ELDORA – Cries for help from staff members inside the Iowa State Training School for Boys are becoming all too familiar.
There have been workers who have missed work due to head injuries, and assaulted by multiple students at a time.
Don Allen wants to talk about it because he’s living it through his wife and friends, who still work at the training school. Allen worked at the facility more than 20 years. He says he used to be friendly with the juvenile delinquents.
But, now the environment is full of fear from staff.
Over the years, non-profit organizations have voiced their concerns over how students have been disciplined at the state-run facility. One group, Disability Rights Iowa, has a lawsuit in the courts over use of seclusion rooms and bed restraints.
But, Allen says those practices are necessary. Allen says he’s fearful that something really bad will happen before there is change.
“Somebody is going to get killed, whether it is a student or staff member or someone from the public,” Allen says.
