Des Moines, Iowa — The director of the Iowa Department of Human Services says state officials have visited with some Afghan families directly to confirm they are getting essential services like housing and food assistance.
Kelly Garcia’s statement comes after a Des Moines Register investigation found some families living in extended-stay hotels in central Iowa were running out of food and could not contact their caseworkers. Garcia says her department is working directly with resettlement agencies.
Governor Kim Reynolds says resettlement agencies, not the state, are directly responsible.
Reynolds says part of that help has come as state officials redirected emergency rent assistance from the 2020 pandemic relief package.
About 900 Afghan refugees have been resettled in Iowa so far.
