Former GRC employees facing neglect charges

Six former Glenwood Resource Center (GRC) employees were arrested last week as result of a nearly three-month investigation by the Glenwood Police Department into the abuse and neglect of clients with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the state-operated facility.
     Darrel Case, 49, of Tabor; Dana Case, 42, of Tabor; Ryan Belt, 35, of Tabor;  Kayla Stevenson, 23 of Council Bluffs; Ayla Yates, 25 of Glenwood; and Tyler Palmer, 28, of Glenwood face charges as a result of the investigation into alleged assaults on clients living in a house on the GRC campus at 253 Indian Hills Dr.
     Darrell Case faces five counts of wanton neglect of a health-care facility resident and released after posting $10,000 bond. Dana Case is charged with one count of wanton neglect of a health care facility resident and posted $200 bond before being released. Palmer, Stevenson and Yates are all charged with one count of wanton neglect of a health care facility resident and were freed after posting $2,000 bond. Belt is charged with one count of wanton neglect of a health care facility resident and dependent adult abuse. He was released on $3,000 bond.
    The police investigation stemmed from findings of an Iowa Department of Human Services (IDHS) investigation initiated last September amid allegations of client mistreatment and staff failure to report incidents in a timely manner. The IDHS investigation determined that seven clients were the subject of physical abuse and 13 experienced verbal abuse or neglect. Former GRC staff members were accused of hitting some clients, neglecting personal care needs, teasing and talking abusively to and around clients. Most of the alleged incidents took place at night. The IDHS investigation resulted in the firing of six employees and the resignation of six others.
    Richard Shults, director of mental health and disability services for the IDHS, said in January that action has been taken to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
  
    The IDHS’s “action” includes increased supervision of staff, more rounds by middle and top management at varying times and mandatory retraining for all staff on the standards of client treatment and on reporting suspected mistreatment.