Glenwood, Iowa — The chairman of the Mills County Board of Supervisors says the decision to close the state-run facility in Glenwood that provides residential care for Iowans with intellectual and development disabilities is devastating.
Mills County Supervisor Richard Crouch is also president of the Glenwood Resource Center’s parental and family support group. His son was a resident at Glenwood until his death in January.
The governor announced on Thursday that the Glenwood Resource Center will close by 2024. Some residents will be transferred to a similar state facility in Woodward, but most will be placed in privately-run facilities, with the state covering the cost of care. Staff at the Glenwood Resource Center will be offered retention bonuses to keep working during the transition. Crouch says he’s concerned about job prospects for those workers — and the impact the closure will have on the local economy.
It will be tough for the community to absorb the loss of a major employer, according to Crouch, who suspects many employees will move.
Glenwood is in the state senate district of Mark Costello, a Republican from Imogen. Costello is also the chairman of the Senate panel that drafts the budget for the Iowa Department of Human Services — the state agency that oversees the Glenwood Resource Center.
Costello says moving will be difficult for some residents.
The U.S. Justice Department has been investigating operations at the Glenwood Resource Center over allegations that residents were not being provided adequate care. Federal officials say the state will be able to spend less — and provide better care — if residents are moved out of Glenwood’s institutional setting and into community-based care.
