Iowa Code § 232.96

1. The court shall hear and adjudicate cases involving a petition alleging a child to be a child in need of assistance. 2. The state shall have the burden of proving the allegations by clear and convincing evidence.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:21:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 232 (92, 1) §232.96, JUVENILE JUSTICE 72\n\n 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 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, 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

Tue Dec 09 22:21:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 232 (92, 1) 73 JUVENILE JUSTICE, §232.96A\n\nparty 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. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §232.31; C79, 81, §232.96] 83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 83 Acts, ch 186, §10055, 10201; 84 Acts, ch 1207, §4; 87 Acts, ch 153, §7; 98 Acts, ch 1190, §9; 2000 Acts, ch 1067, §9; 2001 Acts, ch 135, §16; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §94; 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §41 – 43; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §617 Referred to in §232.99, 232.104, 232.116, 600A.7\n\n 232.96A Child in need of assistance adjudication. The court may adjudicate a child in need of assistance if such child is unmarried and meets any of the following requirements: 1. The child’s parent, guardian, or other custodian has abandoned or deserted the child. 2. The child’s parent, guardian, other custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides has physically abused or neglected the child, or is imminently likely to physically abuse or neglect the child. 3. The child has suffered or is imminently likely to suffer harmful effects as a result of any of the following: a. Mental injury caused by the acts of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian. b. The failure of the child’s parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides to exercise a reasonable degree of care in supervising the child. c. The child’s parent, guardian, custodian, or person responsible for the care of a child as defined in section 232.68, has knowingly disseminated or exhibited obscene material, as defined in section 728.1, to the child. 4. The child has been, or is imminently likely to be, sexually abused by the child’s parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides. 5. The child is in need of medical treatment to cure, alleviate, or prevent serious physical injury or illness and whose parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment. 6. The child is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate serious mental illness or disorder, or emotional damage as evidenced by severe anxiety, depression, withdrawal, or untoward aggressive behavior toward the child’s self or others and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling to provide such treatment. 7. The child’s parent, guardian, or custodian fails to exercise a minimal degree of care in supplying the child with adequate food, clothing, or shelter and refuses other means made available to provide such essentials. 8. The child has committed a delinquent act as a result of pressure, guidance, or approval from a parent, guardian, custodian, or other member of the household in which the child resides. 9. The child has been the subject of or a party to sexual activities for hire or who poses for live display or for photographic or other means of pictorial reproduction or display which is designed to appeal to the prurient interest, is patently offensive, and taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, scientific, political, or artistic value. 10. The child is without a parent, guardian, or other custodian. 11. The child’s parent, guardian, or other custodian for good cause desires to be relieved of the child’s care and custody. 12. The child for good cause desires to have the child’s parents relieved of the child’s care and custody. 13. The child is in need of treatment to cure or alleviate chemical dependency and whose parent, guardian, or custodian is unwilling or unable to provide such treatment. 14. The child’s parent, guardian, or custodian suffers from a mental incapacity, a mental condition, imprisonment, or drug or alcohol abuse that results in the child not receiving adequate care or being imminently likely not to receive adequate care. 15. The child’s body has an illegal drug present as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian. The presence of the drug shall be determined in accordance with a medically relevant test as defined in section 232.73.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:21:33 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 232 (92, 1) §232.96A, JUVENILE JUSTICE 74\n\n 16. The child’s parent, guardian, custodian, or other adult member of the household in which a child resides does any of the following: a. Unlawfully uses, possesses, manufactures, cultivates, or distributes a dangerous substance in the presence of the child. b. Knowingly allows the use, possession, manufacture, cultivation, or distribution of a dangerous substance by another person in the presence of the child. c. Possesses a product with the intent to use the product as a precursor or an intermediary to a dangerous substance in the presence of the child. d. Unlawfully uses, possesses, manufactures, cultivates, or distributes a dangerous substance listed in paragraph “f”, subparagraph (1), (2), or (3), in the child’s home, on the premises, or in a motor vehicle located on the premises. e. For the purposes of this subsection, “in the presence of a child” means in the physical presence of a child or occurring under other circumstances in which a reasonably prudent person would know that the use, possession, manufacture, cultivation, or distribution of a dangerous substance may be seen, smelled, ingested, or heard by a child. f. For the purposes of this subsection, “dangerous substance” means any of the following: (1) Amphetamine, its salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers. (2) Methamphetamine, its salts, isomers, or salts of its isomers. (3) A chemical or combination of chemicals that poses a reasonable risk of causing an explosion, fire, or other danger to the life or health of persons who are in the vicinity while the chemical or combination of chemicals is used or is intended to be used in any of the following: (a) The process of manufacturing an illegal or controlled substance. (b) As a precursor in the manufacturing of an illegal or controlled substance. (c) As an intermediary in the manufacturing of an illegal or controlled substance. (4) Cocaine, its salts, isomers, salts of its isomers, or derivatives. (5) Heroin, its salts, isomers, salts of its isomers, or derivatives. (6) Opium and opiate, and any salt, compound, derivative, or preparation of opium or opiate. 17. The child is a newborn infant whose parent has voluntarily released custody of the child in accordance with chapter 233. 2022 Acts, ch 1098, §33 Referred to in §232.2, 232.68, 232.71B, 232.98, 232.102, 232.117, 709A.5