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Iowa’s TANF State Plan

22 Pregnancy Prevention/Services to At-Risk Children:

 Community Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program: TANF funds are used for teen pregnancy prevention programs designed to prevent adolescent pregnancy and to promote self-sufficiency and physical and emotional well-being for pregnant and parenting adolescents.

Eligible adolescents must be less than 18 years of age or a person 18 years of age or older who is attending an accredited high school or pursuing a course of study that will lead to a high school diploma or its equivalent. There are no income or resource requirements. Services to an adolescent under 18 may continue beyond the adolescent’s eighteenth birthday under certain circumstances.

The following programs provide services to at-risk children. These services are intended to meet the 3rd statutory objective of TANF to prevent and reduce the incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies. National and state studies indicate that victims of child abuse, sexual abuse and neglect have a higher incidence of out-of-wedlock pregnancies than the general population. Services described in the following programs are critical to ensure the safety of the child and prevent recurrence of abuse.

 Child Welfare Services: The state may use TANF funds for a number of Child Welfare Services including or similar to those previously authorized under the prior IV-A State Plan. The individual and collective purposes of Iowa’s Child Welfare Services are to reduce and avert child abuse.

These services include: social casework; protective day care; family preservation which includes safety plan services; family centered services with family team meeting facilitation; and drug testing.

Families must meet general child welfare eligibility criteria regardless of the specific services(s) being sought: residency, an eligible child (under age 18, although some services are available up to age 21), and a need for services. There are not any other eligibility criteria specific to this program.

In July of 2020, Iowa implemented new Family Centered Services contracts to implement Family First initiatives. These new contracts implemented statewide voluntary services by replacing Community Care Services with Non-Agency Voluntary Services.

These services and supports are geared toward keeping the children in the family safe from abuse and neglect; keeping the family intact; preventing the need for further and future intervention by the Iowa HHS (including removal of the child from the home); and building ongoing linkages to community-based resources that improve the safety, health, stability, and well-being of those served.

Non-Agency Voluntary Services work directly with families who are referred by Iowa HHS to reduce safety and risk concerns. It is targeted to children and families after completion of a Child Protective Services (CPS) Child Abuse Assessment Summary or a CPS Family Assessment Summary. Service eligibility criteria includes: