Iowa judicial branch seeking juvenile law reform

The Iowa Judicial Branch announced its new initiative Wednesday morning to develop a juvenile justice task force, part of an effort to address a system critics say is fragmented by different agencies.

“Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System is decentralized with its governance, services, funding, and data collection divided among four state entities: the Iowa Judicial Branch, the Iowa Department of Human Services, the Iowa Department of Public Health, and the Iowa Department of Human Rights,” the news release said. “In the past few years, stakeholders implemented various programs intended to improve the juvenile justice system from their perspective. While well intentioned, those individualized improvements oftentimes have repercussions throughout the system.”

In addition to decentralization, the news release said the task force would focus on care quality issues, as well as racial and gender disparities in the system.

The move comes a month after activists in Davenport called for an audit of the juvenile justice system in the Hawkeye state.

Iowa-Nebraska area NAACP President Betty Andrews said the group encouraged the push for attention to race in Iowa’s juvenile system.

“721 Black youths per 100,000, that is the highest rate of detainment in the nation,” she said. “We as the NAACP shared with the Iowa Chief Justice that we had concerns about this, and we appreciate her attention to this important issue.”

The task force has 64 members, with notable Southeast Iowa voices including Keokuk County Juvenile Court Officer Leslie Lindner and Ottumwa District Associate Judge William Owens.

“Task force members are made up of Iowans who include service providers, law enforcement, legislators, county attorneys, public defenders, attorneys, youth and family members, law schools, and the four state entities mentioned above,” the news release said.

The group is set to hold its kickoff summit in Des Moines in late January, with its full report due by Nov. 2022, according to the order signed by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Larson Christensen.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com