DES MOINES – In an unanimous vote, the Iowa Senate voted to give an extra $333,000 to the Glenwood Resource Center, hoping the money will be spent to improve the operations at the facility riddled with controversy over the last several months.
On Thursday, the full Senate voted to approve the supplemental funding. The bill appropriates $137,000 to contract with experts for the direct consultation, evaluation, and planning for improvement in operations. It also appropriates $102,000 to complete a comprehensive facility assessment as well as an OSHA consultation.
Several months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice began to investigate alleged human experimentation going on at Glenwood. The Iowa Department of Human Services has been hosting several meetings and tours with lawmakers at the facility, and just on Thursday, held a couple of staff town hall meetings. Last week, a town hall with family members of Glenwood patients was held.
Glenwood is the home for many disabled Iowans who can no longer take care of themselves. Next week, officials with the DOJ will be back on site. An outside contractor has been hired to identify areas of needed improvement and develop an improvement plan to address areas that need improvement, among other things.
Iowa Department is Human Services formally terminated the supervisor of a state-run facility for people with disabilities on Monday.
