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The Iowa Department of Corrections operates nine institutions
throughout Iowa. Of these, one is a maximum-security facility,
one is a coed facility, and one institution is for women. The
Department employs approximately 2,882 staff and supervises
approximately 8,200 adult inmates in its institutions.
You must specify the institution or institutions in which you are
interested when you complete the State of Iowa Application form so
your name can be referred to the institutions of your choice.
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Clarinda Correctional Facility
- Clarinda (Page County)
- Medium security
- 712-542-5634
- 286 Staff
- 906 Inmates ±
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The Clarinda Correctional Facility was established in 1980 as an adult
male medium-security prison to serve primarily chemically dependent,
mentally retarded and socially inadequate offenders. The facility is
located on the grounds of the Mental Health Institute. Numerous
programs and services are offered at the Clarinda facility. The
Special Learning Unit provides individual treatment for inmates who
are mentally retarded, mentally ill, or socially inadequate. This
unit also offers protection for persons prone to be victimized by
other inmates. Intensive substance abuse programming, licensed by
the Iowa Department of Public Health, is provided through the T.O.W.
(The Other Way) program. T.O.W. offers many group activities through
a “phase” system that uses principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. The
program involves a personal examination of the reasons for abuse,
obstacles to treatment, and special planning for release. Other
programs and services are: computerized educational instruction,
industrial arts, a series of social skills classes, special education
for eligible individuals, and minimum and medium outside work details.
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Correctional Institution for Women
- Mitchellville (Polk County)
- Medium security
- 515-967-4236
- 190 Staff
- 510 inmates ±
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The Iowa Correctional Institution for Women is a medium/minimum security
prison. ICIW houses inmates in its dorm-like living units and celled
housing. In addition, a 60 bed return-to-confinement facility provides
intensive treatment and programming of repeat offenders who have violated
the terms of their probation and parole. ICIW provides educational and
vocational services to inmates including Adult Basic Education, special
education for eligible individuals, G. E. D., and high school diploma
certification. Internal work assignments and vocational training courses
in painting and a dietary managers program provide vocational training
opportunities. An Iowa Prison Industries print shop also provides on-site
vocational training. The institution emphasizes responsibility and
accountability in preparing women offenders for successful return to the
community. Programs offered focus on interpersonal relationships, domestic
violence, career assessment and exploration, self-esteem, parenting,
independent living, decision-making skills and thinking patterns, and health
education. A substance abuse prevention, assessment, and referral program
is licensed by the Iowa Department of Public Health. The facility also
houses an in-patient substance abuse treatment program.
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Iowa Medical & Classification Center
- Oakdale (Johnson County)
- Medium security (Co-ed facility)
- 319-626-2391
- 325 Staff
- 900 inmates ±
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The Iowa Medical and Classification Center, located near Oakdale,
currently houses approximately 900 inmates. The Center includes a 46-bed
accredited psychiatric hospital providing inpatient psychiatric and
evaluation services to criminal offenders. IMCC also serves as the
reception and classification center for all new commitments to the adult
institutional corrections system. A medium security general population
unit and a 20-bed special management unit for high-risk female offenders
also are in operation at the Oakdale facility. IMCC provides psychiatric,
psychological, nursing, pharmacy, pathology, education, and social services
to some extent to the other institutions. Educational opportunities
available to IMCC patients/inmates include instruction in General Education
Development and Adult Basic Education, special education for eligible
individuals, and a high school diploma may be earned.
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Iowa State Penitentiary
- Ft. Madison (Lee County)
- Maximum security
- 319-372-5432
- 510 Staff
- 950 Inmates ±
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The Iowa State Penitentiary was established in 1839, the year after Iowa
became a territory and seven years before it became a state. The Penitentiary
was patterned after the Auburn, New York Penitentiary - a prison within a prison,
a cell for each convict. The Penitentiary underwent extensive renovation of its
cell houses when “unitization” was introduced in 1982. Unitization divided large
cell houses into smaller, self-contained living units that are more easily
managed. The Penitentiary is the state’s only maximum-security institution,
housing repeat and violent male offenders. The Penitentiary complex includes
ISP itself with a court-ordered capacity of 550. In addition, the complex
includes the John Bennett Correctional Center, a medium security dormitory
adjacent to the Penitentiary currently housing 169 inmates; two minimum security
farms located within a few miles of Fort Madison with a combined population of
170, and a ten-bed multiple care unit. A Special Needs Unit for inmates with
severe mental health/clinical care needs opened in August, 2002, with 40 inmates
and will increase in stages to a population of 120 inmates.
Inmates at the Penitentiary are offered Adult Basic Education and General
Education Development classes, special education for eligible individuals, as
well as vocational training in upholstering, commercial cooking, auto mechanics,
machining, and printing, as well as providing labor for a large crop farm and a
cattle and swine operation. Work opportunities with hourly wages are available
in Iowa Prison Industries shops at the Penitentiary. A six-month substance abuse
program is offered to inmates with drug or alcohol problems, and Alcoholics
Anonymous groups operate at the Penitentiary and the John Bennett Center.
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Anamosa State Penitentiary
- Anamosa (Jones county)
- Med-Max security
- 319-462-3504
- 357 Staff
- 1,280 Inmates ±
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The Anamosa State Penitentiary is a maximum/medium security
institution that currently houses over 1,200 inmates. Programs are offered
which provide opportunities to acquire academic and vocational skills.
Through a contract with a local community college, inmates may pursue
training in welding, horticultural and janitorial services, earn a high
school diploma or GED, special education for eligible individuals, or take
classes leading to an Associate of Arts degree. Iowa Prison Industries
offers a variety of inmate jobs in its metal stamping, custom wood,
printing, metal furniture, sign, and cleaning products shops at the
Penitentiary. Inmates with substance abuse problems may join Narcotics
Anonymous/Alcoholics Anonymous groups, and Corrections staff conduct
specialized treatment groups. Luster Heights Work Camp, housing
approximately 50 additional inmates, is located in the Yellow River State
Forest in northeast Iowa (Allamakee County) and is a minimum custody
satellite of the Penitentiary. The facility provides a substance abuse
program licensed by the Iowa Department of Public Health. Inmates assigned
to this facility work for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and
maintain the camp.
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North Central Correctional Facility
- Rockwell City (Calhoun County)
- Minimum security
- 712-297-7521
- 107 Staff
- 475 Inmates ±
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The North Central Correctional Facility houses medium and minimum custody
inmates who have been classified low risk offenders, including misdemeanants and
felons, which comprise approximately 80% of the population. The institution
emphasizes individual accountability and responsibility. In assisting the
inmates in this endeavor and in preparing for successful return to the community,
the institution offers a wide variety of programs. The education programs are
grant-funded and contracted through the local area community college, and include
GED, special education for eligible individuals, and the Learning Resource Center,
which is a self-study, instructor-assisted curriculum in over 120 academic,
pre-vocational and social skills areas. Self-help organizations consist of
Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Jaycees.
Work opportunities for inmates are varied, and attempts are made to assign inmates
to jobs that utilize their skills. Inmates are assigned in general janitorial
work, maintenance of the grounds, care of the extensive yard area and gardens which
produce in excess of 30,000 pounds of vegetables annually, assist the instructors
in the educational programs so that other inmates can learn, act as cooks and
kitchen helpers in the food service operation, and are employed in the maintenance
department, as well as in outside work assignments.
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Newton Correctional Facility
- Newton (Jasper County)
- Medium security
- 515-792-7552
- 330 Staff
- 1,050 Inmates ±
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The Newton Correctional Facility is located five miles south of Newton on
a 1,476-acre tract of land and includes a minimum-security facility as well
as a medium security facility. The Correctional Release Center currently houses
inmates in a variety of low-secure living areas and is charged with preparing
inmates of Iowa’s correctional institutions for parole or discharge. Correctional
Release Center programs emphasize the need for individuals to take responsibility
for their own actions and fall into three primary categories: release preparation,
challenging criminal thinking, and substance abuse treatment. The substance abuse
treatment program, licensed by the Iowa Department of Public Health, includes a
substance abuse relapse treatment unit for parolees and work releases who have
had substance abuse problems while on release, and a longer-term treatment
program for inmates who are preparing for release.
Adult Basic Education, GED classes and special education are provided for eligible
individuals. Inmate work may include on-grounds work assignments or, if approved,
participation in community service work programs at state agencies or private
sector employment. Inmates involved in community service work programs are
transported to work sites each day and work under the supervision of
non-correctional state employees.
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