STATE OF IOWA, Plaintiff, vs. IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR JOHNSON COUNTY, Defendant.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 9-418 / 08-0866
Filed July 2, 2009
STATE OF IOWA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR
JOHNSON COUNTY,
Defendant.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Stephen C.
Gerard II, Judge.
The State of Iowa, by certiorari action, claims the juvenile court acted
illegally in ordering the Iowa Department of Human Services to incur certain
expenses. WRIT SUSTAINED.
Sue Kirk, Iowa City, for appellee-mother.
Deanna Shaw, Iowa City, pro se.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Bruce Kempkes, Assistant Attorney
General, Janet Lyness, County Attorney, and Kristin Parks, Assistant County
Attorney, for appellant.
Shelly Mott, Coraville, for child.
Considered by Mahan, P.J., and Eisenhauer and Mansfield, JJ.
2
EISENHAUER, J.
Following the entry of a child in need of assistance adjudication, the child
was placed in relative care with his maternal grandmother.
After a review
hearing, the juvenile court entered an order providing, “[The Department of
Human Services (DHS)] shall provide funds to assist grandmother in obtaining a
legal guardianship.” The State filed a writ of certiorari, which our supreme court
granted. It alleges the juvenile court exceeded its authority. We review for errors
of law. French v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 546 N.W.2d 911, 913 (Iowa 1996).
Absent statutory authority, a court may not require a state agency to incur
financial obligations. See, e.g., Batcheller v. Iowa State Highway Comm'n, 251
Iowa 364, 368, 101 N.W.2d 30, 33 (1960) (“Nor may the courts require defendant
to pay or disburse public funds without statutory authority.”). There is no statute
authorizing the juvenile court to order the DHS to subsidize guardianships for
children in need of assistance who are in foster care. Although the legislature
has appropriated funds for the DHS to operate a pilot program for subsidized
guardianships, see, e.g., 2007 Iowa Acts ch. 1184, § 10; 1996 Iowa Acts ch.
1213, § 10, there is no evidence the conditions for eligibility to participate in the
program have been met. See Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-204.2(1)(c). Because
the juvenile court acted illegally when it ordered the DHS to provide financial
assistance to the maternal grandmother, we sustain the writ of certiorari and
annul those parts of the juvenile court order requiring the DHS to incur such
expenses.
WRIT SUSTAINED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
