1. The court shall request criminal record checks and checks of the child abuse, dependent adult abuse, and sex offender registries in this state for all proposed guardians other than financial institutions with Iowa trust powers unless a proposed guardian has undergone the required background checks in this section within the twelve months prior to the filing of a petition.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 232D.307

  • Child: includes but shall not be limited to a stepchild, foster child, or legally adopted child and means a child actually or apparently under eighteen years of age, and a dependent person eighteen years of age or over who is unable to maintain the person's self and is likely to become a public charge. See Iowa Code 252A.2
  • Court: shall mean and include any court upon which jurisdiction has been conferred to determine the liability of persons for the support of dependents. See Iowa Code 252A.2
  • Department: means the department of health and human services. See Iowa Code 249L.2
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. The court shall review the results of background checks in determining the suitability of a proposed guardian for appointment.
 3. The judicial branch in conjunction with the department of public safety, the department of health and human services, and the state chief information officer shall establish procedures for electronic access to the single contact repository necessary to conduct background checks requested under subsection 1.
 4. The person who files a petition for appointment of guardian for a minor shall be responsible for paying the fee for the background check conducted through the single contact repository unless the court waives the fee for good cause shown.