Don’t leave girls’ fate unresolved

Heading into what many political leaders expect will likely be the final week of the state legislative session, several notable issues remain unsettled.

One is the fate of the shuttered Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo. A couple of proposals regarding the state-owned facility are included in the nearly $2 billion budget bill that funds human services, public health and other related programs for fiscal year 2015. Legislators shouldn't gavel out before this one is resolved.

Heading into Monday's debates, the Senate amendment would re-establish a 20-bed facility to provide treatment and educational services for the state's most delinquent female teens. It would spend about $7 million - $3.9 million to reopen the home, $1.12 million to provide follow-up services once girls are ready to leave the home, and $2 million toward the cost of placing other troubled children in need of assistance at private treatment providers. It also calls for improved accountability measures at the home, which the governor closed last fall after a investigations alleged abuse of some residents and incomplete education programs.

The House version would spend about $6 million - no money to reopen the home but $5.1 million toward placements with private providers and nearly $800,000 for maintenance of the Toledo property.

We think permanently closing the Toledo facility would waste a large amount of public and non-profit investment, including about $23 million in recent security and other improvements that address some of the investigators' concerns. While there is a home-of-last-resort for severely delinquent boys, located in Eldora, there is no such available option for girls if the Toledo home remains closed. And does it make sense to keep paying for maintenance much longer without actually using that taxpayer-owned facility?

As legislators close this session, we hope they reach a compromise that adequately serves a segment of our most troubled youth. Like every kid, these Iowans deserve a chance to succeed in the adult world.

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