In early 2000, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack designated the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) as Iowa’s lead agency to respond to Olmstead. Governor Vilsack called upon DHS to:

• Report on Iowa’s current service system
• Develop the “effectively working plan” recommended in Olmstead and the federal initiative

DHS (now Department of Health and Human Services – DHHS) convened a statewide steering committee, later given the name Iowa Olmstead Real Choices Consumer Taskforce and now Iowa Olmstead Consumer Taskforce (OCTF), which worked to gather input that shaped the 2001 Iowa Plan for Community Development. More recently, the Taskforce worked with DHHS and hundreds of stakeholders on the Iowa Olmstead Plan Framework.