Iowa Code § 232.71B — IA Code / Title VI / Chapter 232 / Section 232.71B
Duties of the department upon receipt of report.
Status: in_force

(1) (a) If the department determines a report constitutes a child abuse allegation, the department shall promptly commence either a child abuse assessment within twenty-four hours of receiving the report or a family assessment within seventy-two hours of receiving the report.

(1) (a) Upon acceptance of a report of child abuse, the department shall commence a child abuse assessment when the report alleges child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (1) through (3) and subparagraphs (5) through (11), or which alleges child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (4), that also alleges imminent danger, death, or injury to a child.

(1) (a) Upon acceptance of a report of child abuse, the department shall commence a family assessment when the report alleges child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, subparagraph (4), but does not allege imminent danger, death, or injury to a child.

(1) (b) The primary purpose of either the child abuse assessment or the family assessment shall be the protection of the child named in the report. The secondary purpose of either type of assessment shall be to engage the child’s family in services to enhance family strengths and to address needs.

(2) The department, within five working days of commencing the assessment, shall provide written notification of the assessment to the child’s parents. If a parent is alleged to have committed the child abuse, the notice shall inform the parents regarding the complaint or allegation made regarding the parent. The parents shall be informed in a manner that protects the confidentiality rights of an individual who reported the child abuse or provided information as part of the assessment process. However, if the department shows the court to the court’s satisfaction that notification is likely to endanger the child or other persons, the court shall orally direct the department to withhold notification. Within one working day of issuing an oral directive, the court shall issue a written order restraining the notification. The department shall not reveal in the written notification to the parents or otherwise the identity of the reporter of child abuse to a subject of a child abuse report listed in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”.

(3) (a) The department shall apply protocols, developed with the local child protection assistance team established pursuant to section 915.35, to prioritize the actions taken in response to a child abuse assessment and shall work jointly with child protection assistance teams and law enforcement agencies in performing assessment and investigative processes for child abuse assessments in which a criminal act harming a child is alleged. The county attorney and appropriate law enforcement agencies shall also take any other lawful action which may be necessary or advisable for the protection of the child.

(3) (b) If a report is determined not to constitute a child abuse allegation or if the child abuse report is accepted but assessed under the family assessment, but a criminal act harming a child is alleged, the department shall immediately refer the matter to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

(3) (c) If the department has reasonable cause to believe that a child under the placement, care, or supervision of the department is, or is at risk of becoming, a sex trafficking victim, the department shall do all of the following:

(3) (c) Identify the child as a sex trafficking victim or at risk of becoming a sex trafficking victim and include documentation in the child’s department records.

(3) (c) Refer the child for appropriate services.

(3) (c) Refer the child identified as a sex trafficking victim, within twenty-four hours, to the appropriate law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to investigate the allegation.

(3) (d) The department shall report a child under the placement, care, or supervision of the department who is reported as missing or abducted to law enforcement and to the national center for missing and exploited children within twenty-four hours of receipt of the report.

(4) (a) A child abuse assessment or family assessment shall include all of the following:

(4) (a) A safety assessment and risk assessment. If at any time during a family assessment, a child is determined unsafe or in imminent danger, it appears that the immediate safety or well-being of a child is endangered, it appears that the family may flee or the child may disappear, or the facts otherwise warrant, the department shall immediately commence a child abuse assessment.

(4) (a) An evaluation of the home environment. If concerns regarding protection of children are identified by the child protection worker, the child protection worker shall evaluate the child named in the report and any other children in the same home as the parents or other persons responsible for their care.

(4) (b) In addition to the requirements of paragraph “a”, a child abuse assessment shall include the following:

(4) (b) Identification of the nature, extent, and cause of the injuries, if any, to the child named in the report.

(4) (b) Identification of the person or persons responsible for the alleged child abuse.

(4) (b) A description of the name, age, and condition of other children in the same home as the child named in the report.

(4) (b) An interview of the person alleged to have committed the child abuse, if the person’s identity and location are known. The offer of an interview shall be made to the person prior to any consideration or determination being made that the person committed the alleged abuse. The person shall be informed of the complaint or allegation made regarding the person. The person shall be informed in a manner that protects the confidentiality rights of the individual who reported the child abuse or provided information as part of the assessment process. The purpose of the interview shall be to provide the person with the opportunity to explain or rebut the allegations of the child abuse report or other allegations made during the assessment. The court may waive the requirement to offer the interview only for good cause. The person offered an interview, or the person’s attorney on the person’s behalf, may decline the offer of an interview of the person.

(5) Unless otherwise prohibited under section 234.40 or 280.21, the use of corporal punishment by the person responsible for the care of a child which does not result in a physical injury to the child shall not be considered child abuse.

(6) The assessment may, with the consent of the parent or guardian, include a visit to the home of the child named in the report and an interview or observation of the child may be conducted. If permission to enter the home to interview or observe the child is refused, the juvenile court or district court upon a showing of probable cause may authorize the person making the assessment to enter the home and interview or observe the child.

(7) The assessment may include a visit to a facility providing care to the child named in the report or to any public or private school subject to the authority of the department of education where the child named in the report is located. The administrator of a facility, or a public or private school shall cooperate with the child protection worker by providing confidential access to the child named in the report for the purpose of interviewing the child, and shall allow the child protection worker confidential access to other children for the purpose of conducting interviews in order to obtain relevant information. The child protection worker may observe a child named in a report in accordance with the provisions of section 232.68, subsection 3, paragraph “b”. A witness shall be present during an observation of a child. Any child aged ten years of age or older can terminate contact with the child protection worker by stating or indicating the child’s wish to discontinue the contact. The immunity granted by section 232.73 applies to acts or omissions in good faith of administrators and their facilities or school districts for cooperating in an assessment and allowing confidential access to a child.

(8) (a) The department may request information from any person believed to have knowledge of a child abuse case. The county attorney, any law enforcement or social services agency in the state, and any mandatory reporter, whether or not the reporter made the specific child abuse report, shall cooperate and assist in the assessment upon the request of the department.

(8) (b) In performing an assessment, the department may request criminal history data from the department of public safety on any person believed to be responsible for an injury to a child which, if confirmed, would constitute child abuse. The department shall establish procedures for determining when a criminal history records check is necessary.

(9) If the department determines that disclosure is necessary for the protection of a child, the department may disclose to a subject of a child abuse report referred to in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, that an individual is listed in the child or dependent adult abuse registry or is required to register with the sex offender registry in accordance with chapter 692A.

(10) If the department refers a child to a physician or physician assistant for a physical assessment, the department shall contact the physician or physician assistant regarding the physical assessment within twenty-four hours of making the referral. If the physician or physician assistant who performs the physical assessment reasonably believes the child has been abused, the physician or physician assistant shall report to the department within twenty-four hours of performing the physical assessment.

(11) In each county or multicounty area in which more than fifty child abuse reports are made per year, the department shall establish a multidisciplinary team, as defined in section 235A.13, subsection 9. Upon the department’s request, a multidisciplinary team shall assist the department in the assessment, diagnosis, and disposition of a child abuse assessment and the subsequent provision of services.

(12) (a) The department shall apply a protocol, developed in consultation with facilities providing care to children, for conducting an assessment of reports of abuse of children allegedly caused by employees of facilities providing care to children. As part of such an assessment, the department shall notify the licensing authority for the facility, the governing body of the facility, and the administrator in charge of the facility of any of the following:

(12) (a) A violation of facility policy noted in the assessment.

(12) (a) An instance in which facility policy or lack of facility policy may have contributed to the reported incident of alleged child abuse.

(12) (a) An instance in which general practice in the facility appears to differ from the facility’s written policy.

(12) (b) The licensing authority, the governing body, and the administrator in charge of the facility shall take any lawful action which may be necessary or advisable to protect children receiving care.

(13) (a) The department, upon completion of the child abuse assessment or the family assessment, shall make a written report of the assessment, in accordance with all of the following:

(13) (a) The written assessment report shall incorporate the information required by subsection 4, paragraph “a”.

(13) (a) A written child abuse assessment report shall be completed within twenty business days of the receipt of the child abuse report. A written family assessment report shall be completed within ten business days of the receipt of the child abuse report.

(13) (a) The written assessment report shall identify the strengths and needs of the child, and of the child’s parent, home, and family.

(13) (a) The written assessment report shall identify services available from the department and informal and formal services and other support available in the community to address the strengths and needs identified in the assessment.

(13) (a) Upon completion of the assessment, the department shall consult with the child’s family in offering services to the child and the child’s family to address strengths and needs identified in the assessment.

(13) (b) In addition to the requirements of paragraph “a”, a written child abuse assessment report shall include a description of the child’s condition, identification of the injury or risk to which the child was exposed, the circumstances which led to the injury or risk to the child, and the identity of any person alleged to be responsible for the injury or risk to the child.

(13) (c) Following a child abuse assessment, the department shall notify each subject of the child abuse report, as identified in section 235A.15, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, of the results of the child abuse assessment, of the subject’s right, pursuant to section 235A.19, to correct the report data or disposition data which refers to the subject, and of the procedures to correct the data.

(13) (d) Following a family assessment, the department shall notify the parent or guardian of each child listed in the report of suspected child abuse of the completion of the family assessment and any service recommendations. For cases assessed pursuant to a family assessment, there shall be no right to a contested case hearing pursuant to chapter 17A.

(13) (e) If after completing the assessment the child protection worker determines, with the concurrence of the worker’s supervisor and the department’s area administrator, that a report of suspected child abuse is a spurious report or that protective concerns are not present, the portions of the written assessment report described under paragraph “a”, subparagraphs (3) and (4) shall not be required.

(14) The department shall provide or arrange for and monitor services for abused children and their families on a voluntary basis or under a final or intermediate order of the juvenile court. The department may provide or arrange for and monitor services for children and their families on a voluntary basis for cases in which a family assessment is completed.

(15) If the department determines that a safety issue continues to require a child to reside outside of the child’s home at the conclusion of a family assessment, the department shall transfer the assessment to the child abuse assessment pathway for a disposition.

(16) At the conclusion of a family assessment, the department shall transfer the case, if appropriate, to a contracted provider to review the service plan for the child and family. The contracted provider shall make a referral to the department abuse hotline if a family’s noncompliance with a service plan places a child at risk. If any of the criteria for child abuse as defined in section 232.68, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, are met, the department shall commence a child abuse assessment. If any of the criteria for a child in need of assistance pursuant to section 232.96A are met, the department shall determine whether to request a child in need of assistance petition.

(17) The department shall provide the juvenile court and the county attorney with a copy of the written child abuse assessment report, the written family assessment report for cases in which the department requests a child in need of assistance petition, or other reports for cases in which the department requests a child in need of assistance petition. The juvenile court and the county attorney shall notify the department of any action taken concerning an assessment provided by the department.

(18) If a fourth report is received from the same person who made three earlier reports which identified the same child as a victim of child abuse and the same person responsible for the care of the child as the alleged abuser and which were determined by the department to be entirely false or without merit, the department may determine that the report is again false or without merit due to the report’s spurious or frivolous nature and may in its discretion terminate its assessment of the report. If the department receives more than three reports which identify the same child as a victim of child abuse or the same person as the alleged abuser of a child, or which were made by the same person, and the department determined the reports to be entirely false or without merit, the department shall provide information concerning the reports to the county attorney for consideration of criminal charges under section 232.75, subsection 3.

(19) The department shall adopt rules regarding the intake process, assessment process, assessment reports, contact with juvenile court or the county attorney, involvement with law enforcement, case record retention, and dissemination of records for both child abuse assessments and family assessments.

(20) The department shall engage external stakeholders, including but not limited to representatives of the county attorneys’ offices, service providers, and parent partners to develop a quality assurance component to the differential response system.

97 Acts, ch 35, §6, 25; 97 Acts, ch 176, §24, 43; 2001 Acts, ch 122, §5; 2002 Acts, ch 1074, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §50; 2003 Acts, ch 47, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 107, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 123, §1; 2003 Acts, ch 179, §68; 2004 Acts, ch 1152, §1, 2; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §239; 2013 Acts, ch 115, §3, 4, 19; 2016 Acts, ch 1063, §12, 13; 2022 Acts, ch 1066, §30; 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §23, 76; 2025 Acts, ch 86, §22