2009 Iowa Code
Title 6 - Human Services
Subtitle 5 - Juveniles
CHAPTER 232 - JUVENILE JUSTICE
232.188 - DECATEGORIZATION OF CHILD WELFARE AND JUVENILE JUSTICE FUNDING INITIATIVE.

        232.188  DECATEGORIZATION OF CHILD WELFARE AND
      JUVENILE JUSTICE FUNDING INITIATIVE.
         1.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this section, unless the
      context otherwise requires:
         a.  "Decategorization governance board" or "governance
      board" means the group that enters into and implements a
      decategorization project agreement.
         b.  "Decategorization project" means the county or counties
      that have entered into a decategorization agreement to implement the
      decategorization initiative in the county or multicounty area covered
      by the agreement.
         c.  "Decategorization services funding pool" or "funding
      pool" means the funding designated for a decategorization project
      from all sources.
         2.  Purpose.  The decategorization of the child welfare and
      juvenile justice funding initiative is intended to establish a system
      of delivering human services based upon client needs to replace a
      system based upon a multitude of categorical programs and funding
      sources, each with different service definitions and eligibility
      requirements.  The purposes of the decategorization initiative
      include but are not limited to redirecting child welfare and juvenile
      justice funding to services which are more preventive,
      family-centered, and community-based in order to reduce use of
      restrictive approaches which rely upon institutional, out-of-home,
      and out-of-community services.
         3.  Implementation.
         a.  Implementation of the initiative shall be through creation
      of decategorization projects.  A project shall consist of either a
      single county or a group of counties interested in jointly
      implementing the initiative.  Representatives of the department,
      juvenile court services, and county government shall develop a
      project agreement to implement the initiative within a project.
         b.  The initiative shall include community planning activities
      in the area covered by a project.  As part of the community planning
      activities, the department shall partner with other community
      stakeholders to develop service alternatives that provide less
      restrictive levels of care for children and families receiving
      services from the child welfare and juvenile justice systems within
      the project area.
         c.  The decategorization initiative shall not be implemented
      in a manner that limits the legal rights of children and families to
      receive services.
         4.  Governance board.
         a.  In partnership with an interested county or group of
      counties which has demonstrated the commitment and involvement of the
      affected county department, or departments, of human services, the
      juvenile justice system within the project area, and board, or
      boards, of supervisors in order to form a decategorization project,
      the department shall develop a process for combining specific state
      and state-federal funding categories into a decategorization services
      funding pool for that project.  A decategorization project shall be
      implemented by a decategorization governance board.  The
      decategorization governance board shall develop specific,
      quantifiable short-term and long-term plans for enhancing the
      family-centered and community-based services and reducing reliance
      upon out-of-community care in the project area.
         b.  The department shall work with the decategorization
      governance boards to best coordinate planning activities and most
      effectively target funding resources.  A departmental service area
      manager shall work with the decategorization governance boards in
      that service area to support board planning and service development
      activities and to promote the most effective alignment of resources.

         c.  A decategorization governance board shall coordinate the
      project's planning and budgeting activities with the departmental
      service area manager for the county or counties comprising the
      project area and the community empowerment area board or boards for
      the community empowerment area or areas within which the
      decategorization project is located.
         5.  Funding pool.
         a.  The governance board for a decategorization project has
      authority over the project's decategorization services funding pool
      and shall manage the pool to provide more flexible, individualized,
      family-centered, preventive, community-based, comprehensive, and
      coordinated service systems for children and families served in that
      project area.  A funding pool shall also be used for child welfare
      and juvenile justice systems enhancements.
         b.  Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys designated for a
      project's decategorization services funding pool that remain
      unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not
      revert but shall remain available for expenditure as directed by the
      project's governance board for child welfare and juvenile justice
      systems enhancements and other purposes of the project until the
      close of the succeeding fiscal year and shall be known as
      "carryover funding".  Moneys may be made available to a funding
      pool from one or more of the following sources:
         (1)  Funds designated for the initiative in a state appropriation.

         (2)  Child welfare and juvenile justice services funds designated
      for the initiative by a departmental service area manager.
         (3)  Juvenile justice program funds designated for the initiative
      by a chief juvenile court officer.
         (4)  Carryover funding.
         (5)  Any other source designating moneys for the funding pool.
         c.  The services and activities funded from a project's
      funding pool may vary depending upon the strategies selected by the
      project's governance board and shall be detailed in an annual child
      welfare and juvenile justice decategorization services plan developed
      by the governance board.  A decategorization governance board shall
      involve community representatives and county organizations in the
      development of the plan for that project's funding pool.  In
      addition, the governance board shall coordinate efforts through
      communication with the appropriate departmental service area manager
      regarding budget planning and decategorization service decisions.
         d.  A decategorization governance board is responsible for
      ensuring that decategorization services expenditures from that
      project's funding pool do not exceed the amount of funding available.
      If necessary, the governance board shall reduce expenditures or
      discontinue specific services as necessary to manage within the
      funding pool resources available for a fiscal year.
         e.  The annual child welfare and juvenile justice
      decategorization services plan developed for use of the funding pool
      by a decategorization governance board shall be submitted to the
      department administrator of child welfare services and the Iowa
      empowerment board.  In addition, the decategorization governance
      board shall submit an annual progress report to the department
      administrator and the Iowa empowerment board which summarizes the
      progress made toward attaining the objectives contained in the plan.
      The progress report shall serve as an opportunity for information
      sharing and feedback.
         6.  Departmental role.  A departmental service area's share of
      the child welfare appropriation that is not allocated by law for the
      decategorization initiative shall be managed by and is under the
      authority of the service area manager.  A service area manager is
      responsible for meeting the child welfare service needs in the
      counties comprising the service area with the available funding
      resources.  

         92 Acts, ch 1229, § 18; 98 Acts, ch 1206, §11, 20; 99 Acts, ch
      111, §10; 99 Acts, ch 190, §16; 99 Acts, ch 192, §33; 2004 Acts, ch
      1116, §14; 2005 Acts, ch 95, §1
         Referred to in §28.1, 225C.49, 235.7, 237A.1, 249A.26