State officials have signed a legal settlement with the federal government that spells out new standards of operation for the two state institutions for the mentally retarded. Three-hundred-86 mentally retarded Iowans live in Glenwood, two-hundred-73 patients live in the Woodward center. Federal officials started a round of inspections in 1999, and expressed concern about the use of physical restraints and medications to control residents’ behavior. In addition, the feds wanted Iowa officials to come up with better plans to correct behavior problems. Iowa Department of Human Services director Kevin Concannon says the state has now agreed to make those changes.
“The standards that we have agreed to in this are universally consistent with the best practices in the field right now,” Concannon says. There will be higher expectations for the medical and psychiatric care of residents, too. Concannon says he’s relieved by the legal settlement. “I believe it removes a…legal cloud that created a lot of uncertainty that is now fortunately, from my point of view, resolved,” Concannon says. “But this is not the end of a story. This is really the close of a chapter in what is a longer book.” Concannon expects the number of residents in the centers in Glenwood and Woodward facilities to decline each year as there’ll also be a new emphasis is placed on helping patients who can move out of the institutions and into community-based homes. “It is unfortunate that it took legal action to get us to this point,” Concannon says. “But that is not uncommon in states across the country.” Most states, like Iowa, have entered into binding legal agreements with the federal government. Concannon says patients’ families feared “tumultuous” changes would be ordered by the federal government to limit access to Woodward and Glenwood, especially if the case went to trial and that isn’t happening in Iowa because of the agreement reached today. “I think that’s a good thing,” Concannon says.
