135O.3 - RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS.

        135O.3  RESPONSE TO ALLEGATIONS.
         1.  If the department or other state agency receives an allegation
      of a violation of this chapter by a boarding home or an allegation
      regarding the care or safety of an individual living in a boarding
      home, a coordinated, interagency approach shall be used to respond to
      the allegation.
         2. a.  The interagency approach may involve a
      multidisciplinary team consisting of employees of the department of
      inspections and appeals, the department of human services, the state
      fire marshal, and the division of criminal investigation of the
      department of public safety, or other local, state, and federal
      agencies.
         b.  The multidisciplinary team may consult with local, state,
      and federal law enforcement agencies, first responders, health and
      human services professionals, and governmental and nongovernmental
      advocacy organizations, and other appropriate persons.
         3.  The name of a person who files an allegation shall be kept
      confidential and shall not be subject to discovery, subpoena, or
      other means of legal compulsion for its release to a person other
      than department employees or the members of a multidisciplinary team
      involved in the investigation of the allegation.
         4.  If the department or a multidisciplinary team has probable
      cause to believe that a boarding home is in violation of this chapter
      or licensing or other regulatory requirements of the department of
      human services, department of inspections and appeals, or department
      of public health, or that dependent adult abuse of any individual
      living in a boarding home has occurred, and upon producing proper
      identification, is denied entry to the boarding home or access to any
      individual living in the boarding home for the purpose of making an
      inspection or conducting an investigation, the department or
      multidisciplinary team may, with the assistance of the county
      attorney of the county in which the boarding home is located, apply
      to the district court for an order requiring the owner or lessee to
      permit entry to the boarding home and access to the individuals
      living in the boarding home.  
         Section History: Recent Form
         2009 Acts, ch 136, §5