Meeting Public Comments

Laura Teske

I am writing to ask you to oppose HSB248. I understand the desire to have people working, to the extent that they are able. However, this bill is extending requirements to populations that we are supposed to be helping and supporting. People experiencing homelessness are rarely in a position to be able to find someone to hire them at all, much less give them 20 hours of work a week. They often don't have clean clothes to wear, transportation to work, access to hygiene products, and may be suffering from mental and/or physical disabilities that impeded their ability to work. Young adults aging out of foster care have some of the highest rates of homelessness in the state. The support they receive is supposed to help them transition into new stages of life that they have, most likely, not been prepared for due to their life circumstances. In general, people don't want to be poor. They don't want to be unemployed. They don't want to require assistance. Please stop treating the poor as if they are criminals, deserving of being shamed. These are people who are trying to work through life under difficult circumstances and only want the opportunity to feed themselves and have basic healthcare. These are not excessive requests. These are basic needs and we need to stop punishing people for being poor. Please, please vote against this bill.

Chad Webb [Common sense citizen/constituent]

I havent been able to work since 2020thats when the pandemic started. Everything shut down, especially for kids with disabilities. Over the past four years, Ive done everything I can to try to get back to work. What the state seems to fail to realize is that caregiving for children with disabilities could be much easier if legislators would simply bring in the parentsthose actually affected by these billsand assess our needs firsthand.I completed six years of trade school and worked as a plumber for 15 years. I was preparing to start my own business before the pandemic hit, but my son needed me more. I stepped up to care for him because nothing is more important than that.Ive tried to get him into daycare, but the reality is daycares discriminate. They know Iowa isnt going to come after them. Everyone knows Iowas record on civil rights. The Supreme Court even stated Iowa has no obligation to pursue civil rights claims when individuals sue on their own in district court. Thats a systemic problemespecially for families like mine who cant afford lawyers. And its a major reason why Iowa ranks so poorly in supporting people with disabilities.Many of these kids can be included in daycare, but now we act like people need training just to treat them with tolerance and kindness. The more these kids are included in everyday life, the more theyand societywill adapt. Spiritually and economically, inclusion makes sense.There are plenty of good ideas. Bring ABA therapy services directly into schools so providers can work with kids during the school day. That helps both students and teachers. Require schools to offer before and afterschool care for kids rejected by local daycares. Let high school students volunteer. That experience will help them as future teachers, nurses, or doctors. And schools would change their ways if Iowa backed up parents or at least created fair IEP and hearing processes. Right now, parents lose nearly 90% of the time unless they have a lawyer. And when they do win, its usually settled out of court, which hides the fact that Iowa has a massive problem.Now were talking about restricting what people on SNAP can buy. That sends a message that Iowa views people on welfare as secondclass citizens. Meanwhile, a guy working a desk job can buy junk food all day just because he earned it. But families in tough situationsmany of us not by choiceget punished?If health is really the concern, ban junk food altogether. But be realkids with disabilities are often picky eaters. My son only eats certain foods, including a specific kind of cookie. It has sugar, sure, but it also has nutrition. Are we going to take that away and let him starve more?This work requirement bill is dangerous. If you force parents like me to work 80 hours a month and we cant because were caring for our kids, we lose everythingfood, housing, even Social Security. These are the only things keeping families like mine afloat.Ive worked since I was 14. Ive built homes, plumbed your bathrooms, dug trenches by hand. Ive voted for many of you. I stood against mask mandates because I knew what it would do to my sons mental health. I supported conservative school boardsand what did I get in return? Retaliation and false accusations that got my son kicked out of services.We showed up to your public forums. We told our stories. You broadcast them across the state. And then? Nothing. Just silence and retaliation.This is reality. If youre going to legislate our lives, at least have the courage to hear us. But creating legislation like this all it does is tell the public that people that are collecting welfare and benefits are second class citizens and are just lazy.. now we have to hear, ignorant people ramble off about talking points instead of knowing the facts. This seems to be how do processes handled these days. The social media declares it and so it shall be. I think we should be more responsible. All I heard was is how Democrats used gorilla warfare tactics a lot of gaslighting, but then I see the Republicans doing the same thing.. we cant have a nation forever. We have to start figuring out ways to come together like I said many times when the den started talking about the LGBTQ or whatever else crap start focusing on kids with disabilities neurological and physical as it was intended when the ADA was created.. but what makes it even worse is youre gonna spend more money implementing this than you are benefiting. It doesnt work so I ask that there needs to be another amendment put in the bill. If there are parents out here raising kids with disabilities that should be an absolute exemption. Parents cannot find services that are medically necessary , cannot find many things. Service providers and school districts retaliate in my case working handinhand together to deny a child medically necessary services all because of my support for conservative values. Iowa knows this they were sued already within the last two or three years and it was a pretty damning lawsuit against the state. These kids need their parents.. they certainly dont need to be shuffled through the system into an environment where most people dont want them and institutions fail them every day. These kids have souls they have hearts, and they do feel no matter what anyone tells you.. read the Bible itll tell you whats going on right now. You definitely should not turn back on these kids.