Assessing the Alignment: Applying Swift, Certain and Fair Principles for Statewide Consistency

The Iowa Department of Corrections (Iowa DOC) seeks to improve the administration of Iowa DOC's new, centralized administrative power over probation and parole. The proposal aims to reduce unnecessary admissions to prison and increase public safety, by facilitating the use of technology to increase the ability and capacity of probation and parole agencies to improve supervision success rates and reduce recidivism.

In Iowa, there are almost four times as many people on probation or parole as in prison. In April 2023, Iowa's Governor signed a landmark bill restructuring state government and centralizing control of supervision from independent local agencies to Iowa DOC, significantly restructuring community supervision in Iowa. Iowa DOC previously had limited levers for improving supervision outcomes, ensuring consistency, and supporting staff across the state. With centralization, the DOC can now design and deploy technology statewide to modernize its operations, strengthen supervision effectiveness and promote staff satisfaction and staff engagement.

Iowa DOC's proposal aims to improve supervision success rates, reduce geographic and racial disparities, and increase staff satisfaction and engagement by: (1) measuring the impact of centralization on outcomes in community supervision; (2) understanding and visualizing the feedback loop between community supervision and population management within Iowa DOC facilities; (3) increasing successful supervision completions via technology tools; (4) analyzing factors leading to recidivism; (5) increasing staff efficiency and satisfaction via automation; and (6) uncovering and addressing racial disparities.