid costs are payable pursuant to filing of verified claims against the child’s custodial parent’s county of residence. A detailed statement of the facts upon which a claim is based shall accompany the claim. Any dispute between counties arising from claims filed pursuant to this subsection shall be settled in the manner provided to determine county of residence in section 331.190.

[S13, §254-a25, -a45; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3644, 3645; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §232.25, 232.26; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §232.51 – 232.53; C79, 81, §232.141; 82 Acts, ch 1260, §119]85 Acts, ch 173, §14; 87 Acts, ch 152, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1134, §54; 89 Acts, ch 283, §23; 90 Acts, ch 1233, §8; 92 Acts, ch 1229, §8; 92 Acts, 1st Ex, ch 1004, §3; 93 Acts, ch 76, §15; 93 Acts, ch 172, §34; 97 Acts, ch 35, §12, 25; 97 Acts, ch 126, §31; 99 Acts, ch 135, §20, 21; 2000 Acts, ch 1115, §2 – 4; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §147; 2004 Acts, ch 1090, §51; 2004 Acts, ch 1175, §148; 2006 Acts, ch 1041, §5, 6; 2012 Acts, ch 1120, §118, 130; 2013 Acts, ch 115, §10, 19; 2018 Acts, ch 1137, §25; 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §66; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §183, 184; 2025 Acts, ch 86, §30 – 32