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 with the non custodial father even though that meant separating the child from her siblings, taking her out of her aunt’s care and despite the fact the father has had limited contact with the child. The Court of Appeals ruled:
We agree with the juvenile court’s decision. The juvenile court must make the least restrictive disposition that is appropriate considering all the circumstances of the case. Placement with a noncustodial parent is less restrictive than with a relative or other suitable person.
It is true that courts prefer to keep siblings together unless there are good and compelling reasons to separate them. Yet here we believe this principle must yield to the legal preference in favor of the natural parent.
Our ultimate concern is with the best interests of the child. In determining K.Y.’s best interests, we must take into account the “strong societal interest in preserving the natural parent-child relationship.” We find maintaining the natural parent-child relationship justifies the dispositional order in this case.
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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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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 [...]
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