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![handle is hein.sag/sagia0005 and id is 1 raw text is: Office of the Attorney General
State of Iowa
*1 Opinion No. 01-1-1
January 11, 2001
JUVENILE LAW; COUNTIES: Unreimbursed shelter care costs. Iowa Code §§ 232.141, 234.35, 234.39 (1999).
When counties incur expenses for providing children with shelter care services that the State does not
reimburse, section 234.39 does not authorize counties to pursue reimbursement for those expenses from the
parents. (Kempkes to Zenor, Clay County Attorney, 1-11-01)
Mr. Michael L. Zenor
Clay County Attorney
+2000+ Highway Blvd.
P.O. Box 317
Spencer, IA 51301
Dear Mr. Zenor:
When family crises endanger children, government may intervene to provide services to them and their
families. You have requested an opinion about the authority of county governments that intervene to provide
endangered children with shelter care -- statutorily defined as the temporary care of a child in a physically
unrestricting facility. You ask whether counties incurring expenses in providing shelter care for children may
pursue reimbursement from the parents for those expenses the State does not reimburse. This question
concerns only those costs in excess of the reimbursement rate established by the State, not the cost of
shelter care services per se, and requires an examination of Iowa Code chapters 232 and 234 (1999).
I. Applicable Law
Chapter 232 is entitled Juvenile Justice. It provides children and their families with shelter care and other
services. Section 232.141 addresses (1) the financial liability of the child's parents, if any, which the court
determines after a hearing, Iowa Code § 232.141(1); see 1992 Op. Att'y Gen. 26 (#91-5-2(L)); (2) the
financial liability of the county hosting the proceedings, Iowa Code § 232.141(2), which may seek
reimbursement for unreimbursed costs from the county of legal settlement, if any, Iowa Code q 232.141
(81; and (3) the financial liability of the State, which reimburses the host county at specified rates for the
costs it incurs, Iowa Code q 232.141(5), (6).
Chapter 234 is entitled Child and Family Services. Section 234.35 establishes the financial liability of the
State for foster care services. See Iowa Code § 237.15(2)(a); 1978 Op. Att'y Gen. 473, 474. Under section
234.35(1, the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) is responsible for paying the cost of foster care
for a child under any one of nine circumstances, including [w]hen the child is placed in shelter care
pursuant to [provisions in chapter 232]. Iowa Code § 234.35(1)(h). Section 234.39 addresses the financial
responsibility of parents for their child's foster care services:
It is the intent of this chapter that an individual receiving foster care services and the individual's parents or
guardians shall have primary responsibility for paying the cost of the care and services. The support
obligation established and adopted under this section shall be consistent with the limitations on legal liability
established under sections 222.78 [for mentally retarded persons] and 230.15 [for mentally ill persons], and
by any other statute limiting legal responsibility for support which may be imposed on a person for the cost of
care and services provided by the [DHS]. The [DHS] shall notify an individual's parents or guardians, at the
time of the placement of an individual in foster care, of the responsibility for paying the cost of care and
services. Support obligations shall be established as follows . ...
*2 Section 234.39 then provides for the court in certain circumstances to establish the amount of the
parent's or guardian's support obligation for the cost of foster care provided by the [DHS], Iowa Code
234(.391, and for the DHS in other circumstances to determine the obligation of the individual's parent or
guardian, Iowa Code 4 234.39(2).
II. Analysis
We understand that the foregoing statutory scheme may result in counties incurring expenses, unreimbursed
by the State, for providing shelter care services to children. You have asked whether counties have statutory
authority to pursue reimbursement from the parents for those expenses.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.sag/sagia0005&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)