Report: Iowa school uses full-body wraps, denies mental care
Source: Associated Press
Scott Mcfetridge, Associated Press
Updated 4:50 pm, Monday, August 7, 2017
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa school for juvenile offenders subjects the boys to restraints and seclusion rooms and denies them essential mental health care, a federally funded nonprofit organization alleged Monday in a report that threatened legal action unless the state makes significant changes.
Disability Rights Iowa concluded the Boys State Training School doesn't have enough mental health professionals, locks up children by themselves and restrains them in beds with full-body wraps. It made the assessment after 11 visits to the facility, interviews with 30 residents and a review of records.
The group said the school's shortcomings were part of larger problems throughout the state's system for juvenile offenders.
"This is basically the tip of the iceberg," said Nathan Kirstein, a staff attorney for the organization. "This is not because this is an evil, deviant place, and if we fix it all our problems will go away. This is symptomatic of all the gaps in services along the way for these youths."
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Report-Iowa-school-uses-full-body-wraps-denies-11740212.php
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