Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 235B - Dependent Adult Abuse Services -- Information Registry

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• 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. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• 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
• clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Court: means the district court. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Department: means the department of human services. See Iowa Code 235B.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.
• Dependent adult: means a person eighteen 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, or as defined by departmental rule. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Dependent adult abuse: means :
   (1) Any of the following as a result of the willful or negligent acts or omissions of a caretaker:

   (a) Physical injury to, or injury which is at a variance with the history given of the injury, or unreasonable confinement, unreasonable punishment, or assault of a dependent adult. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Docket: A log containing brief entries of court proceedings.
• Emergency shelter services: means and includes, but is not limited to, secure crisis shelters or housing for victims of dependent adult abuse. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Entitlement: A Federal program or provision of law that requires payments to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government, and eligible recipients have legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans' compensation and pensions are examples of entitlement programs.
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• 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.
• Individual employed as an outreach person: means a natural person who, in the course of employment, makes regular contacts with dependent adults regarding available community resources. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Institution: means a birthing hospital. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• 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.
• Legal holiday: means a legal public holiday as defined in section 1C. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" and the abbreviation "A. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Party: means a petitioner, a respondent, or a person who intervenes in a proceeding instituted under this chapter. See Iowa Code 252A.2
• Person: means person as defined in section 4. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• personal property: include money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt, and things in action. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probate: Proving a will
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Sexual exploitation: includes the transmission, display, 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. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• 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
• Support services: includes but is not limited to community-based services including area agency on aging assistance, mental health services, fiscal management, home health services, housing-related services, counseling services, transportation services, adult day services, respite services, legal services, and advocacy services. See Iowa Code 235B.2
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1