 Cultural Equity
Since 2009, the Iowa Department of Human Services has promoted cultural equity-focused strategies to address disproportionate racial representation in the child welfare system and disparity of outcomes. The goal for the collaborative efforts is to have supportive networks of teams to identify, develop, test, implement, and spread specific strategies across the state in order to contribute to the development of the child welfare system in Iowa to benefit all children, families, and communities equitably.
With this focus, the Cultural Equity Alliance Steering Committee (CEASC) was formed to develop recommendations for implementing systemic changes focused on reducing minority and ethnic disproportionality and disparity in the child welfare system. This statewide collaborative includes the following representatives: DHS (leadership and field staff), providers, courts, Parent Partners, foster care alumni, immigrant and refugee services, other child welfare partners, domestic violence agencies, juvenile justice, race and ethnic diversity and inclusion advocates.
In 2016, upon CEASC recommendations, DHS officially adopted fifteen Guiding Principles for Cultural Equity (GPCE) as a framework for moving the equity focused efforts forward, based on the Office of Minority Health national standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services. These guiding principles are focused on governance, leadership and workforce; communication and language assistance; engagement, continuous improvement and accountability.
In fulfilling these guiding principles, additional resources have been developed including the Continuing Courageous Conversations Toolkit, learning exchanges have been delivered across the state including Race: The Power of an Illusion, since 2012. and Understanding Implicit Racial Bias, since 2018, and promotion of the use of CultureVisionTM and webinars in partnership with Universities and equity focused facilitators and coordinators.
Additionally, there are county 10 teams that have been working on creating Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) strategies to impact policy and practice change. On these teams are representatives from DHS leadership, direct line staff, community partners, a youth currently in foster care or alumni of foster care, court partners, and parent representative who has been reunified with his/her children. The 10 teams are from the following counties: Blackhawk, Des Moines, Dubuque, Johnson, Linn, Polk, Scott, Wapello, Webster, and Woodbury. Yearly, these teams and other child welfare and equity focused partners come together for a shared learning session to inform their PDSA and strategic planning.
Over 20,000 Mandatory Reporter
Certificates Issued in August
There were 20,329 Mandatory Reporter training certificates issued in August, which was equal to what was projected for a year. Of the certificates, 10,854 of these were for Dependent Adult Abuse MA training and 9,475 were for Child Abuse MA training.
The month of July presented technical challenges to end users due to a high number of people trying to take the training. The most common service requests were related to login/enrollment issues. Since Iowa State University added a duplicate website, most technical concerns have been resolved. Certification rose by 112.9 percent and service requests dropped by 27 percent from July.
For more information on Mandatory Reporter training, visit https://dhs.iowa.gov/child-welfare/mandatoryreporter.
 Family First: Evidence-Based Practice
Family First requires states to end unnecessary removals by providing evidence-based family preservation services. Read more about Evidence-Based Practice here, and check out an overview linking to all Family First resources here.
 Thank You For Your Service:
5 years of service
Ashley McClatchey, Northern Iowa Service Area
Sarah Gettler, Woodward Resource Center
Jessica Williams, Woodward Resource Center
Aaron Bailey, Woodward Resource Center
Amanda Sims, Cedar Rapids Service Area
Robyn Moravek, Cedar Rapids Service Area
Dereck Jackson, Glenwood Resource Center
Kathy Pieken, Glenwood Resource Center
Eric Akers, Glenwood Resource Center
Lea Braathun, Centralized Service Area
Alicia Hill, CSRU-Administration
Barbara Pruett Hildebrandt, Des Moines Service Area
Rosa Martinez Ruiz, Des Moines Service Area
Michelle Dunblazier, Targeted Case Management
10 years of service
Nicole Arnold, Western Iowa Service Area
Lacey Bozarth, Cedar Rapids Service Area
Belinda Silvernail, CSRU-Administration
Juliana Hoard, Division of Iowa Medicaid Enterprise
Jeffrey Veitz, Des Moines Service Area
Kati Swanson, Northern Iowa Service Area
15 years of service
Amanda Moore, Woodward Resource Center
Jeffrey Cregeen, Woodward Resource Center
Frank Jacobs, Woodward Resource Center
Terri Delp, Woodward Resource Center
Michelle Washington, Northern Iowa Service Area
Nate Reinert, CCUSO
Norbert Janning, CCUSO
Jenny Neddermeyer, Cherokee MHI
Maria George, Eastern Iowa Service Area
Gloria Van Wyhe, Glenwood Resource Center
Michael Allison, Centralized Service Area
Kate Oberbroeckling, Centralized Service Area
Shannon Hutchinson, Des Moines Service Area
Shari Bral, Cedar Rapids Service Area
20 years of service
Heather Colvin, Woodward Resource Center
Paula Pifer, Woodward Resource Center
Jennell Holmes, Woodward Resource Center
Nannette McNeill, Woodward Resource Center
Cheryl Stanford, Independence MHI
Kodie Connolly, Independence MHI
Linda Felton, Independence MHI
Barbara Schauer, Cherokee MHI
Teresa Hanna
Nancy Garner, Cedar Rapids Service Area
Elizabeth D'Souza, Glenwood Resource Center
Tina Razor, Glenwood Resource Center
Benjamin Haxhiu, Des Moines Service Area
Bobbi Marquis, Eastern Iowa Service Area
Kim Vyverberg, Eastern Iowa Service Area
25 years of service
Roger Lee, CSRU-Administration
Teresa Manning, Western Iowa Service Area
Earl Crow, Des Moines Service Area
Karen Eblen, Des Moines Service Area
30 years of service
Sara Bullock, Woodward Resource Center
Jenifer Godwin, Woodward Resource Center
Han Ta-Ieong, Woodward Resource Center
Frank Allen, Woodward Resource Center
Dianne Mahan, Woodward Resource Center
Randy Barton, Woodward Resource Center
Delores Klever, Independence MHI
Diane Briskey, Glenwood Resource Center
Mary Potter, Division of Field Operations
Juanita Arellanos, Eastern Iowa Service Area
Mark Williams, Cedar Rapids Service Area
35 years of service
Paula O'Hare, Woodward Resource Center
Dawn Moore, Northern Iowa Service Area
John Burke, Division of Field Operations
Kerri Wurtele, Glenwood Resource Center
Angela Smith, Des Moines Service Area
Heather Davidson, Division of Adult, Child & Family Services
James Chesnik, Division of Adult, Child & Family Services
Trudy Crawford, Office of the Director
40 years of service
Mary Hodapp, Woodward Resource Center
Kristen Rolston, Woodward Resource Center
Cheryl Goetzinger, Northern Iowa Service Area
Dee Slater, Glenwood Resource Center
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