Home Local News PALMER RESIGNS FROM IOWA DHS

PALMER RESIGNS FROM IOWA DHS

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The head of the Iowa Department of Human Services is retiring amid criticism of the agency’s handling of alleged child abuse cases.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds says Charles Palmer notified her Wednesday that he would retire effective June 16th.

She called him “a dedicated public servant who has spent his life trying to improve the lives of Iowans.”

The department has been scrutinized for months over its handling of child abuse cases, including the deaths of two teenage girls.
The news release announcing his retirement doesn’t address those cases.

Palmer led the agency last year when it privatized its Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, a move that was also criticized.

Palmer ran the department from 1989 to 1999 under former Gov. Terry Branstad.

He returned in 2011 when Branstad was re-elected.

AP