Second Judicial District - Department of Correctional Services

Offender Services

The District provides the following services to our offenders:

Pretrial Release Services provide supervision of qualified defendants who are released from jail pending trial.

The Presentence Investigation (PSI) report includes a social history of the offender as well as the offender’s criminal history. The investigation is completed on the order of the Court, following the offender's plea of guilty or being found guilty. It is used by the Judge in sentencing proceedings and also by the Probation and Parole Officer, Department of Corrections’ institutions, and the Board of Parole to assist in developing correctional treatment plans and in decision-making.

Community Service Sentencing provides an alternative to incarceration or monetary fines. Selected offenders give back to the community through unpaid work which can be performed as a condition of probation or as a Court sentence

Probation is the process by which the Court either suspends a sentence to prison or jail, or defers judgment, and places an offender under the supervision of a Probation and Parole Officer. The Officer utilizes community resources as well as research-based programs and practices to supervise the offender and assist him or her in making necessary, positive changes.

Parole is the process by which the State Board of Parole conditionally releases an offender from a state institution or residential facility and places him or her under the supervision of a Probation and Parole Officer. Parole supervision is similar to probation supervision in that the offender must follow certain conditions of supervision and participate in programming to reduce the likelihood that she or he will re-offend.

Intensive Supervision Programs are used with probationers or parolees whose needs and risk to re-offend are determined to be higher, through the use of research-based assessment tools. Intensive Supervision Officers provide a higher level of supervision to a smaller case load of higher risk offenders. They utilize correctional programming designed to hold offenders accountable while challenging and helping them change their criminal thinking processes.

Residential Correctional Programming is offered at four locations: Ames, Fort Dodge, Marshalltown and Mason City. These four Residential Corrections Centers provide housing and around the clock supervision for offenders demonstrating an inability or unwillingness to function under less restrictive supervision. Offenders can be placed in a Residential Center as a condition of probation or parole, as a transition from a Department of Corrections institution (work release) or as an alternative to serve a sentence on a second or subsequent Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) offense. Offenders participate in programming in the community, as do probationers and parolees who are living independently.

Day Programming Centers throughout the District provide intensive correctional treatment resources, utilizing evidence-based practices and best practices. Types of services offered include: anger management classes, cognitive-behavioral programming, specialized programming for women offenders, a cognitive substance abuse program (in conjunction with local substance abuse treatment programs) and a comprehensive aftercare program. The Day Program Centers also provide specialized intake assessments.

Drug Court Programs operate in Marshalltown and Mason City. Panels comprised of volunteer community members meet regularly with the offenders the Court has ordered into the program, to hold them accountable and re-build ties to the community. Intensive Supervision Officers provide the correctional supervision that reinforces the accountability efforts. Substance abuse treatment agencies provide specialized programming for Drug Court participants. District Court Judges in each location assist by providing an immediate response to violations of the contract participants enter into with the Drug Court program.

Electronic Monitoring is a tool used to assist in the surveillance of higher risk offenders. Various options exist, from a computer calling an offender’s home at certain times to ensure he or she is abiding by a curfew (voice verification), tracking to make sure an offender is at his or her home (radio frequency) and global positioning satellite units to track real time movement wherever the offender goes. Daily costs vary depending on the level of technology used.

Offender Services (continued)

Controlling your Anger and Learning to Manage it (CALM) is a 24 session program designed to assist male offenders manage negative emotions. Participants learn self-monitoring and control skills that allow them to reduce the intensity, frequency and duration of their anger and respond without using aggressive behavior. The group is facilitated by Corrections employees.

Moving On is a 24 session program designed to provide women in the corrections system with alternatives and choices free from criminal activity. Participants learn to identify and mobilize personal and community resources. The group is facilitated by Corrections employees and/or Batterers’ Education Program facilitators.

Moving on Up is a two-hour orientation session to the Moving On group.

Women P.L.A.N. (Prevent, Learn, Act, Network) is a 12-session continuing care program for women who have completed Moving On or other primary programming. The curriculum focuses on strengths and tools that woman have that help them move through obstacles. In order to build supportive relationships within the community, group participants attend community events and invite community resources into the group.

Cognitive-Behavioral Group is a 24 session program designed to help male offenders consider and weigh alternatives in an attempt to improve decision-making abilities. Cognitive restructuring consists of identifying the specific attitudes and ways of thinking that result in criminality and replacing them with new attitudes and ways of thinking. The group is facilitated by Corrections employees.

Strategies for Self-Improvement and Change (SSC) is a 50 session program developed exclusively for substance abusers with whom criminality is also an issue. The program is designed to assist the substance abusing offender in developing alternatives to reduce the risk of continued substance abuse use and criminal activity. The group is facilitated by substance abuse treatment and Corrections employees.

Sex Offender Programs are also available throughout the District. We provide intensive supervision of sex offenders, as well as programs specifically designed to help reduce sexual abuse victimization using psychological evaluations, testing, and treatment of sex offenders. In addition, Iowa law requires that offenders convicted of a sex offense against a minor also be electronically monitored for the first five years they are under correctional supervision.

Domestic Abuse Batterer's Education Programs (BEPs) are available in several locations throughout the Second Judicial District. They utilize the “Power and Control: Tactics of Men who Batter” (Duluth model) curriculum, which provides a group education process for men, and the “Moving On” curriculum, also a group process, for women convicted of domestic violence. BEPs work in close cooperation with individuals, groups and agencies that concern themselves with issues surrounding domestic violence, such as BEP service providers, victim advocates, medical, family and children services.

Comprehensive Aftercare Program (CAP) is a 12-session continuing care program for offenders who have completed a primary behavior change program such as CALM, BEP or Cognitive-Behavioral group. Participants complete an individual relapse prevention plan to assist them in maintaining desired changes. They learn to anticipate and plan for risk situations and to utilize developed skills to sustain desired changes. The group is facilitated by Corrections employees.

Victim Services

The Department provides the following services for victims:

At Sentencing A voice in sentencing through contacting the victim when conducting a pre-sentence investigation (PSI) and including information regarding monetary and other damages to the victim in the PSI report.

During an Offender’s Supervision Submitting and monitoring a plan for the offender to pay restitution to the victim.

When an Offender is Referred to the Batterers’ Education Program Contacting victims of domestic violence to offer resources and determine whether the abuse is continuing.

Useful Links for Victim Services:

Other Services

Look for other services to be listed here in the future.