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Read. Follow. Verify.Iowa Senate File 564 creates foster care advocate and ombudsman assistant positions
Last action · June 16, 2025: Referred to Health and Human Services. S.J. 1058 .
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What This Bill Would Do
Senate File 564 establishes a dedicated state foster care advocate within the Department of Health and Human Services and an assistant for child foster care to investigate complaints and assist s. The legislation requires public materials and new foster care licenses to include contact information for these offices, and directs the department to submit codifying legislation by December 1, 2025.
Foster care providers and individuals navigating the foster system gain designated points of contact for administrative assistance and complaint investigations, while the Department of Health and Human Services must update its public disclosures and licensing materials.
- The Iowa Office of Ombudsman investigates complaints about state administrative agencies and helps ensure government accountability. context
- Senate File 564 succeeds Senate File 251 in the Iowa General Assembly's 91st session, focusing on child foster care advocacy. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
child foster care licensees
Individual licensees receive a dedicated advocate, resource information upon licensing, and new channels to raise complaints and policy recommendations.
Department of Health and Human Services
The department must designate a foster care advocate within its compliance division, update public materials, provide contact information to new licensees, and draft legislation by December 1, 2025.
State Office of Ombudsman
The office must appoint an assistant primarily responsible for investigating complaints relating to child foster care.
Key Facts
- The state ombudsman must appoint an assistant primarily responsible for investigating complaints relating to child foster care under chapter 237.
- The Department of Health and Human Services must designate a person to serve as the state foster care advocate within its compliance division.
- The state foster care advocate must remain separate from the department's family well-being and protection division.
- When a person obtains a license to provide child foster care, the department must provide them with the advocate's name, telephone number, internet site, and service descriptions.
Show all 6 facts
- All public materials relating to child foster care made available by the department or its agents must contain contact information for the state foster care advocate and the office of ombudsman.
- On or before December 1, 2025, the department must submit proposed legislation to the general assembly that codifies and defines the state foster care advocate position after soliciting public input.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where will the state foster care advocate be located within the state government?
What information must be provided to new foster care providers?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
9 actions- Jun 16, 2025SenateCommitteeReferred to Health and Human Services. S.J. 1058 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateCommittee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 564 . S.J. 436 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateCommittee report, approving bill. S.J. 436 .
- Mar 6, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, placed on calendar. S.J. 433 .
- Feb 20, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee recommends amendment and passage.
- Feb 18, 2025Iowa LegislatureSubcommittee Meeting: 02/20/2025 12:00PM Room 315.
Show 3 earlier actions
- Feb 18, 2025SenateSubcommittee reassigned: Salmon, Pike, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 302 .
- Feb 13, 2025SenateSubcommittee: Salmon, Guth, and Trone Garriott. S.J. 269 .
- Feb 10, 2025SenateIntroducedIntroduced, referred to Health and Human Services. S.J. 217 .
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Successor Bill Tracking
Senate File 564 is noted as a successor to SF 251, carrying forward the initiative to establish foster care advocacy positions.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.iowa.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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