Iowa Code § 234.40 (2026)

The department shall adopt rules prohibiting corporal punishment of foster children by foster parents licensed by the department. The rules shall allow foster parents to use reasonable physical force to restrain a foster child in order to prevent injury to the foster child, injury to others, the destruction of property, or extremely disruptive behavior. For the purposes of this section, “corporal punishment” means the intentional physical punishment of a foster child. A foster parent’s physical contact with the body of a foster child shall not be considered corporal punishment if the contact is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances and is not designed or intended to cause pain or if the foster parent uses reasonable force, as defined under section 704.1. [C79, 81, §234.40] 92 Acts, ch 1241, §71; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §685 Referred to in §232.71B