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Iowa’s TANF State Plan

23  The family has agreed to participate voluntarily in services related to a CPS Child Abuse Assessment Summary that is Not Confirmed, but the child is believed to be at moderate to high risk of future abuse or neglect; or  The family has agreed to participate voluntarily in services related to a CPS Child Abuse Assessment Summary that is Confirmed, Not Placed, and the child is believed to be at moderate risk of future abuse or neglect; or  The family has agreed to participate voluntarily in services related to a CPS Family Assessment Summary and the child is believed to be at moderate to high risk.

Court orders cannot be used as a mechanism for families to receive Non-Agency Voluntary Services. If a child has been adjudicated as a Child In Need Of Assistance (CINA) or a CINA petition was filed or pending, or a child has been adjudicated delinquent, the family is excluded. A family will also be excluded if the family has any children in the household with an open Department Child Welfare Service case or abuse outside of the home has occurred.

 Family Housing Preservation Program The Family Housing Preservation Program allows parents and their children to remain together while the parent receives skills training, counseling, and life skill development in a supportive living environment. The focus of the family-based housing program expands beyond individual recovery and stabilization to include prevention of child maltreatment, family preservation and reunification, and family self-sufficiency. Parents and children reside in a safe, supervised living situation and receive wraparound services.

The Family Housing Preservation Program utilizes TANF funds for families with an open child welfare case that have a housing need. Services provided include housing; individual, family, and group therapy; case management; parenting education; and diagnostic evaluations.

 Child Abuse Prevention Program: TANF funds are used for community-based child abuse prevention services that provide family support, and local community education intended to prevent child maltreatment before it occurs.

Programs are expected to provide targeted services to families with specific risk factors for maltreatment. Local child abuse prevention councils compete for funds to develop and implement programs in one or more of four major areas: (1) home visitation (requires use of a federally recognized evidence-based model); (2) Community Capacity Building: Group Based Parent Programming, Parent Development, and Resource Navigation and; (3) sexual abuse prevention. Community Capacity Building program is partially supported by TANF funds.

Child abuse prevention programs are open to all members of the community without regard to family structure, education, income or resources; however, non-TANF funds are used for individuals and families not eligible to receive benefits funded by TANF, e.g., ineligible aliens. Programs are expected to provide focused services to families with one or more specific risk factors for child maltreatment.