Imagine the Possibilities says it audited receipts and will reimburse clients after finding past errors

Imagine the Possibilities leaders told a Des Moines County work session that they have investigated two incidents cited in recent news coverage — a staff member’s derogatory treatment of a resident at the Walton group home and earlier misuse of some client funds — and are taking steps to make affected clients whole.

"We immediately followed our protocols," said Tiffany Marlette, chief executive officer of Imagine the Possibilities, describing how the agency separated the staff member after an abuse report and reported the incident to the Department of Inspections and Appeals. "We retrained all those staff" and took disciplinary and corrective actions, she said.

Marlette and other agency leaders described a separate audit of client funds after state surveyors flagged purchases at the Walton location that Social Security rules say should not be paid for with a resident’s Social Security benefits. Agency leaders said some purchases — from sheets and towels to dining-room tables — were traced to prior administrators and to a misunderstanding about whether the setting was a residential care facility or a home-and-community-based program. "We dug through and found those receipts," said Wendy Malone, president at Imagine the Possibilities, noting the agency reimbursed known purchases.

Agency staff said they cooperated with Social Security and state investigators, set up trust options for clients, and retrained leadership and frontline workers. Malone said the agency has opened dozens of trust accounts recently to protect client eligibility; she said, "Last quarter, we opened 47 new accounts for individuals that we serve across the state." The meeting record included a citation to a $2,000 Medicaid asset limit when participants described how trusts can preserve benefits.

Asked how quickly reimbursements would reach clients, agency representatives said auditors have identified many purchases and "the rest of the audit was continuing up, and we have a final number for that, and those checks will be cut in April," according to an Imagine representative.

Community members at the meeting pressed agency leaders about one media exchange in which a person who answered a reporter’s call was quoted in a way that some called dismissive. Housewright said the earlier comment — paraphrased in public reporting as "no big deal" — gave the wrong impression. "That was an unfortunate statement," Malone responded at the meeting, and Marlette added that the person who took the call was not the agency's official spokesperson.

The agency described other steps taken after the investigation: a one-page quick guide for staff on reporting and response, regular abuse-prevention training, and a review of receipts going back as far as records exist. Agency leaders acknowledged limits on historical documentation: Social Security records and payee requirements often keep only about two years of receipts, and agency auditors said they focused on recent years plus any major purchases they could locate.

The meeting produced no formal county action on the agency’s operations; supervisors and community members asked follow-up questions and requested further documentation. Agency leaders said they continue to work with Social Security and state authorities and will continue outreach to families and guardians as reimbursement work proceeds.

The board’s work session moved next to a related item: community concern about county-owned land that some long-time advocates say was conveyed to the county for use by people with disabilities.