Iowa Juvenile Home
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The Iowa Juvenile Home/Girls State Training School (IJH/GSTS) was a correctional facility for juveniles located in
Toledo, Iowa Toledo is a city in, and the county seat of, Tama County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,369 at the time of the 2020 census. History Toledo was founded in 1853 as the county seat of Tama County. It was named after Toledo, Ohio. Tole ...
. A part of the
Iowa Department of Human Services The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is a state agency of Iowa. History The Iowa Board of Social Welfare was founded in 1937 by the Iowa General Assembly. In 1967, it was merged with the Iowa Board of Control and Iowa Board of P ...
, it held girls who were adjudicated as delinquents and youth of both genders who were adjudicated as needing assistance. The former campus has of space.Crippes, Christinia.
UPDATE: Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo closes its doors


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. January 16, 2014. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.


History

The IJH first opened as an Iowa facility for children in 1920. Several Bible colleges used the site before the state government bought it that year; it served as an orphanage and then as a home for children.Crippes, Christinia.
Lack of closure remains for supporters of Iowa Juvenile Home
(). ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. December 21, 2014. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
The delinquent girls served by IJH were of the ages 12-18. Those adjudicated as in need of assistance (CINA) were under 18. The IJH had capacity for 45 girls and 12 boys, with an overall capacity of 57. Unlike the Iowa Training School for Boys in Eldora, Iowa Juvenile Home was established as a treatment facility, and therefore not secured nor locked.Kaufmann, Clark.
Iowa Juvenile Home's closure creates gender disparity

Archive
. '' The Des Moines Register''. July 19, 2014. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
As of 2013 the facility, with $10 million in annual funding, was one of the largest employers in
Tama County Tama County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,135. Its county seat is Toledo. The county was formed on February 17, 1843 and named for Taimah, a leader of the Meskwaki Indians. Geogr ...
.Boshart, Rod.
Branstad defends Juvenile Home decision


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. December 11, 2013. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.


''Des Moines Register'' reports, abuse accusations, and task force

Prior to the campus's closure '' The Des Moines Register'' had run a series about the problems at the facility. In 2013 the office of the
Attorney General of Iowa The Attorney General of Iowa is the chief legal officer of the State of Iowa, United States. The office was created February 9, 1853. The Office of the Attorney General is housed in the Lucas State Office Building in Des Moines; the attorney ge ...
attempted to redact information regarding abuse at this facility from a report. The ''Des Moines Register'' discovered the information after pasting the report in Microsoft Word. The accusations involve restraining methods of girls that were unlawful and isolation of the girls in long-term cells. For a 17-year period persons at the facility confined girls in isolation cells for periods of weeks or months, in violation of state law. There were also complaints about poor educational services offered at the IJH.Lynch, James.
Branstad digs in heels on juvenile home closing


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. February 6, 2014. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
In August 2013
Governor of Iowa A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Terry Branstad appointed the Iowa Juvenile Home Protection Task Force to determine the future of the facility. Charles Palmer, the director of the DHS, was a member of this commission.Boshart, Rod.
UPDATE: DHS moving juveniles, laying off state at Iowa Juvenile Home


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. December 9, 2013. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
The chair of this committee was Jerry Foxhoven, a Drake University professor of law.Lynch, James.
Branstad: Focus should be on youths, not juvenile home


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.
In 2014 former inmate Jessica Turner filed a lawsuit against the State of Iowa, stating that she was held in isolation for 280 days of her 528-day confinement which began in 2011.


Closure

On Monday December 9, 2013, Branstad announced that the facility would close by January 16, 2014. At the time the center employed 93 people to oversee 21 girls. All residents were to be moved out, and all employees were to be laid off; layoff notices were issued that day. Branstad stated that the task force's findings determined that the youth needed to be moved as soon as possible. Iowa representative
Dean Fisher Dean C. Fisher (born September 3, 1956) is the Iowa State Representative from the 53rd District. A Republican, he has served in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2013. Early life and education Fisher was born and raised in Garwin, Iow ...
criticized the closing, arguing that there should have been private management brought in to manage the facility while youth would remain housed there; Fisher, of Garwin, had a representative district that included Tama County. Palmer stated that the decline in the number of adjudicated girls was one of the reasons why IJH was to be closed.
Steve Sodders Steven J. "Steve" Sodders was a Democratic politician, who was a Mayor of State Center, Iowa. He also served as Deputy Sheriff in Marshall County until he was forced into early retirement for falsifying records. He received his A.S. from I ...
, a Democratic Iowa Senator from State Center, criticized the closure along with other Democrats from the Iowa Legislature who stated that it was a way of "privatizing" jobs from the state and a "hasty, unilateral" action. The last youth under care of the facility left on Tuesday January 14, 2014. The employees believed that the center would close on Thursday, January 16, but it closed ahead of schedule on Wednesday January 15. As a result of the closure, the Iowa Juvenile Home Foundation became inactive. As of December 2014 the Liberty Baptist Church in
Marshalltown Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...
was considering opening a Bible college for
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refugees from
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. The church would be able to get the property if/when the state gives away or sells the property.Iowa Juvenile Home could become Bible college


. ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. December 31, 2014. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.


Availability of facilities for delinquent girls

Since January 2014 Iowa has no juvenile correctional facility for girls; they are either tried in juvenile court and sent to out-of-state facilities, and/or are tried in adult court and sent to Iowa Department of Corrections facilities for female sentenced felons. As of July 2014, of 33 girls accused by the State of Iowa of committing crimes who would have been candidates for the IJH, most were placed in detention centers or youth shelters awaiting a longer-term assignment. One girl had returned home; she would be tried in adult court if she had committed any further criminal acts. Three girls were placed in adult court and three were sent to facilities in other states. The remainder were located in mental health and residential treatment centers. In February 2014 Palmer stated in a Senate Human Resources Committee meeting that there was a need for a secure housing facility for delinquent girls.


Attempts to reopen the facility

In December 2013 a rally was held at South Tama High School attended by staff and former inmates was held to keep the facility open. An individual created a
change.org Change.org is a worldwide nonprofit petition website, based in California, US, operated by the San Francisco-based company of the same name, which has over 400 million users and offers the public the ability to promote the petitions they care abo ...
petition to keep IJH open, and the petition got 610 signatures by December 18, 2013. A group of students addressed an audience at the Iowa Statehouse in January 2013, speaking in favor of the IJH. Employees and supporters formed the Save Our Home committee in an attempt to keep the facility open.
David R. Nagle David Ray "Dave" Nagle (born April 15, 1943) is an American politician and lawyer from Iowa. He was a Legislator, Representative in the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa's 3rd congressional district from 1987 to 1993. He i ...
, a
Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, a battle on 18 June 1815 in which Napoleon met his final defeat * Waterloo, Belgium, where the battle took place. Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Antarctica *King George Island (S ...
resident and former member of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, worked ''
pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
'' to assist the group. In January 2014 Sodders sponsored legislation in the Iowa Senate to try to reestablish the facility. 22 Democrats in the Iowa Senate sponsored that bill. In response Branstad stated on Iowa Public Television's "Iowa Press" that he included budgetary funds to provide remedial education for 117 former students who he stated had received below par education at the IJH, and that the students were better served in their new settings. In April 2014 an amendment to refund the IJH was passed but it was later removed from the bill so the budget could be passed.


Lawsuit

In January 2014 Danny Homan, the president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Iowa Council 61, the largest union of state employees in Iowa; along with four state legislators from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
, filed a lawsuit against Governor Branstad and DHS head Charles Palmer in Polk County District Court in order to get an injunction to stop the closure of IJH. The four legislators included the Minority Leader of the Iowa House of Representatives, Mark Smith of
Marshalltown Marshalltown is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Iowa, United States, located along the Iowa River. It is the seat and most populous settlement of Marshall County and the 16th largest city in Iowa, with a population of 27,591 at ...
, as well as Senator
Jack Hatch Jack G. Hatch (born March 13, 1950) is a former Iowa State Senator and American business owner. He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Iowa in the 2014 election. A Democrat, Hatch served in the Iowa Senate from 2003 to 2015, and was an a ...
of
Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...
, Sodders, and Representative Pat Murphy of
Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...
. Until the lawsuit is resolved, the state cannot sell or give away the IJH property. In February 2014 Scott Rosenberg, the district judge of Polk County, ordered the facility to reopen. In response Branstad criticized the decision, stating that the children who were placed in the IJH and not the facility itself should be the focus. He asked the Iowa Supreme Court to overturn the ruling, and that month the court agreed to hear the appeal. In May 2015 the Iowa Supreme Court ordered the lower court to dismiss the case and reversed the decision to keep the school open. The court reasoned that since there was no funding appropriated in 2014 and because the center was already closed, it would be pointless to decide the issue.Leys, Tony.
Iowa Juvenile Home case dismissed as 'moot'

Archive
. '' Des Moines Register''. May 29, 2015. Retrieved on December 14, 2015.


References


Further reading

* Thompson, Carol (former president of, and member of, the Iowa Juvenile Home Foundation board).
Closure of Iowa Juvenile Home is a mistake


guest column). ''
WCF Courier ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' is a daily afternoon newspaper published by Lee Enterprises for people living in Waterloo and Cedar Falls, Iowa as well as northeast Iowa. The first issue of ''The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier'' was publish ...
''. January 12, 2014.
Final decision from the Iowa Supreme CourtArchive
- May 2015
Judge ruling on Iowa Juvenile HomeArchive


Posted by the ''WCF Courier'' on February 5, 2014.
Jessica Turner's lawsuitArchive
State government documents: *
Report of the Iowa Juvenile Home Protection Task Force

Archive
*
Position Paper Single Gender Environments for Females December 2012Archive
*
Next Steps-Iowa Juvenile Home Jane Hudson, J.D., Exec. Dir. Disability Rights Iowa Task Force Meeting 9/24/13

Archive
. *
Iowa Department of Human Services Recommendation and Options To Divert Placement of Boys at the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, Iowa And Report on the Work of the Toledo Study Group

Archive


External links



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Iowa Department of Human Services The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services is a state agency of Iowa. History The Iowa Board of Social Welfare was founded in 1937 by the Iowa General Assembly. In 1967, it was merged with the Iowa Board of Control and Iowa Board of P ...
{{coord, 41.9898, -92.5769, type:landmark, display=title Toledo, Iowa Prisons in Iowa Buildings and structures in Tama County, Iowa 1920 establishments in Iowa 2014 disestablishments in Iowa