Johnson County supervisors consider allotting $1 million for new youth shelter to be built at former Kinderfarm

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is considering contributing just over $1 million to help renovate a farm purchased by CommUnity Crisis Services to become a new youth crisis shelter.

The farm, at 5048 Highway 6 in Iowa City, was previously a nature-based preschool, called Kinderfarm, which closed last year.

Sarah Nelson, CEO of CommUnity, and Talia Meidlinger, executive director of United Action For Youth, have visited supervisors’ meetings multiple times in recent months to provide updates on the project and request funding.

Mental Health and Disability Services of the East Central Region put out a call earlier this year for proposals to create a youth crisis stabilization program in the region, which CommUnity answered. Around the same time, Four Oaks announced it would be closing its Iowa City and Independence youth shelters in early July, according to information shared by Nelson and Meidlinger during a May work session of the Johnson County supervisors.

Four Oaks, which is based in Cedar Rapids, closed two of its shelters after an analysis of needs across the state showed that the organization’s resources could be better used by expanding mental health services for youth in need, rather than focusing solely on housing them, said Jennifer Borcherding, development officer at Four Oaks.

“We increased placement opportunities for children in therapeutic environments where they can get mental health and support services that they truly need,” Borcherding said. “We can really serve children better by putting our resources into behavioral and mental health services.”

At a meeting of the supervisors on July 26, Meidlinger and Nelson shared the effects their organizations were seeing of the closure of the Four Oaks shelter in Iowa City. They emphasized that they wanted to get a new shelter finished and open as quickly as possible to support youth who need a temporary place to go.

“Without that resource, we’re seeing an increase in runaway youth, throwaway youth and involvement with (the Department of Health and Human Services),” Meidlinger said at the July meeting.

“I’ve never moved more quickly on a project in my entire career,” Nelson added.

CommUnity proposed creating a shelter at the former Kinderfarm site where youth in crisis could stay and receive mental health treatment, including nature therapy. CommUnity will contract with United Action For Youth to provide mental health services for youth at the shelter and to create long-term care plans for youth after they leave the shelter.

Locating the shelter at a farm will provide specific benefits for the shelter, Nelson and Meidlinger said. There will be opportunities for youth to participate in nature-based activities, like fishing or paddle boating at a pond on the property. There are several animals at the farm — including chickens, pigs, a horse and a llama — and nine tillable acres of land, which would provide opportunities for partnerships with food-based nonprofits in the area to create programs where youth can participate in growing food.

The farm will have space to house 12 youth at a time.

Funding coming from East Central Region, county supervisors

The plan to turn Kinderfarm into a youth shelter was presented by Nelson and Meidlinger to the Johnson County supervisors during a work session in May, after CommUnity received approval from the East Central Region to go forward with the project.

CommUnity Crisis Services purchased the farm for $1.2 million with funding from the East Central Region. The region provided CommUnity with an additional $250,000 to be used for startup costs, including initial staffing, technology and vehicles for staff.

The East Central Region also set aside $150,000 as part of its fiscal year 2024 budget to ensure services provided at the shelter will be cost-free. Crisis services are covered under Iowa Medicaid, but youth who don’t have insurance or who are covered under a private insurance provider that doesn’t include crisis services will have their services paid for by the region, Nelson said.

Youth in crisis will be able to stay in the shelter for up to 10 days under East Central Region funding. Longer stays will be paid for using federal funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Basic Center Program.

Nelson and Meidlinger said, in May, that this funding model would provide more money toward mental health services than was previously available at the shelter that was operated by Four Oaks, which was funded through a contract with the Iowa Department of Human and Social Services.

Renovations push facility costs higher

After purchasing the farm, CommUnity assessed what it would cost to bring it up to code for state licensing as a youth facility, and learned that it would be about $1,050,000. CommUnity is hoping to have the shelter finished and operational between January and March of 2024.

With the support of Johnson County supervisors, CommUnity requested additional funding from the East Central Region, but the region was not able to commit that funding as part of the current fiscal year. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors sent a letter to the region asking whether, if the county paid for the renovations now, the region would be willing to reimburse with any funds remaining in future funding cycles.

Nelson told the Johnson County board Wednesday that the East Central Region’s board discussed the letter during a recent meeting and was noncommittal about whether it would be willing to reimburse the county.

The Johnson County supervisors previously said they would be willing to fund the renovations, as they believe the shelter will be important for the Johnson County community. They also said they’d like the East Central Region to provide as much funding as possible since it made the original request for proposals.

“If the region can reimburse us, fantastic, but I think it’s important that we find the money regardless,” board member Jon Green said during a meeting in July. “This is a priority for me.”

At Wednesday’s meeting, board members nodded their agreement that they would plan to approve funding for the renovations while continuing to ask the region for reimbursement. The board members agreed that the urgency to open the property to youth is worth the cost.

The funding is on the agenda for a vote at Thursday’s board meeting, but the supervisors agreed they’ll postpone that vote until at least next week to give the county attorney’s office time to draft a contract between CommUnity and the county for how the funds will be used.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com