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Iowa Department of Human Rights

Criminal & Juvenile Justice Planning Overview

Funding opportunity:

The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning of the Iowa Department of Human Rights is pleased to announce the availability of two new funding opportunities. 

The Iowa Grants platform will be used for the application process. All materials for completing either application can be found by searching the name or number of the funding opportunity. 

Juvenile Delinquency Prevention - Services for Black Girls (#501789)
Open: March 2nd
Deadline: April 28th 

Juvenile Delinquency Prevention - Pre-Charge Diversion (#501801) 
Open: March 15th
Deadline: May 19th

Funding for awarded programs is made available by the United States Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Division of Criminal & Juvenile Justice Planning

The Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (CJJP) is within the Department of Human Rights and was established through the provisions of Iowa Code Chapter 216A, Subchapter 9. CJJP is the Iowa Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), a member of the Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA), and carries out research, policy analysis, program development and data analysis activities to assist policy makers, justice system agencies and others to identify issues of concern and to improve the operation and effectiveness of Iowa's justice system. CJJP staff provide a justice system information clearinghouse service to system officials and the general public.

CJJP also administers federal and state grant programs to fund local and state projects to prevent juvenile crime, provide services to juvenile offenders and otherwise improve Iowa's juvenile justice system. Annually, this funding is made available through competitive and allocation grant application procedures.

CJJP carries out its duties under the oversight of the Justice Advisory Board and the Iowa Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. Administrative Rules governing CJJP operations and grant programs can be found in Section 428 of the Iowa Administrative Code. 


New Reports:


Racial Disparities – An Analysis of Three Decision Points in Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System

The Department of Human Rights, Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning (CJJP) has compiled data and research to identify areas of racial and ethnic disparities in Iowa’s juvenile justice system and to recommend systemic changes that are necessary to eliminate these disparities. Systemic changes require multiple agencies to have active roles in making the change.

These recommendations are based on national research, data analysis of youth in Iowa’s juvenile justice system, and findings from Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System Improvement Plan, developed in 2017. In addition, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council (JJAC), and Disproportionate Minority Contact Subcommittee have grappled with these issues for many years.

CJJP is adopting the following statement from the Council of State Governments Justice Center, issued following George Floyd’s death: “We have not done enough to advance racial equality through our work, and we will do more.” Our hope is that every person in Iowa will embrace this statement and work together to do more.

The systemic changes recommended will require coordinated efforts from all three branches of government to achieve reductions of these disparities and improve the juvenile justice system. CJJP will partner with policy makers and assist in implementing the recommendations by seeking technical assistance from national experts, and provide any additional data and information, as needed.


The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Mathematics

The following report provides recommendations that

focus on four areas related to adolescents—education, health, child welfare, and juvenile justice—and emphasizes the importance of youth engagement to solve problems, develop partnerships, and re-imagine/redesign systems to further support for adolescents. 
 

“Adolescence” can be defined as the period between child- and adulthood, beginning with the onset of puberty to the mid-20’s, and is divided into four age groups:

  • Early Adolescence (10-12)
  • Middle Adolescence (13-15)
  • Late Adolescence (16-18)
  • Young Adulthood (19-25)

The 411-page report provides multiple recommendations for capitalizing on opportunities to address inequities that undermine the well-being of many adolescents. This and other research will be used to guide stakeholders in the future development of policies and legislation related to this age group.

Are you looking for adult criminal or juvenile delinquency data?

Our Division receives requests from a variety of individuals needing statistics on adult criminal charges and/or convictions as well as juvenile delinquency-related data.

As a convenience to these individuals and the public, the Division of Criminal & Juvenile Justice Planning (CJJP) has launched two separate websites where that data can be accessed:

  • EZ Access to Adult Criminal Data website (https://disposedcharges.iowa.gov) provides access to court disposed adult criminal charge and conviction data. Results are provided in aggregated, crosstab tables.
  • EZ Access to Juvenile Delinquency-related Data website (https://juvenilecourtstats.iowa.gov) provides access to juvenile delinquency data. Results are provided in aggregated, crosstab tables.

This information is provided through CJJP’s Justice Data Warehouse (JDW), a central repository of key criminal and juvenile justice information from the Iowa Court Information System (ICIS) and the Iowa Correctional Offender Network (ICON) system. The JDW is located on a platform within the Office of the Chief Information Officer and managed by CJJP.

The overall mission of the JDW is to provide the judicial, legislative and executive branches of State Government, and other entities, with improved statistical and decision support information pertaining to justice system activities.