Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 441 - Human Services Department › Title XV - Individual and Family Support and Protective Services › Chapter 176 - Dependent Adult Abuse › Rule 441-176.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
"Appropriate evaluation or assessment"
means
				  that evaluation or assessment reasonably believed by the department to be
				  warranted by the facts and circumstances of the case as reported.
"Assault"
means "assault" as defined in Iowa
				  Code section 708.1.
"Assessment information"
means material and
				  data maintained by the department in a manual or automated data storage system
				  concerning the report, assessment or evaluation, or disposition of dependent
				  adult abuse.
"At-risk adult"
means an adult who, because
				  of a significant impairment due to a physical or mental disability or both, is
				  unable to meet essential daily needs without assistance and whose personal
				  health or safety is at risk due to such impairments, the environment, substance
				  abuse problems, a lack of services or social supports, a refusal to accept
				  services, or other risk factors identified through an assessment.
"Caretaker"
means a related or nonrelated
				  person who has the responsibility for the protection, care, or custody of a
				  dependent adult as a result of assuming the responsibility voluntarily, by
				  contract, through employment, or by order of the court.
"Collateral sources"
means any person or
				  agency who is presently providing, either in a professional or paraprofessional
				  capacity, service to the dependent adult, including, but not limited to,
				  doctors, counselors, and public health nurses.
"Confidential information"
means any
				  information restricted by Iowa Code chapter 22, 217, 235B, 229, or 125;
				  45 CFR
				  160,
				  162 and
				  164 as of January 1, 2023; or any
				  other provision in state or federal law that prohibits disclosure of
				  information.
"Denial of critical care"
exists when the
				  dependent adult's basic needs are denied or ignored to such an extent that
				  there is immediate or potential danger of the dependent adult suffering injury
				  or death, or is a denial of, or a failure to provide the mental health care
				  necessary to adequately treat the dependent adult's serious social
				  maladjustment, or is a gross failure of the caretaker to meet the emotional
				  needs of the dependent adult necessary for normal functioning, or is a failure
				  of the caretaker to provide for the proper supervision of the dependent
				  adult.
"Department"
means the department of human
				  services and includes the county and central offices of the department, unless
				  otherwise specified.
"Dependent adult"
means a person 18 years of
				  age or older who is unable to protect the person's own interests or unable to
				  adequately perform or obtain services necessary to meet essential human needs,
				  as a result of a physical or mental condition which requires assistance from
				  another.
"Dependent adult abuse"
means:
1. Any of the following as a result of the
				willful or negligent acts or omissions of a caretaker:
* Physical injury to, or injury which is at variance with the
				  history given of the injury, or unreasonable confinement, unreasonable
				  punishment, or assault of a dependent adult.
* The commission of a sexual offense under Iowa Code chapter
				  709 or Iowa Code section
				  726.2 with or against a
				  dependent adult.
* Exploitation of a dependent adult, which means the act or
				  process of taking unfair advantage of a dependent adult or the adult's physical
				  or financial resources, without the informed consent of the dependent adult,
				  including theft, by the use of undue influence, harassment, duress, deception,
				  false representation, or false pretenses.
* The deprivation of the minimum food, shelter, clothing,
				  supervision, physical or mental health care, and other care necessary to
				  maintain a dependent adult's life or health.
2. Sexual exploitation of a dependent adult
				by a caretaker. "Sexual exploitation" means any consensual or nonconsensual
				sexual contact with a dependent adult which includes but is not limited to
				kissing; touching of the clothed or unclothed inner thigh, breast, groin,
				buttock, anus, pubes, or genitals; or a sex act, as defined in Iowa Code
				section 702.17. "Sexual exploitation"
				includes the transmission, display, or taking of electronic images of the
				unclothed breast, groin, buttock, anus, pubes, or genitals of a dependent adult
				by a caretaker for a purpose not related to treatment or diagnosis or as part
				of an ongoing assessment, evaluation or investigation. "Sexual exploitation"
				does not include touching which is part of a necessary examination, treatment,
				or care by a caretaker acting within the scope of the practice or employment of
				the caretaker; the exchange of a brief touch between the dependent adult and a
				caretaker for the purpose of reassurance, comfort, or casual friendship; or
				touching between spouses.
3.
				Personal degradation of a dependent adult, which means a willful act or
				statement by a caretaker intended to shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise
				harm the personal dignity of a dependent adult, or where the caretaker knew or
				reasonably should have known the act or statement would cause shame,
				degradation, humiliation, or harm to the personal dignity of a reasonable
				person.
4. The deprivation of the
				minimum food, shelter, clothing, supervision, physical or mental health care,
				and other care necessary to maintain a dependent adult's life or health as a
				result of the acts or omissions of the dependent adult.
"Expungement"
means the process of
				  destroying or erasing dependent adult abuse information in compliance with Iowa
				  Code section 235B.9.
"Immediate danger to health or safety"
means
				  a situation in which death or severe bodily injury could reasonably be expected
				  to occur without intervention.
"Immediately"
means within 24 hours when
				  referring to mandatory reporters reporting suspected abuse of a dependent
				  adult.
"Individual employed as an outreach person"
means a person who, in the course of employment, makes regular contacts with
				  dependent adults regarding available community resources.
"Informed consent,"
as used in the
				  description of exploitation in Iowa Code section
				  235B.2(5),
				  means a dependent adult's agreement to allow something to happen that is based
				  on a full disclosure of known facts and circumstances needed to make the
				  decision intelligently, i.e., knowledge of risks involved or
				  alternatives.
"Minimum food, shelter, clothing, supervision,
				  physical and mental health care, and other care"
means that food,
				  shelter, clothing, supervision, physical and mental health care, and other care
				  which, if not provided, would constitute denial of critical care.
"Multidisciplinary team"
means a membership
				  of individuals who possess knowledge and skills related to the diagnosis,
				  assessment, and disposition of dependent adult abuse cases and who are
				  professionals practicing in the disciplines of medicine, public health, social
				  work, law, law enforcement and other disciplines relative to dependent adults.
				  Members of the team shall include, but are not limited to, persons representing
				  the area agencies on aging, county attorneys, health care providers, and others
				  involved in advocating or providing services for dependent adults.
"Physical injury"
means damage to any bodily
				  tissue to the extent that the tissue must undergo a healing process in order to
				  be restored to a sound and healthy condition, or damage to any bodily tissue to
				  the extent that the tissue cannot be restored to a sound and healthy condition,
				  or damage to any bodily tissue which results in the death of the person who has
				  sustained the damage, or physical injury which is at variance with the history
				  given of it.
"Preponderance of evidence"
means evidence
				  which is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence which is
				  offered in opposition to it.
"Proper supervision"
means that supervision
				  which a reasonable and prudent person would exercise under similar facts and
				  circumstances, but inno event shall a person place a dependent adult in a
				  situation that may endanger the dependent adult's life or health or cruelly
				  punish or unreasonably confine the dependent adult.
"Registry"
means the central registry for
				  dependent adult abuse information established in Iowa Code section
				  235B.5.
"Report"
means a verbal or written
				  statement, made to the department, which alleges that dependent adult abuse has
				  occurred.