(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
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Counselor accused of sexual harassing client is deemed an 'immediate danger' to public • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]
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Date: 2025-03-26
A former social worker for Four Oaks Family & Children’s Services in Cedar Rapids sexually harassed a client and poses an “immediate danger” to the public, a state licensing board has ruled.
The Iowa Board of Behavioral Health Professionals recently issued an emergency order suspending the social work license of Dennis Dozier. The board has charged Dozier with unethical conduct by taking unfair advantage of a professional relationship, or exploiting others, to further his personal or business interests; unethical conduct by engaging in physical contact with a client; unethical conduct by sexually harassing a client; and failure to comply with a board order.
The publicly available board documents give no indication as to where or when the alleged conduct took place, but state that Dozier is a licensed social worker who practiced at Four Oaks between 2018 and 2021 as a mental health counselor.
According to the board, Dozier at some point provided counseling to a client who later reported that Dozier had disclosed his own mental health struggles to them, after which the client grew concerned Dozier might commit suicide. The same client also reported that Dozier pressured them into selling a car to another client.
The board alleges that in October 2024, it ordered Dozier to undergo a comprehensive mental health and substance abuse evaluation and that he has so far failed to comply with that order.
“There were additional reports that (Dozier) made sexual advances” toward a client, the board alleges. “The board finds that (Dozier) sexually harassed a client and that (his) behavior has caused psychological harm to the client.”
The available public records provide no information as to the age of the alleged victim.
After ruling that Dozier posed “an immediate danger to the public health, safety and welfare,” the board indefinitely suspended Dozier’s license through an undated order that was recently made public. A hearing on the license suspension is scheduled for April 24, 2025.
State records indicate Dozier was subject to a separate emergency order issued by the board on Jan. 28, 2025, but that order is not publicly accessible.
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