Have a question? Click here to chat with a criminal defense lawyer and protect your rights.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 232.120

  • Child: means any person under the age of eighteen years. See Iowa Code 232.68
  • Court: means the juvenile court established under section 602. See Iowa Code 232.2
  • Parent: means a biological or adoptive mother or father of a child; or a father whose paternity has been established by operation of law due to the individual's marriage to the mother at the time of conception, birth, or at any time during the period between conception and birth of the child, by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or by administrative order when authorized by state law. See Iowa Code 232.2
  • Petition: means a pleading the filing of which initiates formal judicial proceedings in the juvenile court. See Iowa Code 232.2
  • Preadoptive care: means the provision of parental nurturing on a full-time basis to a child in foster care by a person who has signed a preadoptive placement agreement with the department for the purposes of proceeding with a legal adoption of the child. See Iowa Code 232.2
 If a foster parent is providing preadoptive care to a child for whom a termination of parental rights petition has been filed, the placement of the child with that foster parent shall continue through the termination of parental rights proceeding unless the court orders otherwise based upon the best interests of the child.