Skyline Center ' s
60th anniversary ribbon-cutting ceremony held in November 2023 .
The long hallways of the Schick hospital buildings where Skyline Center , Inc . now operates might look somewhat similar to the hallways of a state institution for the intellectually disabled , but they certainly don ’ t feel that way .
“ It ’ s hard to have a bad day here ,” Executive Director Brandon Rumler said one late February day as he walked through the halls to the Day Hab facility where residents were eager to joke with him and demonstrate the firm handshakes they ’ d learned .
“ After 60 years , you ’ d think that everybody knows what Skyline does ,” Rumler said that day three months past celebration of the anniversary , “ but that ’ s not the case .”
Rumler took on the position of executive director at Skyline after first putting in 18 years at CustomPak , first as a machine operator , then eventually as a sales account manager .
“ When I was a kid , I had these Big Wheel Ride On toys , and CustomPak was bringing the Big Wheel back ,” Rumler said . “ I had reached out to an agency similar to Skyline in Lanark , Illinois , called Rolling Hills Progress Center to see if they would package it for us .”
A few years later , the director of Rolling Hills called Rumler and told him that he would be retiring – - Would Rumler be interested in taking his position ?
The offer was a “ complete shock ” to Rumler , who had only met with the director of Rolling Hills in person a couple times before , but with the experience he ’ d gained at CustomPak under his belt as well as personal experience with the disabled due to his uncle ’ s quadriplegia , Rumler seemed like the perfect fit for the role .
BY JENNA BLOUNT
Rumler accepted the offer and would be the director of Rolling Hills for the next eight years , until the same position at Skyline was vacated by previous executive director Jack Robinson and Rumler took advantage of the opportunity to be able to work in his hometown . He was hired in September 2022 .
Service providers for the intellectually disabled , such as Skyline , developed from state institutions that had come to the U . S . from Germany in the mid-1880s . Increasing numbers of individuals were placed into these institutions , though , and they became overcrowded while receiving only minimal funding for the care of residents due to social values of the time .
John F . Kennedy , two years after taking office in 1961 , signed the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Centers Act that gave the federal government an active role in addressing the needs of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities .
He then , in 1965 , created the President ’ s Commission on Mental Retardation ( now called the Presidential Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities ) for his advisement on how disabled individuals could best be served and supported . The panel ’ s initial recommendations resulted in the start of the Intermediate Care Facilities / Mental Retardation program in which states were compensated for meeting basic quality standards within their institutions pending the ordered closure of a number of them .
It was in this national context that Skyline ’ s founders incorporated the non-profit in November 1963 as The Clinton Association for Day Care of Handicapped Children . Under its first director Mrs . Eugene Sheldon , the day care program opened in February 1964 , providing care for 10 children .
In 1965 , the Association moved from a building on Skyline Drive into three buildings on the north end of town that were previously part of Schick Army Hospital during the second World War .
The Clinton Association for Day Care of Handicapped Children then became Skyline Center , Inc . with the award of an $ 18,000 grant for the start of a workshop program in 1968 . Skyline subsequently transitioned from children ’ s to adult services and the establishment of the Community Living Program in 1976 .
Skyline Residential Services incorporated in 1984 , growing to eventually provide housing for individuals with intellectual disabilities in both Clinton and DeWitt .
The closing of state institutions had urged the growth of group homes which , by 1991 , had become the dominant for of residential support for individuals with intellectual disabilities and have become to be referred to as simply “ homes .” The federal government then initiated the Medicaid Waiver program that would extend a variant of the Intermediate Care Facilities / Mental Retardation Program to community programs . Almost all of Skyline ’ s individuals are currently funded by the waiver program .
Skyline established the Clinton Area Recycling Environment in 1989 . Financial difficulties immediately became apparent until the can and bottle redemption center permanently closed in 2014 . Robinson explained at the time that it was expected that the center would be able to support itself but he ultimately had to make the decision to close the center when it became evident that Iowa Legislature wasn ’ t going to
14 CLINTON MAGAZINE | SPRING 2024