Relating to the health and well-being of children and families including provisions for maternal support and fatherhood initiatives, regional centers of excellence, a state-funded family medicine obstetrics fellowship program, state employee parental leave, adoption expenses under the adoption subsidy program, and accessibility to the all Iowa scholarship program; making appropriations; and including effective date and applicability provisions

The services and resources include but are not limited to pregnancy resource center and maternity home information; assistance in accessing public assistance including but not limited to the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children program and the supplemental nutrition assistance program; educational resources; housing assistance; recovery and mental health services; family planning education; adoption and foster care information and services; and healing and support services for abortion survivors and their families. As part of the MOMS program, beginning July 1, 2023, and thereafter, funding for the program may be used for fatherhood engagement grants to nonprofit, community-based organizations to address the needs of fathers by assisting fathers in finding employment, managing child support obligations, transitioning from a period of incarceration, accessing health care, understanding child development, and enhancing parenting skills using evidence-based parenting education; a fatherhood communications initiative administered by HHS, including but not limited to a public internet site that provides access to resources on effective parenting and assistance in receiving parenting support and services; and a mentoring school-aged males grant program to provide mentorship, social and academic support, and life skills development to school-aged males. The division also appropriates $2 million from the general fund of the state to HHS for fiscal year 2023-2024 to be used for the MOMS program including for program administration, the provision of services, and for funding of fatherhood engagement grants, the fatherhood communications initiative, and the mentoring school-aged males grant program. The division provides that the funding appropriated for the MOMS program for fiscal year 2022-2023 is not to revert, but is to remain available for the MOMS program for fiscal year 2023-2024. This provision takes effect upon enactment. DIVISION II —— REGIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE GRANT PROGRAM. This division appropriates $1 million from the general fund of the state to the department of health and human services (HHS) for fiscal year 2023-2024 for continuation of a regional center of excellence program to award four grants to encourage innovation and collaboration among regional health care providers in a rural area based upon the results of a regional community needs assessment to transform health care delivery in order to provide quality, sustainable care that meets the needs of the local communities. An applicant for the grant funds shall specify how the funds will be expended to accomplish the goals of the program and shall provide a detailed five-year sustainability plan prior to being awarded any funding. Following the receipt of grant funding, a recipient shall submit periodic reports as specified by HHS to the governor and the general assembly regarding the recipient’s expenditure of the funds and progress in accomplishing the program goals. DIVISION III —— STATE-FUNDED FAMILY MEDICINE OBSTETRICS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM AND FUND. This division requires HHS to establish a family medicine obstetrics fellowship program to increase access to family medicine obstetrics practitioners in rural and underserved areas of the state. A person who has completed an accreditation council for graduate medical education residency program in family medicine is eligible for participation in the fellowship program. Participating fellows shall enter into a program agreement with a participating teaching hospital which, at a minimum, requires the fellow to complete a one-year fellowship and to engage in full-time family medicine obstetrics practice in a rural or underserved area of the state for a period of at least five years within nine months following completion of the fellowship and receipt of a license to practice medicine in the state. Each fellow participating in the program shall be eligible for salary and benefits including a stipend as determined by the participating teaching hospital and funded through the family medicine obstetrics fellowship program fund. The division requires HHS to adopt administrative rules to administer the program, including defining rural and underserved areas for the purpose of the required full-time practice of a person following completion of the fellowship. The division creates a family medicine obstetrics fellowship program fund in the state treasury consisting of the moneys appropriated or credited to the fund by law. Moneys in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to any other fund but shall remain in the fund for use in subsequent fiscal years. Moneys in the fund are appropriated to HHS to be used to fund fellowship positions as provided in the division. The division appropriates a sufficient amount from the general fund of the state to the fund annually to support the creation of four fellowship positions. The division provides an appropriation for deposit in the fund for fiscal year 2023-2024. The division requires HHS and the participating teaching hospitals to regularly evaluate and document their experiences including identifying ways the program may be modified or expanded to facilitate increased access to family medicine obstetrics practitioners in rural and underserved areas of the state. The department shall submit an annual report to the general assembly by January 1. The report shall include the number of fellowships funded to date and any other information identified by HHS and the participating teaching hospitals as indicators of outcomes and the effectiveness of the program. DIVISION IV —— STATE EMPLOYEE PAID PARENTAL LEAVE BENEFIT. This division provides that a state employee entitled to leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 shall be provided paid leave for the birth or adoption of a child if the leave is taken within months following any such birth or adoption. The division provides that a state employee parent who gives birth or adopts a child shall be entitled to up to four weeks of paid leave while a state employee parent of a child who did not give birth shall be entitled to up to one week of paid leave. The division requires the department of administrative services to adopt rules to implement this paid parental leave benefit. DIVISION V —— NONRECURRING ADOPTION EXPENSES —— ADOPTION SUBSIDY PROGRAM. This division provides that the maximum reimbursement provided to an adoptive parent under the adoption subsidy program for nonrecurring adoption expenses is $1,000. The division defines “nonrecurring adoption expenses” as the reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees, and other expenses which are directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs which are not incurred in violation of state, tribal, or federal law, and which have not been reimbursed from other sources or other funds. Under federal regulation, “other expenses which are directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs” means the costs of the adoption incurred by or on behalf of the parents and for which parents carry the ultimate liability for payment. Such costs may include the adoption study, including health and psychological examination, supervision of the placement prior to adoption, transportation, and the reasonable costs of lodging and food for the child or the adoptive parents when necessary to complete the placement or adoption process. The department of health and human services shall adopt administrative rules to administer the division. The division also repeals a provision in 2010 Iowa Acts which limited the nonrecurring adoption expenses to $500 and prohibited additional amounts for court costs and other related legal expenses. DIVISION VI —— ALL IOWA OPPORTUNITY SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM. This division relates to the all Iowa opportunity scholarship program (program), which provides scholarships to Iowa students who graduate from high school or receive a high school equivalency diploma to help such students attend a community college in this state or an institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents. The program prioritizes awarding scholarships to certain students, including eligible foster care students. Eligible foster care students are students who age out of Iowa’s foster care system, age out of the state training school, or are adopted from Iowa’s foster care system after reaching years of age. Current law requires that, in order to be eligible to receive a scholarship under the program, the student must begin enrollment at a community college or institution of higher learning governed by the state board of regents within two academic years of graduation from high school or receipt of a high school equivalency diploma and continuously receive awards as a full-time or part-time student to maintain eligibility. The division strikes these requirements for eligible foster care students. The division also provides that, for purposes of the program, “eligible foster care student” does not include a person who is years of age or older. The division applies to applications submitted under the program before, on, or after the effective date of the division.