Last May, Governor Branstad signed bipartisan legislation to fund the Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo. In December, he suddenly decided to shut it down. This week at the Statehouse, legislators heard another side of the story, when former residents of the Iowa Juvenile Home shared how it saved their lives.
The Iowa Juvenile Home works with some of the most troubled girls in our state. These children arrived in Toledo after failing in many private placements. The girls were failing because their families had failed them, their schools had failed them, and their communities had failed them. That’s why they were sent to Toledo.
At the Iowa Juvenile Home, they had experienced professionals to care for them, and a safe and stable environment to learn the skills to become successful adults, effective parents and good citizens.
What will happen to the girls residing at the Iowa Juvenile Home when it shut its doors?
Closing the Iowa Juvenile Home was a bad decision. We must correct it for the sake of the kids in need of the help it offered.