Iowa law favors placing a child with his or her parent over all other placement options, even if it means separating siblings. In: IN THE INTEREST OF K.Y., S.H., and J.Y., Minor Children, A.M.Y., Mother, Appellant, filed August 19, 2009 the Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the Juvenile Court to place a child [...]
A Story County, Iowa Law Firm specializing in family law and criminal defense
Category Archives: Juvenile Law
Juvenile delinquency case procedure & time lines
In many ways, the juvenile delinquency process mirrors that of the adult Iowa Criminal Procedure. A crime is reported. A Law Enforcement officer will conduct the investigation. If the Law Enforcement officer determines that a crime has been committed and the suspect is a juvenile, Juvenile Court Services will be contacted. A juvenile court officer [...]
Termination of Parental Rights in CINA cases
In Iowa, if a child three years old or younger has been in foster care for six months or more, the state may file a petition to terminate the parent’s parental rights. If a child is four years old or older, the state may seek a termination of parental rights after the child has been [...]
Child in need of Assistance (CINA) case procedure & time lines:
CINA (pronounced China) cases start with someone reporting a child is in trouble. Often times these allegations are due to an action or inaction of the parents or guardians. These reports are investigated by Child Protective Services. Many cases are opened after Law Enforcement has conducted a criminal investigation.
If the Department of Human Services believes [...]
Juvenile cases
There are two types of juvenile cases in the Iowa court system. CINA (Child in Need of Assistance) cases are opened when the State believes that a child requires state help, usually in the form of supervision from the Iowa Department of Human Services. The other type of juvenile case is a delinquency case. Delinquency [...]