Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-107.4

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, December 11, 2024

Rule 441-107.4 - Requirements for certification

(1)Office location. The applicant shall retain an office in Iowa where all Iowa adoption reports and records of fees are maintained and are available for inspection.

(2)Education and experience.

a. If the applicant was initially certified as an adoption investigator before October 1, 1991, the applicant shall have one of the following combinations of education and experience:

(1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university and adoption work experience equivalent to a total of three years, full-time experience.

(2) A bachelor's degree in social work from an accredited four-year college or university in a program accredited by the council on social work education and adoption work experience equivalent to a total of two years, full-time experience.

(3) A master's degree in social work from an accredited college or university in a program accredited by the council on social work education and adoption work experience equivalent to a total of one year, full-time experience.

b. If the applicant is initially certified as an adoption investigator on or after October 1, 1991, the applicant shall have one of the following combinations of education and experience:

(1) Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a bachelor's degree in social work, psychology, counseling, family therapy, family living, or other family-oriented degree and postgraduation adoption work experience equivalent to a total of three years, full-time experience.

(2) Graduate education in a master's program in social work, psychology, counseling, family therapy, family living, or other family-oriented program from an accredited four-year college or university may be substituted for required adoption work experience on the basis of 30 semester hours for one year of full-time experience, for up to two full years of the required three years of adoption work experience.

(3) A master's degree in social work, psychology, counseling, family therapy, family living, or other family-oriented degree from an accredited college or university and postgraduation adoption work experience equivalent to a total of one year, full-time experience.

(3)Verification of qualifications.

a. The applicant shall provide a certified transcript of college credits, and

b. The applicant shall provide a record of all adoption work experience including dates and location, and

c. The applicant shall provide the name(s) of employer(s) and supervisor(s) to enable the department to verify the applicant's adoption work experience, and

d. The applicant shall give names of at least two additional persons as character references who shall be contacted by the certifier.

(4)Statement of activities and duties. Prior to certification, the applicant shall prepare a written statement identifying the proposed activities, duties and fees of the applicant as a certified adoption investigator.

a. The statement shall indicate that the services described in rule 441-107.8 (600) are being provided by the individual investigator, not a child placing agency, and are not provided in the course of the individual investigator's employment with a child placing agency or the department of human services.

b. The activities and duties identified in the statement cannot exceed the scope of an investigator's services as defined in rule 441-107.8 (600).

c. The statement shall include the fee schedule to be used in the determination of a charge for investigative services.

d. A copy of the statement shall be provided to the department to be maintained as a public record.

e. Upon request, this statement shall be provided by the investigator to persons requesting services from the investigator.

(5)Record checks. The department of inspections and appeals shall submit record checks for each new applicant and those applying for recertification to determine whether they have any founded child abuse reports, dependent adult abuse reports or convictions or have been placed on the sex offender registry. The department of inspections and appeals shall use Form 470-0643, Request for Child Abuse and Dependent Adult Abuse Information, and Form 595-1396, DHS Criminal History Record Check, Form B, for this purpose. The department shall not certify the applicant with a record of founded child abuse, dependent adult abuse, a criminal conviction, or placement on the sex offender registry as an adoption investigator, unless evaluation of the founded abuse or crime indicates approval for certification.

The applicant shall complete and return Form 470-2310, Record Check Evaluation, within ten calendar days of the date on the form to be used by the department to assist in the evaluation. Failure of the applicant to complete and return Form 470-2310 within the specified time frame shall result in denial of certification.

The department shall evaluate the nature and seriousness of the founded abuse or crimes, the time elapsed since the commission of the founded abuse or crimes, the circumstances under which the founded abuse or crime was committed, the degree of rehabilitation, the likelihood that the person will commit the abuse or crime again, and the number of founded abuses or crimes committed by the applicant. The department shall notify the applicant of the results of the evaluation using Form 470-2386, Record Check Decision. The department shall also issue Form 470-2386 when the applicant fails to complete the evaluation form.

Investigators applying for recertification are subject to the same record checks as new applicants. The department shall evaluate only abuses, convictions of crimes, and placement on the sex offender registry since the last record check using the same process.

(6)Certification actions for nonpayment of child support. The department shall revoke or deny the issuance or renewal of a certification of an adoption investigator upon the receipt of a certificate of noncompliance from the child support recovery unit of the department according to the procedures in Iowa Code chapter 252J. In addition to the procedures set forth in Iowa Code chapter 252J, the rules in this chapter shall apply.

a. The notice required by Iowa Code section 252J.8 shall be served upon the applicant or certified investigator by restricted certified mail, return receipt requested, or personal service in accordance with Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure 56.1. Alternatively, the applicant or certified investigator may accept service personally or through authorized counsel.

b. The effective date of the revocation or denial of the certification as specified in the notice required by Iowa Code section 252J.8 shall be 60 days following service of the notice upon the applicant or certified investigator.

c. The department director or designee of the director is authorized to prepare and serve the notice as required by Iowa Code section 252J.8 upon the applicant or certified investigator.

d. Applicants and certified investigators shall keep the department informed of all court actions, and all child support recovery unit actions taken under or in connection with Iowa Code chapter 252J, and shall provide the department copies, within seven days of filing or issuance, of all applications filed with the district court pursuant to Iowa Code section 252J.9, all court orders entered in these actions, and withdrawals of certificates of noncompliance by the child support recovery unit.

e. An applicant or certified investigator may file an application with the district court within 30 days of service of a department notice pursuant to Iowa Code sections 252J.8 and 252J.9.

(1) The filing of the application shall stay the department action until the department receives a court order lifting the stay, dismissing the action, or otherwise directing the department to proceed.

(2) For purposes of determining the effective date of the revocation, or denial of the issuance or renewal of a certification, the department shall count the number of days before the action was filed and the number of days after the action was disposed of by the court.

f. The department shall notify the applicant or certified investigator in writing through regular first-class mail, or such other means as the department deems appropriate in the circumstances, within ten days of the effective date of the revocation of certification or the denial of the issuance or renewal of a certificate of adoption investigator, and shall similarly notify the applicant or certified investigator when the certificate is issued, renewed, or reinstated following the department's receipt of a withdrawal of the certificate of noncompliance.

g. Notwithstanding Iowa Code section 17A.18, the registrant does not have the right to a hearing regarding this issue, but may request a court hearing pursuant to Iowa Code section 252J.9.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-107.4

Amended by IAB December 10, 2014/Volume XXXVII, Number 12, effective 2/1/2015

Amended by IAB September 7, 2022/Volume XLV, Number 5, effective 11/1/2022