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Recent News
CHILD WELFARE TREND: Findings of child abuse and neglect, which trended lower in 2007 and 2008, reversed course in 2009. Stress caused by a sour economy is a leading cause. As always, 80 percent of abuses are actually neglect, with physical abuse trending lower. See a one-page child welfare summary, a news release, and county-by-county data for the past six years.
FINCH TAKES NEW POSITION: A national search has been launched to find a successor to Woodward Superintendent Jim Finch, who helped that facility reach an important civil rights milestone. Marsha Edgington-Bott is acting superintendent. See the news release page for more more details.
WINTER STORMS: Gov. Culver has declared several counties to be disaster areas in the wake of severe winter storms. He has also turned on the state's low-income disaster grant program. See the Storm Help link on this page, above, for information on how top apply.
'SPEED IT UP': Director Krogmeier has instructed DHS staff to speed up efforts to ensure choice and dignity for people with disabilities. Krogmeier said he is emphasizing programs to prevent institutionalization and to provide the option for community care for people already living in large facilities. See details here.
MHI REVIEW: Iowa law requires the DHS to submit a proposal to close one of the mental health institutes without loss of service. Director Charles Krogmeier's recommendation is to close the MHI at Mount Pleasant and consolidate service at Independence. See the full report here. See a news release here. The Legislature also created a task force to review all four MHIs. The task force recommended keeping all four MHIs. See the task force reporthere. Here is a thorough overview of the MHIs.
DHS RESTRUCTURE: Director Krogmeier has recommended, and the Council on Human Services has approved, the first major restructuring of the agency since 2002. Nine administrative divisions are being collapsed into six, and eight regional offices are being combined into five. See a news release here and the new table of organization here. Krogmeier also named key leaders.
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