Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Three-point plan to end string of Iowa child deaths

    A three-point reform plan to prevent another Iowa child from being injured or killed by abuse has been put forth by two members of the Iowa Senate Government Oversight Committee.

    “The state has failed at-risk children again and again,” said Senator Janet Petersen, a member of Oversight Committee.  “Iowans are demanding change, they are demanding results, and they do not want to see another child die due to the failures of the Branstad/Reynolds Administration.

    Petersen and Senator Matt McCoy, the ranking member of the Oversight Committee, released the following three-point plan to prevent another death like that of Sabrina Ray.  The Iowa teen had been adopted out of foster care and was being home-schooled when her body was found last Friday in a Perry home.

    • We call on Chuck Palmer, Director of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS), to either resign or be fired by the Branstad/Reynolds Administration.
    • We call on Governor Branstad and Lt. Governor Reynolds to replace Director Palmer with a director experienced in, and deeply committed to, the protection of abused and at-risk children.
    • We call on Governor Branstad, Lt. Governor Reynolds and Legislative Republicans to fix the deadly mistakes they made this spring when they cut $24 million from the DHS budget, including $16 million cut to the field service workers who investigate and protect children at risk of abuse.

    Senator McCoy said he is committed to working on a bipartisan solution with Republican legislators.  A Oversight Committee meeting on this issue is planned for Monday, June 5th.

    “I am still extremely disappointed that Republican legislators refused to investigate these issues during the legislative session,” McCoy said. “If they had, I’m certain there would have been strong bipartisan support for increasing our investment in child protective services, rather than the cuts imposed by Republicans.”

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  • McCoy: Oversight needed to address failures at Iowa DHS & shortcomings in Iowa law

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: February 27, 2017

    Iowa children are falling through the cracks and government policies may be part of the problem, according to members of the House and Senate Government Oversight Committee.

    Natalie Finn is a 16-year old Des Moines girl who died after she was tortured and starved by her parents.  Malayia Knapp, another Des Moines resident, was beaten, starved, and imprisoned by her adoptive parents.

    These cases are among those raising concerns of systematic failures in the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and shortcomings in Iowa law. In response, Senator Matt McCoy of Des Moines, Ranking Member of Senate Government Oversight Committee, and Representative Abby Finkenauer, Ranking Member of House Government Oversight Committee, will convene a joint meeting on these issues at 10 AM on Monday, February 27, in Room 116 of the Iowa State Capitol.

    “As a state, Iowa failed to protect Natalie and Malayia,” said McCoy.  “Is DHS doing enough for children at risk of abuse?  Iowa no longer requires homeschooled children to have any contact with schools or public agencies.  Did that change in Iowa law contribute to these tragedies?  We need to find out the facts and take action better protect the children of our state.”

     

    Video

    Malayia Knapp, who was beaten, starved, and imprisoned by her adoptive parents, speaks to Senator Matt McCoy and Representative Abby Finkenauer, members of the Senate and House Oversight Committees, and other legislators. McCoy and Finkenauer are holding a series of meetings on what Iowa can do to help children who are falling through the cracks and the government policies that may be part of the problem.

    https://www.facebook.com/IowaSenateDemocrats/videos/10154323020581778/

     

    Senator Matt McCoy’s prepared remarks

    Too many Iowa children are falling through the cracks.  The state system to protect them that has been pushed beyond its capacity.

    I had two high profile and heart-breaking examples in my senate district.

    Malayia Knapp’s alarming abuse was recorded in police reports and confirmed in a child abuse investigation.  Her mother was later convicted of assault.

    When Malayia Knapp told me her story– shortly after the starvation death of Natalie Finn.—I was appalled and outraged.  That outrage was outraged to hear her story

    Today, I have questions and concerns about whether state child-welfare officials are taking the right steps to safeguard children when possible abuse has been reported.

    I have questions and concerns about the vetting of potential parents before children are adopted out of foster care.

    I have questions and concerns of the Iowa Department of Human Services and its child-protective workers and how they handle, respect and respond to abuse reports from mandatory reporters.

    I asked Senator Breitbach, the Chair of the Senate Government Oversight Committee, to convene and hold hearings and an investigation into the abuse of Malayia Knapp, the death of Natalie Finn, and the Iowa Department of Human Services’ abuse investigation and parental termination policies procedures.

    Unfortunately, Senator Breitbach would not agree to look into these very troubling incidents.

    As parents, legislators and as members of the Government Oversight Committee, it is our job and our duty to identify problems within the system so failures like those that prolonged the abuse of Malayia and Natalie never happen again.

    We must analyze the current policies and procedures and make necessary changes.  We must evaluate how the loss of more than 800 DHS workers during the Branstad/Reynolds administration has affected the safety of Iowa children who most need our protection. *

    In both of these cases, these young girls were removed from public schools and put into home schooling options.  In 2013, Iowa’s Legislature established a new, completely unregulated form of home schooling.

    I know parents who homeschool because their kids need more challenges than their local school provide.

    I know parents that homeschool because their kids need more assistance than they feel their local school can give.

    I know parents who love their public schools, but homeschool for personal and religious reasons.

    I support all of those choices because I know their kids… and they are thriving in a home school.  It’s obviously works for them and that’s great.

    However, this new homeschool option went far beyond anything Iowa or other states had done.

    It allowed parents or guardians to remove their child from public school and break all contact with that school.  If a family moved to a new area, or never enrolled their child in school to begin with, a school district would have no idea that student even existed.

    There are no check-ins, regulation, oversight, or progress reports to school districts or the Iowa Department of Education.

    Look, I know most Iowans believe that every child deserves to be safe and to receive a quality education.

    Minimal levels of oversight are a reasonable expectation.  It is what most Iowans already-and incorrectly—believe is already the case.

    To make sure all children are protected, I introduced SF 138.  It requires the parent, guardian, or legal custodian who places a child in private instruction to submit the same report to their local school district that is required for child in private schools.  It also requires school districts to conduct quarterly health and safety home visits.  Some parents who homeschool have already requested an amendment to eliminate the home visit portion of the bill.  Instead, the child would go to the school for a quarterly check-in with a teacher/counselor. Parents told me this would be less intrusive and preferred.

    These are complex issues and I want to hear from everyone and especially those on the front lines of child protection in our state.

    We will start our work today by hearing from Malayia.  She will tell us how she escaped abuse and about her lingering fear for her siblings.

    On March 13, we’ll hear from DHS on how the system works, how it is funded and how workers are trained.  We will consider the caseloads workers have and how that load has increased in recent years.

    We’ll also hear from DHS regarding the criteria for special needs adoptions and how families are recruited and screened to be foster or adoptive parents.

    Iowans need to know what problems are happening within DHS and other agencies; how the elimination of reporting for homeschooling has ended welfare checks, making future case of cases like the Knapps and Finns

    Most importantly, legislators need to shed light on these problems and demand solutions.

    I want to applaud Malayia for her bravery in being here today.  She is standing up for herself, for her siblings, and for every child children in Iowa’s child welfare system.

    *Reference Notes:

    Branstad has eliminated at least 2,094 full-time positions in state government, according to a Des Moines Register analysis of data from the Iowa Department of Administrative Services.  Most of those job cuts — nearly 11 percent of the state government executive branch workforce, minus universities, occurred in four departments: human services (839); transportation (232); workforce development (244); and corrections (262), the Register found. Des Moines Register; 2/20/2017

  • Retired child abuse investigator says DHS cuts would endanger children and vulnerable adults

    Iowa Senate News Release
    For Immediate Release: January 25, 2017

     

    Bill Dickey, retired DHS investigator; Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City; Sue Vogel, recent retiree from Independence Mental Health Institution; and, Kathy Butler, recent retiree from Woodward Resource Center.

    Statement by Senator Amanda Ragan of Mason City

    “Iowans across the state are worried that Republican budget cuts will endanger vulnerable Iowans, children and dependent adults.

    “Cutting the number of people looking out for children at risk is a mistake. We should not cut services to our most vulnerable Iowans.”

     

    Statement by Bill Dickey, retired DHS investigator

    I’m here to oppose mid-year cuts to Iowa’s human services budget, cuts that will be permanent. Those cuts would endanger children and adults who need our help. I say this based on my experience working for the Iowa Department of Human Services for 34 years. As a social worker at DHS, I was a caseworker, a supervisor of caseworkers, and finally as an investigator on cases involving children and adults, until I retired in 2014.

    The job of a caseworker is to protect people who are at risk of being harmed or abused. The most important thing a caseworker has to offer is their time and attention. That’s why the number of people each caseworker is assigned is so important. The number of cases a worker can handle depends on many factors, including the community, the type of case and other services available.

    The basic job, however, is the same everywhere: When you are the caseworker for a foster child, like I was, your job is to be that child’s advocate. That child needs someone dedicated to keeping them safe and able to thrive. That someone is the caseworker and sometimes it’s the child’s only resource.

    My ability to do right by the children I was responsible for depended, in part, on how many cases I had. When I started for the State of Iowa, my caseload was 15 to 20. After 15 years, the average caseload had grown to more like 35.  Remember, this was for both beginners and experienced caseworkers alike.

    Then two things happened. One, we had several tragic cases that got a lot of media attention, such as the Shelby Duis case. The other was the election of Governor Vilsack. Governor Vilsack took an interest and provided the money; caseloads declined. This allowed for caseworkers like me to spend more time and attention on each case we were given and do what was best for the child.

    And that’s really the most important thing we had to offer at-risk children, our time and our attention. When Governor Branstad returned to office, caseloads increased, which benefited no one.

    I finished my career working as an investigator. During that time, I looked into some very, very sad and tragic cases. Sometimes I saw situations where things could have gone differently. A little more time could have made the outcome easier on the child or senior I was assisting. The toughest cases are complex and difficult and the solutions are never easy. If you’ve got 30 or 35 or even 40 cases, that’s just asking for trouble.

    That’s why I’m opposed to these permanent human services budget cuts. They will put children and adults who need our help in danger.

    I’m telling legislators today: “Don’t do it. Don’t hurt these children and adults who need our help the most.”

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  • We all can help fight human trafficking

    It’s hard to fathom that human trafficking happens at all, much less that it is a growing problem here in the heartland.

    Human trafficking is the buying and selling of people, who are often forced into sex work or other forms of slavery. Iowa’s interstate highways are prime routes for human traffickers transporting victims, so we must be vigilant.

    Iowa is combating human trafficking through public awareness, training for law enforcement and tougher punishments for those who commit this heinous crime. Coordinated local, state and federal efforts have rescued some victims, but human trafficking still goes mostly unnoticed.

    We’re continuing to update Iowa’s human trafficking law as we learn more about the crime and the unique situation of victims. For example, this year:

    • We created an Office to Combat Human Trafficking to lead and coordinate Iowa’s anti-trafficking efforts and to be the point of contact for federal, state and local law enforcement (SF 2191, HF 2459).
    • We defined sex trafficking of minors as child abuse, and set the expectation that state agencies and our partners in the fight against child abuse and trafficking recognize and respond to the crime (SF 2258).
    • To bring justice to more victims, we extend the statute of limitations for kidnapping and human trafficking of children to the victim’s 28th birthday, or three years after a perpetrator is identified through DNA testing, whichever is later (HF 2278).

     

    You can help fight human trafficking, too. Recognizing the signs is the first step in identifying victims and saving lives. Here are some things to look for:

    • Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends and regular activities?
    • Has a child stopped attending school?
    • Has the person shown a change in behavior?
    • Is the person disoriented or confused?
    • Do they show signs of mental or physical abuse?
    • Is the person fearful, timid or submissive?
    • Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?

    Find more warning signs from the Department of Homeland Security at www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/indicators-human-trafficking. If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, report a tip at www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/identify-victim.