BackThe Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) failed to closely monitor a child care center after finding violations associated with children engaging in sexual behavior, the State Ombudsman concludes in a report released today.
A 83-page report is the culmination of an Ombudsman’s investigation into complaints which alleged the DHS did not appropriately sanction the center despite significant problems in 2010. The matter involved the Child Development Center (CDC) in Des Moines, which is owned and operated by Children and Families of Iowa (CFI).
While no further sexual incidents were reported at the center, “this was in spite of the DHS dropping the ball,” the report states. Ombudsman Ruth Cooperrider adds, “Our greatest concern was the failure by the DHS to visit the center over a crucial eight-month period after the incidents and to verify the center was correcting its problems in a timely manner.”
A DHS investigator concluded center administrators ignored staff reports about a child who put his hands in other children’s pants, according to the Ombudsman’s report. The DHS investigator required the center to submit a written plan of how it would correct various violations and reduced the center’s license to provisional status, roughly the equivalent of probation. About two weeks later, the DHS received a new complaint about an incident in which several children engaged in sexual behavior while not being directly supervised at the center. The DHS investigator found several violations related to the incident and recommended the DHS should begin the process of revoking the CDC’s license. While DHS management considered suspending or revoking the center’s license, a DHS administrator decided against those options.
The report says the Ombudsman also determined the DHS:
- Failed to provide timely notice to parents about seven founded child abuse reports that occurred at the CDC in spring 2010.
- Did not take appropriate and timely follow-up action consistent with law regarding CDC’s “Quality Rating”.
- Has not been providing child care consumers with regular informational updates on the Internet, concerning CDC and other licensed child care centers.
In response to the report, DHS Director Charles Palmer wrote: “We are responsible for assuring that minimum standards for the health and safety of children are being met by the licensed child care centers. We take this responsibility seriously. Our first and foremost responsibility is child safety. In addition to this we must also be able to assure parents the care their children receive is appropriate and we must respect the complexities child care centers experience in managing their business. We use a very deliberate approach in fulfilling these responsibilities.”
The Ombudsman’s report includes 13 recommendations to the DHS. Palmer’s response indicates DHS has accepted or partially accepted seven of the Ombudsman’s recommendations and has rejected five.
The Ombudsman’s report was transmitted to the Governor and the Iowa General Assembly and made available online to the media and the public today. Copies of the Ombudsman’s report are available at the Ombudsman’s website.
Source: Office of the Iowa Ombudsman, USA
