Terms Used In Iowa Code 234.41

  • Child: means either a person less than eighteen years of age or a person eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years of age who meets all of the following conditions:
  • Department: means the department of human services. See Iowa Code 249L.2
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
 A foster parent licensed by the department of human services stands in the same relationship to the foster parent’s minor foster child, for purposes of tort actions by or on behalf of the foster child against the foster parent, as a biological parent to the biological parent’s minor child who resides at home. This section does not apply to a foster parent whose malicious, willful and wanton conduct causes injury or damage to a foster child or exposes the foster child to a danger caused by violation of a statute or the rules of the department of human services.