Child victim services

1. As used in this section, “victim” means a minor under the age of eighteen who has been sexually abused or subjected to any other unlawful sexual conduct under chapter 709, 710A, or 726 or who has been the subject of a forcible felony. 2. A professional licensed or certified by the state to provide immediate or short-term medical services or mental health services to a victim may provide the services without the prior consent or knowledge of the victim’s parents or guardians. 3. Such a professional shall notify the victim if the professional is required to report an incidence of child abuse involving the victim pursuant to section 232.69. 4. a. A child protection assistance team involving the county attorney, law enforcement personnel, and personnel of the department of health and human services shall be established for each county by the county attorney. However, by mutual agreement, two or more county attorneys may establish a single child protection assistance team to cover a multicounty area. A child protection assistance team, to the greatest extent possible, may be consulted in cases involving a forcible felony against a child who is less than age fourteen in which the suspected offender is the person responsible for the care of a child, as defined in section 232.68. A child protection assistance team may also be utilized in cases involving a violation of chapter 709 or 726 or other crime committed upon a victim as defined in subsection 1. b. A child protection assistance team may also consult with or include juvenile court officers, medical and mental health professionals, physicians or other hospital-based health professionals, court appointed special advocates, guardians ad litem, and members of a multidisciplinary team created by the department of health and human services for child abuse assessments. A child protection assistance team may work cooperatively with the early childhood Iowa area board established under chapter 256I. The child protection assistance team shall work with the department of health and human services in accordance with section 232.71B, subsection 3, in developing the protocols for prioritizing the actions taken in response to child abuse assessments and for law enforcement agencies working jointly with the department at the local level in processes for child abuse assessments. The department of justice may provide training and other assistance to support the activities of a child protection assistance team.