Iowa Code
Chapter 232 - JUVENILE JUSTICE
Section 232.52 - Disposition of child found to have committed a delinquent act.

232.52 Disposition of child found to have committed a delinquent act.
1. Pursuant to a hearing as provided in section 232.50, the court shall enter the least restrictive dispositional order appropriate in view of the seriousness of the delinquent act, the child’s culpability as indicated by the circumstances of the particular case, the age of the child, the child’s prior record, or the fact that the child has been placed on youthful offender status under section 907.3A. The order shall specify the duration and the nature of the disposition, including the type of residence or confinement ordered and the individual, agency, department, or facility in which custody is vested. In the case of a child who has been placed on youthful offender status, the initial duration of the dispositional order shall be until the child reaches the age of eighteen.
2. The dispositional orders which the court may enter subject to its continuing jurisdiction are as follows:
a. An order prescribing one or more of the following:
(1) A work assignment of value to the state or to the public.
(2) Restitution consisting of monetary payment or a work assignment of value to the victim.
(3) If the child is fourteen years of age or older, restitution consisting of monetary payment or a work assignment of value to the county or to the public for fees of attorneys appointed to represent the child at public expense pursuant to section 232.11.
(4) (a) The suspension or revocation of the driver’s license or operating privilege of the child, for a period of one year, for the commission of delinquent acts which are a violation of any of the following:
(i) Section 123.46.
(ii) Section 123.47 regarding the purchase, attempt to purchase, or consumption of alcoholic beverages.
(iii) Chapter 124.
(iv) Section 126.3.
(v) Chapter 453B.
(vi) Two or more violations of section 123.47 regarding the consumption or possession of alcoholic beverages.
(vii) Section 708.1, if the assault is committed upon an employee of the school at which the child is enrolled, and the child intended to inflict serious injury upon the school employee or caused bodily injury or mental illness.
(viii) Section 724.4, if the child used the dangerous weapon in the commission of a crime.
(ix) Section 724.4B.
(b) The child may be issued a temporary restricted license or school license if the child is otherwise eligible.
(5) The suspension of the driver’s license or operating privilege of the child for a period not to exceed one year. The order shall state whether a work permit may or shall not be issued to the child.
b. An order placing the child on probation and releasing the child to the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian.
c. An order providing special care and treatment required for the physical, emotional, or mental health of the child, and
(1) Placing the child on probation or other supervision; and
(2) If the court deems appropriate, ordering the parent, guardian, or custodian to reimburse the county for any costs incurred as provided in section 232.141, subsection 1, or to otherwise pay or provide for such care and treatment.
d. An order transferring the legal custody of the child, subject to the continuing jurisdiction of the court for purposes of section 232.54, to one of the following:
(1) An adult relative or other suitable adult and placing the child on probation.
(2) A child-placing agency or other suitable private agency or facility which is licensed or otherwise authorized by law to receive and provide care for children and placing the child on probation or other supervision.
(3) The department of human services for purposes of foster care and prescribing the type of placement which will serve the best interests of the child and the means by which the placement shall be monitored by the court. The court shall consider ordering placement in family foster care as an alternative to group foster care.
(4) The chief juvenile court officer or the officer’s designee for placement in a program under section 232.191, subsection 4. The chief juvenile court officer or the officer’s designee may place a child in group foster care for failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the supervised community treatment program for up to seventy-two hours without notice to the court or for more than seventy-two hours if the court is notified of the placement within seventy-two hours of placement, subject to a hearing before the court on the placement within ten days.
e. An order transferring the custody of the child, subject to the continuing jurisdiction and custody of the court for the purposes of section 232.54, to the director of the department of human services for purposes of placement in the state training school or other facility, provided that the child is at least twelve years of age and the court finds the placement to be in the best interests of the child or necessary for the protection of the public, and that the child has been found to have committed an act which is a forcible felony, as defined in section 702.11, or a felony violation of section 124.401 or chapter 707, or the court finds any three of the following conditions exist:
(1) The child is at least fifteen years of age and the court finds the placement to be in the best interests of the child or necessary to the protection of the public.
(2) The child has committed an act which is a crime against a person and which would be an aggravated misdemeanor or a felony if the act were committed by an adult.
(3) The child has previously been found to have committed a delinquent act.
(4) The child has previously been placed in a treatment facility outside the child’s home or in a supervised community treatment program established pursuant to section 232.191, subsection 4, as a result of a prior delinquency adjudication.
f. An order committing the child to a mental health institute or other appropriate facility for the purpose of treatment of a mental or emotional condition after making findings pursuant to the standards set out for involuntary commitment in chapter 229.
g. An order placing a child, other than a child who has committed a violation of section 123.47, in secure custody for not more than two days in a facility under section 232.22, subsection 3, paragraph “a” or “b”.
h. In the case of a child adjudicated delinquent for an act which would be a violation of chapter 236 or section 708.2A if committed by an adult, an order requiring the child to attend a batterers’ treatment program under section 708.2B.
3. a. An order under subsection 2, paragraph “a”, may be the sole disposition or may be included as an element in other dispositional orders.
b. A parent or guardian may be required by the juvenile court to participate in educational or treatment programs as part of a probation plan. A parent or guardian who does not participate in the probation plan when required to do so by the court may be held in contempt.
c. Notwithstanding subsection 2, the court shall not order group foster care placement of the child which is a charge upon the state if that placement is not in accordance with the service area plan for group foster care established pursuant to section 232.143 for the departmental service area in which the court is located.
4. When the court enters an order placing a child on probation pursuant to this section, the court may in cases of change of residency transfer jurisdiction of the child to the juvenile court of the county where the child’s residence is established. The court to which the jurisdiction of the child is transferred shall have the same powers with respect to the child as if the petition had originally been filed in that court.
5. When the court enters an order transferring the legal and physical custody of a child to an agency, facility, department, or institution, the court shall transmit its order, its finding, and a summary of its information concerning the child to such agency, facility, department, or institution.
6. If the court orders the transfer of custody of the child to the department of human services or other agency for placement, the department or agency responsible for the placement of the child shall submit a case permanency plan to the court and shall make every effort to return the child to the child’s home as quickly as possible.
7. a. When the court orders the transfer of legal custody of a child pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “d”, “e”, or “f”, the order shall state that reasonable efforts as defined in section 232.57 have been made. If deemed appropriate by the court, the order may include a determination that continuation of the child in the child’s home is contrary to the child’s welfare. The inclusion of such a determination shall not under any circumstances be deemed a prerequisite for entering an order pursuant to this section. However, the inclusion of such a determination, supported by the record, may be used to assist the department in obtaining federal funding for the child’s placement. If such a determination is included in the order, unless the court makes a determination that further reasonable efforts are not required, reasonable efforts shall be made to prevent permanent removal of a child from the child’s home and to encourage reunification of the child with the child’s parents and family. The reasonable efforts may include but are not limited to early intervention and follow-up programs implemented pursuant to section 232.191.
b. When the court orders the transfer of legal custody of a child pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “d”, and the child is sixteen years of age or older, the order shall specify the services needed to assist the child in preparing for the transition from foster care to adulthood. If the child has a case permanency plan, the court shall consider the written transition plan of services and needs assessment developed for the child’s case permanency plan. If the child does not have a case permanency plan containing the transition plan and needs assessment at the time the transfer order is entered, the written transition plan and needs assessment shall be developed and submitted for the court’s consideration no later than six months from the date of the transfer order. The court shall modify the initial transfer order as necessary to specify the services needed to assist the child in preparing for the transition from foster care to adulthood. If the transition plan identifies services or other support needed to assist the child when the child becomes an adult and the court deems it to be beneficial to the child, the court may authorize the individual who is the child’s guardian ad litem or court appointed special advocate to continue a relationship with and provide advice to the child for a period of time beyond the child’s eighteenth birthday.
8. If the court orders the transfer of the custody of the child to the department of human services or to another agency for placement in group foster care, the department or agency shall make every reasonable effort to place the child in the least restrictive, most family-like, and most appropriate setting available and in close proximity to the parents’ home, consistent with the child’s best interests and special needs, and shall consider the placement’s proximity to the school in which the child is enrolled at the time of placement.
9. If a child has previously been adjudicated as a child in need of assistance, and a social worker or other caseworker from the department of human services has been assigned to work on the child’s case, the court may order the department of human services to assign the same social worker or caseworker to work on any matters related to the child arising under this subchapter.
10. a. Upon receipt of an application from the director of the department of human services, the court shall enter an order to temporarily transfer a child who has been placed in the state training school pursuant to subsection 2, paragraph “e”, to a facility which has been designated to be an alternative placement site for the state training school, provided the court finds that all of the following conditions exist:
(1) There is insufficient time to file a motion and hold a hearing for a substitute dispositional order under section 232.54.
(2) Immediate removal of the child from the state training school is necessary to safeguard the child’s physical or emotional health.
(3) That reasonable attempts to notify the parents, guardian ad litem, and attorney for the child have been made.
b. If the court finds the conditions in paragraph “a” exist and there is insufficient time to provide notice as required under
rule of juvenile procedure 8.12
, the court may enter an ex parte order temporarily transferring the child to the alternative placement site.
c. Within three days of the child’s transfer, the director shall file a motion for a substitute dispositional order under section 232.54 and the court shall hold a hearing concerning the motion within fourteen days of the child’s transfer.
11. The court shall order a juvenile adjudicated a delinquent for an offense that requires DNA profiling under section 81.2 to submit a DNA sample for DNA profiling pursuant to section 81.4.
[C73, §1653 – 1659; C97, §2708, 2709; S13, §254-a23, 2708; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §3637, 3646, 3647, 3652; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §232.27, 232.28, 232.34; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, §232.34, 232.38, 232.39; C79, 81, §232.52; 82 Acts, ch 1260, §22]
83 Acts, ch 96, §157, 159; 84 Acts, ch 1279, §5; 85 Acts, ch 124, §1; 88 Acts, ch 1249, §12, 13; 90 Acts, ch 1168, §35; 90 Acts, ch 1239, §7, 8; 90 Acts, ch 1271, §1505; 91 Acts, ch 232, §5, 6; 91 Acts, ch 258, §37; 92 Acts, ch 1229, §3; 92 Acts, ch 1231, §20, 21; 94 Acts, ch 1172, §21, 22; 95 Acts, ch 180, §6; 95 Acts, ch 191, §13, 14; 96 Acts, ch 1134, §2; 96 Acts, ch 1218, §57; 97 Acts, ch 51, §1; 97 Acts, ch 99, §2; 97 Acts, ch 126, §26, 27; 97 Acts, ch 208, §40; 98 Acts, ch 1073, §9; 99 Acts, ch 208, §35; 2001 Acts, ch 24, §39; 2001 Acts, ch 135, §7; 2002 Acts, ch 1081, §2; 2003 Acts, ch 117, §4; 2004 Acts, ch 1116, §4, 5; 2005 Acts, ch 158, §12, 19; 2007 Acts, ch 218, §113; 2009 Acts, ch 41, §236; 2009 Acts, ch 133, §220, 221; 2013 Acts, ch 42, §8; 2014 Acts, ch 1096, §5, 6; 2017 Acts, ch 69, §3; 2018 Acts, ch 1041, §61; 2018 Acts, ch 1101, §1; 2020 Acts, ch 1062, §94; 2021 Acts, ch 35, §7
Referred to in §92.17, 232.22, 232.50, 232.53, 232.54, 232.58, 232.133, 234.35, 321.213, 321.213A, 321.215, 321A.17, 692A.103, 907.3A, 915.28
Juvenile victim restitution, see chapter 232A and §915.24 – 915.29
Subsection 2, paragraph a, subparagraph (4), subparagraph division (a), subparagraph subdivision (viii) amended

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