The Department of Human Services is writing rules for the Anchor Character Training Center to be classified as the first children's center in Iowa.

Department of Human Services spokesman Roger Munns said this week that he wasn't clear in a previous interview with The Messenger. He had originally said the state has no idea how many of the children's centers exist in Iowa.

"If people tell us about them, we become aware of them," he had said.

More recently, however, Munns said Anchor Character Training Center will be the first facility to fall under children's center criteria.

Anchor Character Training Center, 1940 225th St., is a coed home for troubled teens that is operated by the Harvest Baptist Church.

In establishing certification or licensing standards for a children's center, DHS is required to consult with the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, Department of Education, Department of Public Health, state fire marshal and community-based providers of services.

Several of these departments have already been consulted and the certification should be written within the next few months, Munns said.

"The law specifically prohibits us from making decisions on program content," Munns said. "What it will include is things like fire safety, medications properly stored, emergency numbers for parents, things that are very similar to regulations for child care facilities."

DHS is charged with protecting all children's welfare, he said.

"Iowa's laws to protect children spread across the state, regulated or not," said Munns.

He said the normal process for writing criteria for such a facility includes a public comment period before the rules are submitted to the rules and review committee of the Legislature.

Sen. Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, who sits on the committee, said, "On facilities like this one that care for adolescents, it should have some regulation or oversight by the state. We have to do what's in the best interest of the child."

The Government Oversight Committee, chaired by Sen. Rich Olive, D-Story City, received a few recommendations last week from the governor's task force regarding issues with unlicensed facilities, Olive stated.

"One of the recommendations is to require all facilities or group homes to register with the state," Olive wrote in an e-mail. "We will start working on legislation next week. It seems clear that at the very least, we should know where all these facilities are located. The next logical step would be to do some evaluation of the facility and services they provide."

Marvin Smith, the pastor who runs the Harvest Baptist Church and the Anchor Character Training Center, declined an interview on Thursday.

Smith said his attorney is preparing a document that tells "the other side of the story" and didn't want to interview until he had that information. He said he was willing to talk to The Messenger, but couldn't do so immediately.

While Munns clarified that DHS was not aware of Anchor Character Training Center in the state office, that's not to say Webster County DHS hasn't responded to the facility, he said.

Webster County Sheriff Brian Mickelson said his department accompanied local DHS workers Feb. 28 to the Anchor facility.

Munns said DHS maintains strict confidentiality when it comes to complaints and investigations of child abuse.

"We have found law enforcement officials statewide, and there in Webster County, to be excellent sources of information, so you should have no reason to doubt their statements to you," Munns said. "When it comes to our action regarding complaints and investigations of child abuse, we are required to maintain strict confidentiality.

"In general, with no specific case in mind, the DHS sends abuse assessors when the agency becomes aware of allegations which, if proven true, would amount to abuse under Iowa law. Under supervision of the juvenile court, the job of the DHS workers is to take whatever action is necessary to assure safety of the children," Munns said.

The legislation for children's centers, Senate File 227, was signed May 27, 1999. According to Mandy Easter, law librarian for the State Law Library of Iowa, the bill was sponsored by a committee on human resources. No legislative history is available, except for a summary of the bill, she said.

The Webster County Home was purchased for $188,500 in 1998 by the Lazarus Corp., an investment group whose members included former Fort Dodge resident Bob Keck.

According to a June 12, 1999, Messenger article, Keck said he had several offers to his group to buy the property, but none were as aggressive as Harvest Baptist Church.

"We met with their board numerous times, and it seemed like a good service," Keck said. "Harvest Baptist made a sweet sales pitch, and it probably cost us money in the long run. We wanted someone with local ties, and we're happy with the way they're going to use it."

The building was sold for an undisclosed price. The facility was granted an exemption from paying property taxes in 2003.

In 2001, Webster County Supervisors denied a zoning amendment that would have aided an expansion of the Anchor Character Training Center.

The church sought to expand on 20 acres of county-owned land.

"I was against the whole zoning thing," said Eddie Peterson, Webster County supervisor who also sat on the board in 2001.

"I wasn't concerned about the individuals, with the guys who were running it," Peterson said. "I had concerns because they weren't required by the state to have open inspections."

At the time, Tom Sooter served as a representative for Harvest Baptist Church.

"We are not licensed by the state on purpose," Sooter said in the July 25, 2001 Messenger article. "When you're licensed, that gives the state permission to regulate your curriculum and discipline - the state would probably think it's cruel and inhumane not to have television in every room."

Contact Abigail McWilliam at (515) 573-2141 or amcwilliam@messengernews.net