Iowa Code 232.96 – Adjudicatory hearing
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1. The court shall hear and adjudicate cases involving a petition alleging a child to be a child in need of assistance.
Terms Used In Iowa Code 232.96
- Adjudicatory hearing: means a hearing to determine if the allegations of a petition are true. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Adult: means a person other than a child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Child: means any person under the age of eighteen years. See Iowa Code 232.68
- Child in need of assistance: means a child who has been found to meet the grounds for adjudication pursuant to section 232. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Court: means the juvenile court established under section 602. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Custodian: means a stepparent or a relative within the fourth degree of consanguinity to a child who has assumed responsibility for that child, a person who has accepted a release of custody pursuant to subchapter IV, or a person appointed by a court or juvenile court having jurisdiction over a child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- Department: means the state department of human services and includes the local, county, and service area offices of the department. See Iowa Code 232.68
- 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
- Health practitioner: includes a licensed physician and surgeon, osteopathic physician and surgeon, dentist, optometrist, podiatric physician, or chiropractor; a resident or intern in any of such professions; a licensed dental hygienist, a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse; a physician assistant; and an emergency medical care provider certified under section 147A. See Iowa Code 232.68
- Hearsay: Statements by a witness who did not see or hear the incident in question but heard about it from someone else. Hearsay is usually not admissible as evidence in court.
- Juvenile: means the same as "child". See Iowa Code 232.2
- Mental health professional: means a person who meets the following requirements:a. See Iowa Code 232.68
- 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
- Party: means a petitioner, a respondent, or a person who intervenes in a proceeding instituted under this chapter. See Iowa Code 252A.2
- Peace officer: means a law enforcement officer or a person designated as a peace officer by a provision of the Code. See Iowa Code 232.2
- 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
- Petition: means a pleading the filing of which initiates formal judicial proceedings in the juvenile court. See Iowa Code 232.2
- relative: includes the parent of a sibling of the child if the sibling's parent's parental rights were not previously terminated in relation to the child. See Iowa Code 232.2
- state: means the general interest held by the people in the health, safety, welfare, and protection of all children living in this state. See Iowa Code 232.90
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
2. The state shall have the burden of proving the allegations by clear and convincing evidence.3. Only evidence which is admissible under the rules of evidence applicable to the trial of civil cases shall be admitted, except as otherwise provided by this section.4. A report made to the department of human services pursuant to chapter 235A shall be admissible in evidence, but such a report shall not alone be sufficient to support a finding that the child is a child in need of assistance unless the attorneys for the child and the parents consent to such a finding.5. Neither the privilege attaching to confidential communications between a health practitioner or mental health professional and patient nor the prohibition upon admissibility of communications between husband and wife shall be ground for excluding evidence at an adjudicatory hearing.6. A report, study, record, or other writing or an audiotape or videotape recording made by the department of human services, a juvenile court officer, a peace officer, a child protection center, or a hospital relating to a child in a proceeding under this subchapter is admissible notwithstanding any objection to hearsay statements contained in it provided it is relevant and material and provided its probative value substantially outweighs the danger of unfair prejudice to the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian. The circumstances of the making of the report, study, record or other writing or an audiotape or videotape recording, including the maker’s lack of personal knowledge, may be proved to affect its weight.7. After the hearing is concluded, the court shall make and file written findings as to the truth of allegations of the petition and as to whether the child is a child in need of assistance.8. If the court concludes facts sufficient to sustain a petition have not been established by clear and convincing evidence or if the court concludes that its aid is not required in the circumstances, the court shall dismiss the petition.9. If the court concludes that facts sufficient to sustain the petition have been established by clear and convincing evidence and that its aid is required, the court may enter an order adjudicating the child to be a child in need of assistance.10. If the court enters an order adjudicating the child to be a child in need of assistance, the court, if it has not previously done so, may issue an order authorizing temporary removal of the child from the child’s home as set forth in section 232.95, subsection 2, paragraph “b” or “c”, pending a final order of disposition. The order shall include all of the following:a. A determination that continuation of the child in the child’s home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, that reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need for removal of the child from the child’s home and the court has found that substantial evidence exists to demonstrate that the need for removal due to an imminent risk to the child’s life or health is greater than the potential harm including but not limited to any physical, emotional, social, or mental trauma the removal may cause the child. The court’s determination regarding continuation of the child in the child’s home, and regarding reasonable efforts, including those made to prevent removal and those made to finalize any permanency plan in effect, as well as any determination by the court that reasonable efforts are not required, must be made on a case-by-case basis. The grounds for each determination must be explicitly documented and stated in the court order. However, preserving the safety of the child is the paramount consideration. If imminent danger to the child’s life or health exists at the time of the court’s consideration, the determinations otherwise required under this paragraph shall not be a prerequisite for an order for temporary removal of the child.b. A statement informing the child’s parent that the consequences of a permanent removal may include termination of the parent’s rights with respect to the child.c. If the court orders a removal of a child pursuant to this subsection and placement of a child pursuant to section 232.95, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, subparagraph (2), (3), (4), or (5), a specific finding that placement with an adult relative is not in the child’s best interests and the reasons for the finding.11. a. If the court places custody of the child with the department pursuant to subsection 10, the court may identify a category listed in section 232.95, subsection 2, paragraph “c”, for placement of the child, but the department shall have the authority to select the specific person or facility within that category for placement, subject to court review at the request of an interested party.b. The court shall give deference to the department’s decision for placement of a child. A party opposed to the department’s placement of a child shall have the burden to prove the department failed to act in the child’s best interests by unreasonably or irresponsibly failing to discharge its duties in selecting a suitable placement for the child.