Imagine the Possibilities addresses abuse and client‑fund allegations and county to review property title

Representatives of Imagine the Possibilities told the Des Moines County Board of Supervisors on March 24 that the agency has taken corrective steps after a newspaper report alleging derogatory staff comments and mismanagement of some resident funds at a Walton group home.

Tiffany Marlet, Imagine’s chief executive, said the agency immediately followed licensing protocols, separated the staff member involved in the derogatory‑speech allegation and worked with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals (DIA) to investigate and correct policy and practice. Marlet said a second concern — use of resident funds to buy items for shared facility use — prompted a company audit in coordination with DIA and Social Security (the agency acts as a Social Security payee for some clients). She told the board the agency had identified major purchases supported by receipts and begun issuing reimbursement checks; audit work and further reimbursements were expected to continue through April for many items.

Board members and public commenters pressed Imagine on the scope of the audit and on communications with reporters; Imagine acknowledged a media‑relations misstep when an individual who answered a reporter’s call provided an overly dismissive comment and said that statement did not reflect the organization’s formal response. "We have not made any public statements," Marlet said in the meeting, adding the agency had already submitted a remediation plan to the state and that payments would be made where traceable purchases were found.

Meeting participants discussed how agencies and payee practices should protect client benefits while returning funds. Imagine described multi‑person approval steps for withdrawals, use of trust options (including ABLE/Iowa variants), and a multi‑signatory process to authorize purchases so funds are not used in a way that would jeopardize benefits. Agency representatives said they could not always recover receipts going back nine years but had thoroughly audited the last two years and identified several high‑value purchases (for example, dining‑room tables and chairs) for which receipts were located and reimbursements issued.

Community members also raised a separate but related question about four county properties that Imagine/ Hope Haven previously used. Jane Houseright, president of Partners for Persons with Disabilities (formerly ARC), presented archival documents and said she believes the property was originally conveyed to the county by the ARC with the expectation the land remain available to serve people with disabilities. She asked whether, if the county decides to sell property and donate proceeds to local service providers, any original donor restrictions or reversion rights should be recognized.

County officials said they had found new title information during initial review and that the most prudent next step would be a title search or private title opinion to clarify ownership history. The board set April 9 as the deadline for realtor proposals related to selling four properties and said it would consider escrow or other mechanisms to ensure sale proceeds are used to benefit the clients the land originally supported.

Why it matters: Allegations that staff mistreated residents or that resident funds were used improperly raise questions about oversight of group homes and payee responsibilities; the county’s property holdings and how sale proceeds are used affect local nonprofit services that serve people with disabilities.

What’s next: Imagine continues its audit and reimbursement process; the county attorney and staff will review title records and may obtain a private title opinion, and the board will revisit ownership and sale procedures once that review is complete.