The Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors heard an update last week on Iowa’s ongoing effort to streamline early childhood services as part of a broader realignment led by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
Early Childhood Iowa Director Annette Koster told supervisors on May 5 that local ECI areas statewide are being directed to consolidate into district‑level regions that mirror Iowa’s seven behavioral health districts — a structure HHS began implementing after the agency was consolidated in 2022.
Koster said Buena Vista County will join Cherokee, Clay, Dickinson, Lyon, O’Brien, Osceola, Plymouth and Sioux counties to form a new regional Early Childhood Iowa area.
She said the change is partly driven by the loss of designation for the Lakes Early Childhood Iowa area, which will not receive funding in fiscal year 2027.
Koster thanked Buena Vista County for serving as the fiscal agent and employer of record for more than 20 years, but said the state wants the new district structure operating by July 1. She has prepared a letter ending the county’s fiscal‑agent agreement, though she asked supervisors to consider continuing as her employer of record during the transition.
Supervisors raised questions about liability, benefits, unemployment coverage and how reimbursements would work if the county remained the employer of record.
Koster said other regions have used similar arrangements, but the new district’s fiscal agent has not been finalized. Options include Family Alliance — which uses Pottawattamie County as its fiscal agent — or Central Iowa Juvenile Justice, though no quote has been received from the latter.
Supervisors agreed they would need a formal agreement before taking action.
Koster said the transition is moving quickly, with state technical assistance staff helping counties prepare for the July 1 launch. She expects additional decisions will be required in the coming weeks as the new district structure takes shape.
