Case: DOJ Investigation of the Glenwood Resource Center
4:22-cv-00398 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa
Filed Date: Dec. 1, 2022
Case Ongoing
Clearinghouse coding complete
Case Summary
This was an out of court matter initiated by the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (DOJ). The investigation examined conditions at the Glenwood Resource Center (Glenwood), an institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities operated by the State of Iowa in Glenwood, Iowa. The DOJ initiated the investigation in November 2019 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), as well as Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In a post-investigation findings letter issued on December 22, 2020, the DOJ found reasonable cause to believe the conditions at Glenwood violated the Substantive Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and that these violations occurred as part of a systematic pattern or practice of Fourteenth Amendment violations. The DOJ determined that Iowa subjected Glenwood residents to unreasonable harm through uncontrolled and unsupervised experimentation, inadequate physical and behavioral healthcare, and inadequate protection from harm, including deficient safety and oversight mechanisms.
Specifically, the DOJ concluded that Iowa violated Glenwood residents’ constitutional rights by conducting experiments on them without their consent, as well as collecting and distributing their data without informing them. Experiments such as unnecessarily overhydrating residents were found to have caused physical harm. In addition, the DOJ concluded that Glenwood residents received constitutionally inadequate physical health care, as they failed to receive timely or clinically appropriate medical assessments or treatment, which at times resulted in severe physical harm. The DOJ also concluded that Glenwood’s behavioral health care, including its use of restraints, violated residents’ due process rights. Finally, the DOJ found severe deficiencies in the staffing, oversight and quality management at both Glenwood and the Iowa Department of Human Services, and that these deficiencies fostered an environment in which the constitutional violations could and did routinely occur.
On December 8, 2021, the DOJ issued its findings as to the ADA violations, concluding that there was reasonable cause to believe the State violated Title II of the ADA by failing to provide services to people with intellectual developmental disabilities in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The investigation found that the State planned, administered, and funded its public healthcare service system in a manner that unnecessarily segregated people with intellectual developmental disabilities in Resource Centers, rather than providing these services where people lived, in their communities.
The DOJ announced a settlement with the State on December 2, 2022. Iowa decided to close Glenwood in approximately two years, but the parties agreed to remedy the conditions at Glenwood while it remained open. Further, if more than one-third of current Glenwood residents moved to and were living at Woodward Resource Center (the other state-run institution for individuals with intellectual disabilities) at any point during the decree term, then the decree would apply to Woodward as well. The proposed consent decree prohibited uncontrolled and unsupervised experiments; required better staffing, training and oversight for clinical care; dramatically limited the use of restraints and seclusion; and required substantial State oversight over all aspects of Glenwood’s operation. In addition, the decree required greater transparency, through public reporting and engagement with stakeholders. The decree appointed an independent monitor for a period of three years to assess the State’s compliance. The monitor was to submit reports every six months. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa approved the consent decree on January 11, 2023, and retained jurisdiction over the matter for the purposes of enforcing the agreement. The agreement was to terminate in five years, if the parties agreed that the State had attained substantial compliance with all provisions, and maintained that compliance for a period of one year.
As of November 2023, monitoring appears to be ongoing, and the State plans to close Glenwood at the end of 2024.
Summary Authors
Jonah Hudson-Erdman (9/12/2021)
Simran Takhar (11/24/2023)
People
For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66579999/parties/united-states-v-state-of-iowa/
Ebinger, Rebecca Goodgame (Iowa)
(FORMER), David L.D. (Iowa)
Collins, Chandlor Glenn (Iowa)
Kron, Laura (Iowa)
Mason, Krissa Kay (Iowa)
Documents in the Clearinghouse
Docket
See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66579999/united-states-v-state-of-iowa/
Last updated July 28, 2026, 8:35 p.m.
Docket for: United States v. State of Iowa
Case Details
State / Territory:
Case Type(s):
Healthcare Access and Reproductive Issues
Intellectual Disability (Facility)
Key Dates
Filing Date: Dec. 1, 2022
Case Ongoing: Yes
Plaintiffs
Plaintiff Description:
The United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division
Plaintiff Type(s):
U.S. Dept of Justice plaintiff
Attorney Organizations:
U.S. Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division
Public Interest Lawyer: Yes
Filed Pro Se: No
Class Action Sought: No
Class Action Outcome: Not sought
Defendants
State
Glenwood Resource Center
Defendant Type(s):
Case Details
Causes of Action:
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111 et seq.
Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA), 42 U.S.C. § 1997 et seq.
Constitutional Clause(s):
Due Process: Substantive Due Process
Other Dockets:
Southern District of Iowa 4:22-cv-00398
Available Documents:
Injunctive (or Injunctive-like) Relief
Outcome
Prevailing Party: Plaintiff OR Mixed
Relief Granted:
Injunction / Injunctive-like Settlement
Source of Relief:
Form of Settlement:
Court Approved Settlement or Consent Decree
Content of Injunction:
Follow recruitment, hiring, or promotion protocols
Other requirements regarding hiring, promotion, retention
Issues
General/Misc.:
Food service / nutrition / hydration
Informed consent/involuntary medication
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Disability and Disability Rights:
Developmental disability without intellectual disability
Intellectual/developmental disability, unspecified
Discrimination Basis:
Disability (inc. reasonable accommodations)
Jails, Prisons, Detention Centers, and Other Institutions:
Medical/Mental Health Care:
Intellectual/Developmental Disability
Case Summary of DOJ Investigation of the Glenwood Resource Center, Civil Rights Litig. Clearinghouse, https://clearinghouse.net/case/18180/ (last updated 11/24/2023).