State center under investigation; top official put on leave

GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) – The superintendent of Iowa’s care center for people with intellectual disabilities has been placed on paid leave amid a federal investigation into the facility.

The director of Iowa’s Department of Human Services, Kelly Garcia, sent an email Monday to staffers at the Glenwood Resource Center, informing them of the action taken against Jerry Rea. The Des Moines Register reported that Garcia said Rea was placed on leave “in light of” a federal investigation into conditions at Glenwood.

Associated Press efforts to reach Rea on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

The newspaper reported earlier this month that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating whether the state has been violating the federal rights of people with disabilities at Glenwood. A Nov. 21 letter from an U.S. attorney general said investigators would check among things whether the state was providing adequate medical care and using “needless and harmful restraint practices.”

The Glenwood center provides care to about 250 people with intellectual disabilities, many of whom have other health issues. Its history of problems over the years includes mistreatment of residents.