Trending Topics
Get the information you need on some of the hot topics being talked about in Iowa. Learn more about how they may impact you. We know a lot is going on, so we wanted you to be able to find it in one place.
Special Education & Area Education Agencies (AEAs)
The Iowa Legislature made big changes to the state's special education system during the 2024 legislative session. Special education in Iowa is administered by the Area Education Agencies, or AEAs for short. Under the new plan, AEAs will no longer provide professional development services to schools and teachers. AEAs will continue to receive special education funds directly but there will be more oversight from the Iowa Department of Education (DE). The DE will also put state staff into each AEA and will staff a new Division of Special Education within the DE. There will be a review committee set up to make further recommendations to the Iowa Legislature. Check back for more information on these meetings and how you can voice your concerns or suggestions as the state makes these changes.
Hope & Opportunity in Many Environments (HOME)
The US Department of Justice found Iowa is not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Our state has not built up enough local capacity to serve Iowans with disabilities who are currently living in institutions.
The
Harkin Institute teamed up with
Mathematica to look at how Iowans with disabilities access and use community based services. This review included services offered by both Medicaid and Mental Health and Disability Services regions. The team talked to hundreds of Iowans before making recommendations and developing them into an action plan to make changes. That action plan is called the
Community Based Services Transformation Plan
and the state is calling this initiative
HOME (Hope and Opportunity in Many Environments).
HHS Service Delivery Changes
Iowa HHS has spent the last four years changing the way its services are organized. They are now makings the changes needed to realign the system, to make sure Iowans can find the things they need quickly and seamlessly. That means looking at all the different "service regions" that are housed in HHS, including MH/DS regions, Aging & Disability Resource Centers, local county public health agencies, child welfare regions and more.
HHS hired Health Management Associates to make recommendations. They met with stakeholders, reviewed the history of the delivery system, and made recommendations. The report outlined a plan to move disability services to the aging and disability services network (through expanded Aging & Disability Resource Centers) and transition the current 13 mental health regions to seven Behavioral Health Districts that would coordinate mental health, substance use and gambling, and anti-smoking initiatives.
The Iowa Legislature passed and the Governor signed HF 2673, which made these recommended changes official. Now HHS is hosting listening posts to begin this process and will be looking at the next phase of these changes (including a review of the county public health system).
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This project is supported by the Administration for Community Living (ACL), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $774,176 with 100 percent funding by ACL/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by ACL/HHS, or the U.S. Government.