235B.16 Information, education, and training requirements.

1. The department on aging, in cooperation with the department, shall conduct a public information and education program. The elements and goals of the program include but are not limited to:

a. Informing the public regarding the laws governing dependent adult abuse and the reporting requirements for dependent adult abuse.

b. Providing caretakers with information regarding services to alleviate the emotional, psychological, physical, or financial stress associated with the caretaker and dependent adult relationship.

c. Affecting public attitudes regarding the role of a dependent adult in society.

2. The department, in cooperation with the department on aging and the department of inspections and appeals, shall institute a program of education and training for persons, including members of provider groups and family members, who may come in contact with dependent adult abuse. The program shall include but is not limited to instruction regarding recognition of dependent adult abuse and the procedure for the reporting of suspected abuse.

3. The content of the continuing education required pursuant to chapter 272C for a licensed professional providing care or service to a dependent adult shall include, but is not limited to, the responsibilities, obligations, powers, and duties of a person regarding the reporting of suspected dependent adult abuse, and training to aid the professional in identifying instances of dependent adult abuse.

4. The department of inspections and appeals shall provide training to investigators regarding the collection and preservation of evidence in the case of suspected dependent adult abuse.

5. a. For the purposes of this subsection, “licensing board” means a board designated in section 147.13, the board of educational examiners created in section 272.2, or a licensing board as defined in section 272C.1.

b. A person required to report cases of dependent adult abuse pursuant to sections 235B.3 and 235E.2, other than a physician whose professional practice does not regularly involve providing primary health care to adults, shall complete two hours of training relating to the identification and reporting of dependent adult abuse within six months of initial employment or self-employment which involves the examination, attending, counseling, or treatment of adults on a regular basis. Within one month of initial employment or self-employment, the person shall obtain a statement of the abuse reporting requirements from the person’s employer or, if self-employed, from the department. The person shall complete at least two hours of additional dependent adult abuse identification and reporting training every five years.

c. If the person is an employee of a hospital or similar public or private facility, the employer shall be responsible for providing the training. To the extent that the employer provides approved training on the employer’s premises, the hours of training completed by employees shall be included in the calculation of nursing or service hours required to be provided to a patient or resident per day. If the person is self-employed, employed in a licensed or certified profession, or employed by a facility or program that is subject to licensure, regulation, or approval by a state agency, the person shall obtain the training as provided in paragraph “d”.

d. The person may complete the initial or additional training requirements as a part of any of the following that are applicable to the person:

(1) A continuing education program required under chapter 272C and approved by the appropriate licensing board.

(2) A training program using a curriculum approved by the director of public health pursuant to section 135.11.

(3) A training program using such an approved curriculum offered by the department of human services, the department on aging, the department of inspections and appeals, the Iowa law enforcement academy, or a similar public agency.

e. A person required to complete both child abuse and dependent adult abuse mandatory reporter training may complete the training through a program which combines child abuse and dependent adult abuse curricula and thereby meet the training requirements of both this subsection and section 232.69 simultaneously. A person who is a mandatory reporter for both child abuse and dependent adult abuse may satisfy the combined training requirements of this subsection and section 232.69 through completion of a two-hour training program, if the training program curriculum is approved by the appropriate licensing board or the director of public health pursuant to section 135.11.

f. A licensing board with authority over the license of a person required to report cases of dependent adult abuse pursuant to sections 235B.3 and 235E.2 shall require as a condition of licensure that the person is in compliance with the requirements for abuse training under this subsection. The licensing board shall require the person upon licensure renewal to accurately document for the licensing board the person’s completion of the training requirements. However, the licensing board may adopt rules providing for waiver or suspension of the compliance requirements, if the waiver or suspension is in the public interest, applicable to a person who is engaged in active duty in the military service of this state or of the United States, to a person for whom compliance with the training requirements would impose a significant hardship, or to a person who is practicing a licensed profession outside this state or is otherwise subject to circumstances that would preclude the person from encountering dependent adult abuse in this state.

g. For persons required to report cases of dependent adult abuse pursuant to sections 235B.3 and 235E.2, who are not engaged in a licensed profession that is subject to the authority of a licensing board but are employed by a facility or program subject to licensure, registration, or approval by a state agency, the agency shall require as a condition of the renewal of the facility’s or program’s licensure, registration, or approval, that such persons employed by the facility or program are in compliance with the training requirements of this subsection.

h. For peace officers, the elected or appointed official designated as the head of the agency employing the peace officer shall ensure compliance with the training requirements of this subsection.

i. For persons required to report cases of dependent adult abuse pursuant to sections 235B.3 and 235E.2 who are employees of state departments and political subdivisions of the state, the department director or the chief administrator of the political subdivision shall ensure the persons’ compliance with the training requirements of this subsection.

6. The department shall require an educational program for employees of the registry on the proper use and control of dependent adult abuse information.

91 Acts, ch 231, §14; 92 Acts, ch 1143, §10; 92 Acts, ch 1163, §51; 2001 Acts, ch 122, §11; 2002 Acts, ch 1119, §35; 2007 Acts, ch 10, §168 – 170; 2008 Acts, ch 1093, §10; 2009 Acts, ch 23, §53, 54; 2013 Acts, ch 129, §55, 56

Referred to in §235E.4, 272.31