Iowa § 222.78 - 222.78 Parents and others liable for support.

§ 222.78. 222.78 Parents and others liable for support.

1. The father and mother of any patient admitted to a resource center, as either an inpatient or an outpatient, and any person, firm, or corporation bound by contract made for support of the patient, are liable for the support of the patient. The patient and those legally bound for the support of the patient shall be liable to the state for all sums advanced relating to reasonable attorney fees and court costs for the patient’s admission to the resource center, and for the treatment, training, instruction, care, habilitation, support, transportation, or other expenditures made on behalf of the patient pursuant to this chapter. 2. The liability of any person, other than the patient, who is legally bound for the support of a patient who is under eighteen years of age in a resource center or a special unit shall not exceed the average minimum cost of the care of a minor without an intellectual disability of the same age and sex as the minor patient. The department shall establish the scale for this purpose but the scale shall not exceed the standards for personal allowances established under the family investment program. The father or mother shall incur liability only during any period when the father or mother either individually or jointly receive a net income from whatever source, commensurate with that upon which they would be liable to make an income tax payment to this state. The father or mother of a patient shall not be liable for the support of the patient upon the patient attaining eighteen years of age. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a relative or other person from voluntarily paying the full actual cost as established by the department for caring for the patient with an intellectual disability. [C39, §3477.5; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §223.16, 223.20; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §222.78] 93 Acts, ch 97, §27; 98 Acts, ch 1218, §70; 2000 Acts, ch 1112, §51; 2012 Acts, ch 1019, §57; 2012 Acts, ch 1120, §88, 130; 2013 Acts, ch 130, §28, 35; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §437; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §46, 137 Referred to in §218.78, 222.79, 222.80, 222.81, 222.82, 226.8, 234.39 2024 amendment to subsection 1 effective July 1, 2025; 2024 Acts, ch 1161, §137 Subsection 1 amended Thu Dec 11 19:01:03 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Section 222.78 (33, 3)