Several dozen state employees in the Des Moines area cannot get into their offices due to flooding, but you’ll hear no complaints about their temporary office space. Part of the Iowa Department of Public Health’s child support recovery unit has been operating out of the statehouse since Friday.
Pauline Rutherford, the unit’s executive officer, says the expansive chamber where the House of Representatives meets is a big step up from their beige cubicles. “It’s very different. It feels very royal here, almost,” she says. “We feel very special and definitely very grateful for the fact that they were able to allow us to come in here, especially with such short notice.”
It does not appear the Child Support Recovery office was flooded, but it was in the zone in downtown Des Moines which was evacuated last Friday. “Regardless of the situation, child support and families that need the child support, it’s very important that that service continues without interruption, that our customers receive everything they need, whether they’re affected by the flooding or not,” Rutherford says. So far, no child support payments have been delayed by the flooding.