More on TX Company accused of exploiting disabled; state closes home

[EV_Ares]

Atalissa, Ia. — Federal police, state health inspectors and county prosecutors descended on this eastern Iowa town over the weekend, launching a major investigation into the care and treatment of a group of mentally retarded men and ordering an emergency evacuation of the men's living quarters.

The investigation focuses on Henry's Turkey Service, a Texas-based company that for 34 years has employed dozens of mentally retarded men who work at the West Liberty Foods meat-processing plant in Muscatine County.

Since the late 1970s, Henry's Turkey Service has been shipping mentally retarded men from Texas to Iowa to work in the West Liberty plant. Henry's has acted as the workers' employer, landlord and caregiver — paying the men a reduced wage for their work at the plant and then deducting from their pay the cost of room, board and care. Payroll records indicate the men are left with as little as $65 per month in salary.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090208/NEWS/902080344

Update: Group homes operate outside law, critics say

The Atalissa "bunkhouse" that for decades was home to dozens of mentally retarded men is one of Iowa's unregulated group homes.

There are dozens, probably hundreds of such homes in Iowa. The precise number is uncertain. Because they are not licensed or inspected, no one knows how many there are or where they are located.

For years, mental health advocates have complained that boarding houses fall between the gaps in the state's regulatory system.

In Atalissa, the 106-year-old building that was home to the mentally retarded workers at Henry's Turkey Service was owned by the city itself, so officials there knew that dozens of mentally retarded men lived there.

But not all mentally retarded people are considered dependent. State social workers are now assessing the needs of the 21 Henry's employees who were evacuated from the bunkhouse on Saturday by order of the fire marshal.

entire article @ link: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090209/NEWS10/902090324?GID=afGBWLlrprToGgcQPuFRmo3psbub55ZOABwZquHldoQ%3D