Opinion ID: 1840805
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether the Juvenile Court Properly Assumed Jurisdiction Under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act.

Text: Under Iowa Code section 598A.2(2), custody determinations subject to the UCCJA include any court order providing for custody of a child, including visitation rights. This broad language of inclusion would appear to include juvenile court orders in CINA cases. On the other hand, we have recognized that application of the act should be tempered by its overall purposes. Slidell v. Valentine, 298 N.W.2d 599, 603 (Iowa 1980). Because the main thrust of this legislation is to restrict custody disputes between competing parents to reasonable venues, it may, we believe, be given a less restrictive application in juvenile court proceedings initiated by state welfare agencies. Art's attack on the subject matter jurisdiction of the Iowa juvenile court is premised on the undisputed fact that Ohio was the home state of these children at the time the challenged orders were made and the Ohio courts had assumed jurisdiction of the child custody issues between the parties in a pending dissolution-of-marriage action in that state. We note in this regard that the Iowa juvenile court's order clearly recognized that Ohio was the home state for purposes of the UCCJA and that the court was also aware of the parties' pending dissolution action in which custody was an issue. It made reference to both of those matters in its dispositional order. Notwithstanding these factors, we are confident that the Iowa juvenile court did have subject matter jurisdiction for the limited purpose of protecting the children from risks of harm arising during their presence in this state. The court's purpose is clear from the language of its order. It is provided in the UCCJA that a court can assume jurisdiction, notwithstanding its lack of home state status, if it is in the best interest of the child that a court of this state assume jurisdiction because the child and the child's parents or the child and at least one contestant, have a significant connection with this state, and there is available in this state substantial evidence concerning the child's present or future care, protection, training, and personal relationships. Iowa Code § 598A.3(1)(b). In this case, there was a significant connection with Iowa and substantial evidence was available in this state. There was an ongoing child abuse investigation here, which the Ohio courts recognized could best be performed by Iowa authorities. The alleged perpetrators and victims of sex abuse were living in Iowa at the time of the alleged abuse and were still present here when the Iowa juvenile court's orders were issued. Other significant contacts with this state included the fact that the oldest child had been attending school in Iowa since September 1994, and the desirability of maintaining that attendance was recognized in an order of the Ohio court. When the ongoing investigation resulted in findings that the children were presently exposed to harm as a result of Art's activities, the Iowa juvenile court properly assumed jurisdiction to protect the children pending a final determination of custody issues in the Ohio dissolution proceeding. We are convinced that it was authorized to take that action under the provisions of section 598A.3(1)(b), notwithstanding the temporary custody order of the Ohio court. [1]