‘Home’ gets a new meaning for mentally disabled

About three dozen residential care facilities for people with mental illness or intellectual disabilities have closed since 2006 as federal health care programs steer money away from them and experts conclude that, with special assistance, most residents would be better off living by themselves or with a few others. Some families of seriously ill or disabled residents worry the new arrangements will lack sufficient support, but industry experts expect the wave of closures to continue.

Source: The Des Moines Register

Posted on: April 7, 2014

Sheriff broke law in denying Taser records, lawsuit says

Muscatine County’s sheriff has violated federal law by denying records and access to employees who delivered multiple Taser jolts to a mentally disabled woman in an effort to force her to change her clothes, a lawsuit filed Wednesday alleges. The Register has written a series of investigative reports on the incident.

Source: The Des Moines Register

Posted on: March 13, 2014

Does state still offer placement of last resort?

Over the past 19 years, Iowa has seen a 73 percent reduction in the number of available beds for adult psychiatric patients, resulting in more mentally ill Iowans being sent to jail. The Iowa Department of Corrections estimates 41 percent of inmates have mental illnesses.

Source: The Des Moines Register

Posted on: July 1, 2013

Glenwood disabled facility on most fined list

Glenwood Resource Center has the worst record of compliance with federal regulations of any care facility in Iowa over the past 10 months. The center, a 260-resident facility run by the Iowa Department of Human Services, has racked up $27,500 in fines since July 2012 . Three-fourths of the residents are diagnosed with both mental illness and intellectual disabilities.

Source: The Des Moines Register

Posted on: May 20, 2013