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Senate Republicans approved a $20 million budget increase for the Iowa Department of Corrections Tuesday following calls by Democrats for more funding.Senate Judiciary Chair Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said Republicans agree with Democrats and that state prisons desperately need more money.Democrats toured the Anamosa State Penitentiary after a March 23 attack that killed Lorena Schulte and Robert McFarland.“(McFarland) tried to use his radio, and it malfunctioned,” said Rep. Bruce Hunter, D-Des Moines.Hunter said an outdated radio system and insufficient staffing contributed to the employees’ deaths. “We didn t have enough guards or correctional officers there to come to their aids,” Hunter said. “They had to rely on other inmates to save them. That is flat out wrong on so many levels.”The approved $20 million increase is the biggest budget boost the Department of Corrections has seen in years, but AFSCME President Danny Homan said it is not enough to fix what he call
Iowa Lawmakers Vote to Increase Corrections Budget and Benefits
The tragic deaths of nurse Lorena Schulte and corrections officer Robert McFarland as a result of an inmate attack at the Anamosa state penitentiary last March brought to light what many officials in the state have pointed out as a severe shortage of workers in the Iowa Department of Corrections and a severe lack of benefits for existing employees. Iowa lawmakers recently took another step toward correcting these shortfalls as the Iowa House voted to add $21 million to the state corrections budget, and the state Senate then approved it on Tuesday according to the Des Moines Register.
I hope we never have to use it again, he said.
A separate measure is expected to be included in the state s education budget would allow the children and stepchildren of slain Department of Corrections employees to receive the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, a state-funded scholarship program for students attending Iowa colleges and universities.
Children of police officers, sheriffs and firefighters killed in the line of duty are already eligible to receive the scholarship. The maximum award under the scholarship in the 2020-2021 school year was $4,644 and recipients can receive the scholarship for up to eight full-time semesters or 16 part-time semesters.