Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 235 - Child Welfare

• Administrator: means the same as defined in section 234. See Iowa Code 235.1
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Child: means the same as defined in section 234. See Iowa Code 235.1
• Child welfare services: means social welfare services for the protection and care of children who are homeless, dependent or neglected, or in danger of becoming delinquent, or who have a mental illness or an intellectual disability or other developmental disability, including, when necessary, care and maintenance in a foster care facility. See Iowa Code 235.1
• Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
• 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 human services. See Iowa Code 249L.2
• Dependent: shall mean and include a spouse, child, mother, father, grandparent, or grandchild who is in need of and entitled to support from a person who is declared to be legally liable for such support. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• 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.
• Intellectual disability: means a diagnosis of intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder, global developmental delay, or unspecified intellectual disability or intellectual developmental disorder which diagnosis shall be made only when the onset of the person's condition was during the developmental period and based on an assessment of the person's intellectual functioning and level of adaptive skills. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• 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
• State division: means the same as defined in section 234. See Iowa Code 235.1
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1