Statewide Economic Impacts of Disaster-Related Payments to Support Household and Private and Public Sector Recovery in Iowa, January 2010

There have been a multitude of programs providing assistance to the state of Iowa in the past 18 months. Springtime 2008 disasters resulted in tornado damage and widespread flood damage to large fractions of the state. In consequence, there was a very large flow of federal and state resources dedicated to assisting community and statewide recovery efforts. The nation was in recession as well and continued to be in recession through much of 2009. A sizeable amount of assistance found its way to Iowa under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 in the forms of infrastructure stimulus spending, income supports and other safety net spending for households, and stabilization assistance for essential public services like education. On top of that, the state of Iowa authorized the I Jobs program as an additional infrastructure development program, and as a jobs stimulus program. The total amount of spending for all types of programs, disaster or economic recovery related, is perhaps as high as $7.5 billion over the next few years.

Coming into Focus A Needs Assessment and State Plan for Iowans with Brain Injury, November 1998

Coming Into Focus presents a needs assessment related to Iowans with brain injury, and a state action plan to improve Iowa’s ability to meet those needs. Support for this project came from a grant from the Office of Maternal and Child Health to the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa’s lead agency for brain injury. The report is a description of the needs of people with brain injuries in Iowa, the status of services to meet those needs and a plan for improving Iowa’s system of supports. Brain injury can result from a skull fracture or penetration of the brain, a disease process such as tumor or infection, or a closed head injury, such as shaken baby syndrome. Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in children and young adults (Fick, 1997). In the United States there are as many as 2 million brain injuries per year, with 300,000 severe enough to require hospitalization. Some 50,000 lives are lost every year to TBI. Eighty to 90 thousand people have moderate to acute brain injuries that result in disabling conditions which can last a lifetime. These conditions can include physical impairments, memory defects, limited concentration, communication deficits, emotional problems and deficits in social abilities. In addition to the personal pain and challenges to survivors and their families, the financial cost of brain injuries is enormous. With traumatic brain injuries, it is estimated that in 1995 Iowa hospitals charged some $38 million for acute care for injured persons. National estimates offer a lifetime cost of $4 million for one person with brain injury (Schootman and Harlan, 1997). With this estimate, new injuries in 1995 could eventually cost over $7 billion dollars. Dramatic improvements in medicine, and the development of emergency response systems, means that more people sustaining brain injuries are being saved. How can we insure that supports are available to this emerging population? We have called the report Coming into Focus, because, despite the prevalence and the personal and financial costs to society, brain injury is poorly understood. The Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa Advisory Council on Head Injuries State Plan Task Force, the Brain Injury Association of Iowa and the Iowa University Affiliated Program have worked together to begin answering this question. A great deal of good information already existed. This project brought this information together, gathered new information where it was needed, and carried out a process for identifying what needs to be done in Iowa, and what the priorities will be.