Juvenile Home maligned by Branstad’s rep

Your April 29 news article, 'Lawmakers reach accord on budget for human services,” quoted Gov. Terry Branstad's spokesman about treatment of children at the Iowa Juvenile Home. He said IJH is 'an institution that mistreated them, kept them in isolation rooms for over 47,000 hours and denied them the education they deserve.”

As former president of the Iowa Juvenile Home Foundation, I take exception on behalf of all former IJH employees to this unfair labeling.

The facts:

1. Every minute of isolation was conducted under protocol approved by the Department of Human Services;

2. Every minute of isolation was reported to DHS headquarters in the exact format required;

3. Educational shortcomings were brought about in large part because DHS refused to fill eight vacancies (out of 14 teacher positions).

The governor's office fails to acknowledge that use of isolation rooms had been reduced by 98 percent before the closure decision and IJH employees were working diligently to make changes in accordance with recommendations from the governor's task force.

How does DHS Director Charles Palmer escape any blame for his lack of oversight and mismanagement? Answer: 'cronyism,” a flavor for which the Branstad administration has developed a distinct taste.

The nondescriptive response from the governor's office, 'we are doing what is best for the children,” couldn't be further from the truth.

Bill Skow

Toledo