Black youth in Iowa continue to be punished more severely than white peers for criminal offenses. According to The Sentencing Project’s latest analysis of disparities in youth incarceration (a category covering detention centers, residential treatment centers, group homes, and youth prisons), Iowa remains among the ten states with the highest overall Black youth incarceration rate, as well as one of the ten states with the greatest Black/white disparity in youth incarceration.

Those statistics reflect only one aspect of a larger problem. Early this year, the final report from a Juvenile Justice Task Force established by the Iowa Supreme Court acknowledged that “Gender and racial disparities are present throughout the system.”

Iowa is in the early stages of implementing the task force’s 55 recommendations, at least seven of which relate to racial disparities. (Many more address out-of-home placements for youth.)

However, advocates say Iowa must do more to address the ongoing disparities. And while an expanded diversion program is keeping many young people out of the juvenile justice system, one Iowa county with a particularly troubled history on youth incarceration is in the process of building a much bigger detention center.

A PERSISTENT PROBLEM

Iowa has long had among the country’s worst racial disparities in the criminal justice system generally, and in juvenile justice in particular. A 2021 report from The Sentencing Project, based on 2019 data, found that no other state had placed a higher proportion of Black youth in juvenile facilities than Iowa.

In some counties, the disparate treatment of youth in juvenile detention was even more pronounced. Bleeding Heartland obtained the following table, which is based on release dates for 2019, from the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP. The greatest disparities were in Scott County (the Iowa side of the Quad Cities) and Black Hawk County (containing the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro).

The Sentencing Project published a new report this week on youth incarceration, based on 2021 data. Nationally, the Black youth placement rate in 2021 was 228 per 100,000 individuals, and “Black youth were 4.7 times as likely to be placed (i.e., detained or committed) in juvenile facilities as their white peers.” But in Iowa, the Black youth placement rate was 448 per 100,000, and Black youth were 8.8 times as likely as white peers to be detained or committed. Only six states had a higher overall Black youth placement rate higher than Iowa’s, and only nine states had a higher Black/white disparity.

Josh Rovner, the new report’s author and director of youth justice for The Sentencing Project, told Bleeding Heartland, “the numbers mostly speak for themselves when it comes to Iowa. Black youth are twice as likely to be locked up in Iowa as nationally, and the disparity between Black and white youth is twice as bad at the national average.” He added, “While most of the country has stagnated on addressing these problems, they’ve only gotten worse in Iowa” from 2011 to 2021.

ACLU of Iowa executive director Mark Stringer said in a written statement,

These statistics are shameful. We should be trying to prevent young people from being funneled into the juvenile delinquency and criminal systems in the first place. Instead, the criminal legal system in Iowa disproportionately targets youth of color, and Black youth especially. Iowa must reform its laws and policing practices. Responding to juveniles in crisis by criminalizing them will not solve issues like drug addiction, mental illness, poverty, and underfunded schools. It will only lead to damaged young lives, families, communities, and wasted taxpayer dollars.

Speaking to Bleeding Heartland, Iowa-Nebraska NAACP President Betty Andrews said the new Sentencing Project findings give Iowans “something to applaud” and “something to push for.” The overall reduction in Black youth placement, from the 2019 rate of 721 per 100,000 to 448 per 100,000 in 2021 is “to be celebrated.” Even though the racial disparity is still pronounced, that trend means “a lot fewer Black youth are being put in placement.”

On the other hand, “we still have to do more” and “figure out how to reduce the disparity,” Andrews said. That work will involve looking at “the latest research and the best practices” to get the numbers down.

Jalesha Johnson, director of the culture department with the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, told Bleeding Heartland, “I think these disparities are highlighting a human rights issue.” Johnson cited the “heightened attacks on the autonomy of children” in recent years, from loosening child labor regulations to restricting children’s access to some books to reducing public library hours, and “far too many children” incarcerated.

From Johnson’s perspective, “All of these things work together to not only cage our children’s bodies, but also to cage their minds. There is an all out war on young people in Iowa and we know—from our own experiences, and the statistics show that young Black people are burdened the most heavily by this reality.” 

Well before young people are detained, Iowa’s juvenile justice system treats Black children differently.

OTHER JUVENILE JUSTICE DISPARITIES IN IOWA

The Iowa Department of Human Rights’ Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning took a more comprehensive look at this problem in a November 2020 report called “Racial Disparities – An Analysis of Three Decision Points in Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System.” Those decision points were:

Referring youth to Juvenile Court Services

The report noted that in 2019, “African-American youth, aged 10-17, were 6.5 times more likely to enter the juvenile justice system for simple misdemeanor offenses compared to White youth.” Using information from the Iowa Justice Data Warehouse, the authors found recidivism rates were lower in communities that had pre-charge diversion programs, including Davenport, Fort Dodge, and Iowa City. Those programs are designed to keep low-risk youth out of the justice system “for non-serious offenses (e.g. disorderly conduct, shoplifting, simple assault, interference with official acts).”

The report recommended that Iowa establish “pre-charge diversion programs for all juveniles with first-time simple misdemeanor offenses.”

Detaining juvenile offenders for probation violations

Again, the racial disparity was pronounced: “Between 2015 and 2019, African-American youth placed in juvenile detention for probation violations increased 31.0% while White youth decreased by 28.4%.”

The report recommended that Iowa “eliminate the use of detention placement for juvenile offenders who violate probation.” It cited a 2017 resolution by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, which called for reforms grounded in “the latest knowledge of adolescent development and adolescent brain science.” Those would involve “individualized case management,” using incentives instead of sanctions to modify behavior, and developing policies “to ensure that detention or incarceration is never used as a sanction for youth who fail to meet their expectations or goals.”

Prosecuting juvenile offenders as adults

Data covering 2015 to 2019 indicated that Black youth in Iowa “were 9.8 times more likely to have their case waived to adult court compared to White youth.” They were also 14.3 times more likely than white peers to go through a process known as “direct file,” where those accused of serious offenses “are statutorily excluded from juvenile court jurisdiction and are considered adults for the prosecution of the offense in district court, unless the district court determines for good cause to transfer jurisdiction to juvenile court.”

Research has shown higher recidivism rates for juveniles tried in adult court rather than juvenile court, and more subsequent arrests for violent crime for juveniles who had gone through the adult justice system.

The report recommended several reforms:

• eliminate the “direct file” option, giving juvenile court “exclusive jurisdiction of all juvenile offenders, except when the juvenile court waives jurisdiction.”
• Allow juveniles to be prosecuted as adults only for felony offenses.
• Create the option of extending the jurisdiction of juvenile court until age 21.

CALLS FOR ACTION

“Alarming Juvenile Justice Disparities Reports” were on the agenda when leaders of the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP met virtually with Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen in September 2021. After discussing several policies that could make Iowa juries more representative, the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP walked through the three “decision points” from the Iowa Department of Human Rights report and the Sentencing Project’s research, which showed Iowa’s Black youth placement rate in 2019 was the highest in the country.

Speaking to Bleeding Heartland this week, Andrews recalled that at that meeting, she called for an “action-oriented task force” to work on these and other problems.

Meanwhile, advocacy groups including the Iowa-Nebraska NAACP and the Davenport NAACP criticized a proposed new “Youth Justice and Rehabilitation Center” in Scott County. County leaders had approved plans to replace a 1980s facility, which has a capacity of sixteen beds, with a much larger building, able to accommodate 60 beds. (The final plan, which is now under construction, calls for “36 beds with four extra beds for overflow.”) When communities invest in larger jails, prisons, or detention facilities, policies to fill up those beds often follow.

NAACP leaders demanded an audit of the juvenile justice process at a November 2021 press conference in Davenport. They flagged the recent Sentencing Project findings on youth incarceration, and noted,

Scott County appears to be driving much of this statewide disparity. A review of statewide data from 2016 – 2019 shows the racial disparity was the highest in Scott County. Black youth in Scott County were more disproportionately impacted by formal complaints, petitions, adjudications, and adult waivers than white Scott County youth at a higher rate when compared to Black Hawk, Linn, Polk, and Woodbury Counties. (Iowa counties with comparable sized Black youth populations.) […]

With concerns about the impact on African American[s] and on people of color, the NAACP has been reviewing the breakdowns of referrals, detention admissions and adult transfers in Scott County compared to other counties in the state (Polk, Linn and Black Hawk, Woodbury Counties). We are alarmed that Scott County’s disproportionate impact leads the five counties in all three categories.

In December 2021, Chief Justice Christensen signed an order creating a task force “to review the continuum of care in Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System and make recommendations to improve its services, governance, and data collection.” The order noted, “Recommendations shall also include options to address the system’s racial and gender disparities.”

“INEQUITIES PERMEATE ALL ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM”

More than 60 people representing various stakeholder groups—judges, juvenile court officers, social workers, law enforcement, attorneys, youth, people with lived experience, treatment providers, and legislators—served on the Juvenile Justice Task Force. Six working groups met throughout 2022 to develop recommendations targeting various parts of the system. The task force published its final report and 55 recommendations in February 2023; that report is enclosed in full below.

Task force members found that “Inequities permeate all aspects of the system,” as delinquency proceedings around Iowa don’t share common practices or procedures. Another observation: “Youth of color are disproportionately overrepresented throughout Iowa’s juvenile justice system.”

Improved data collection and analysis, including measurements of race, ethnicity, and gender, at each stage of the juvenile justice process is needed to assess the full extent of overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system.

The task force’s recommendations touched on all aspects of juvenile justice. Chad Jensen, director of Juvenile Court Services in Iowa, discussed several that are most relevant to racial disparities in a presentation at the Summit on Justice and Disparities in early November.

Recommendation number 4 called on Juvenile Court Services to “continuously revalidate the Iowa Delinquency Assessment (IDA) and the Detention Screening Tool (DST) for gender and bias to better assess and serve the needs of youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.” Jensen said a new version of the Iowa Delinquency Assessment, which will “decrease overclassification by gender and race,” is scheduled to go online in July 2024. A new Detention Screening Tool will also roll out next year.

Recommendation number 5 called on Juvenile Court Services and treatment providers to “develop a definition and framework for family engagement that allows for more adults and role models in the youth’s life to provide support both during and after juvenile justice system involvement, e.g., through actions such as phone calls and visits while in out-of-home placements.” Since Black youth are disproportionately detained in Iowa, those policies should benefit many Black families.

Recommendation number 31 instructed the state’s IT provider to build a new case management system, to allow Juvenile Court Services to make more “data driven decisions.” Jensen said this new system will be more “flexible” and “nimble” and is scheduled to launch in July 2024.

Recommendation number 39 called on Juvenile Court Services to “research and implement services specific to the cultural, socio-economic, and gender needs of youth of color and their families.” Jensen said all juvenile court officers are now required to complete a service plan for each fiscal year, with goals and details for all services. He said the “focus of the plan is to ensure that services are specific to the cultural, socio-economic, and gender needs of youth of color and their families.”

One of the most important recommendations was number 47: “The Supreme Court should ensure the availability of statewide evidence-based diversion programs, implemented using equitable eligibility and programming criteria.” Justice Summit attendees interrupted Jensen with applause after he announced that in early June 2023, Juvenile Court Services implemented a diversion program that is available in all 99 Iowa counties and all eight of the state’s judicial districts.

Jensen said 1,400 youth had already benefited from the diversion program in the first five months of its statewide operation. This research-based approach “provides first, second, or third-time low-level offenders the opportunity to avoid formal court processing within the Iowa juvenile justice system.”

The intent of diversion is to promote opportunities for low level juvenile offenders and their parents/custodians to remediate negative behaviors and become productive members of society, in a self-sufficient manner, without the barriers the juvenile justice system may create.

Jensen noted that diversion helps children and families “avoid negative stigma and adverse peer influence,” since “overserving low-risk youth can actually increase their risk of recidivism.” Diversion programs also benefit juvenile court staff, who can focus on moderate- or high-risk youth needing more supervision.

Speaking to Bleeding Heartland this week, Andrews said she was very proud of the deferral program, which is “changing young people’s lives.” Hundreds of kids will “never interface with the criminal justice system” in a way that can affect their future prospects for many years.

If the diversion program works as intended, Iowa’s youth incarceration rate should noticeably decline in the coming years. But other reforms could reduce the number of young people encountering Juvenile Court Services at all.

A ROLE FOR SCHOOLS IN JUVENILE JUSTICE

Institutions outside the criminal justice system can contribute to racial disparities in incarceration. The process often begins with what is called the “school-to-prison pipeline.” From the earliest grade levels, research has shown, students of color face harsher discipline in schools. At higher grade levels, Black and Brown students are more likely to be suspended or expelled.

Studies have also linked the regular presence of law enforcement (school resource officers or SROs) to more students—especially students of color—being criminally charged for behavior that could be handled in other ways. The ACLU of Iowa’s Stringer told Bleeding Heartland,

It’s become more and more common for schools to bring in police officers, usually armed, to patrol and interact with students. The stated goal is often to keep students safe, but there is no conclusive evidence that full-time police presence in schools increases student safety or prevents mass shootings. Instead, expert research shows that police in schools create real harm for many students, especially students of color and students with disabilities.

The ACLU of Iowa has created a toolkit “designed for youth, parents and caregivers, educators, and other community members across Iowa who want schools without police and are wondering how to make that happen.” The Iowa-Nebraska NAACP has also backed efforts to remove SROs from schools.

Getting law enforcement out of schools is a priority for the Des Moines Black Liberation Movement, since those officers become the first contact of legal trouble for many children. When commenting on the latest Iowa youth incarceration data, Johnson recalled the successful campaign to remove police from Des Moines Public Schools (which some members of the community opposed). “Studies show children do not react well to punitive action, they also show that all young people will make mistakes, it’s on us as a community to call our children in and correct them—not send them off to a facility that does more harm than good.” 

We know the institution of policing is racist. And as long as the juvenile justice system exists, Black children will bear the brunt of it, and be disproportionately incarcerated compared to their non-black peers. The only way to address that disparity, is to dismantle the system altogether.

Des Moines BLM also favors societal reforms that go beyond policing. In Johnson’s words, “Our children are overworked, over-policed, under-read, and lacking of safe spaces. This is a community issue, that needs a proactive solution to the problem. We need more accessible spaces for children to keep them out of trouble, and we need to abolish the juvenile justice system that profits from children staying in trouble.”

Three Black superintendents of large Iowa school districts—Dr. Ian Roberts of Des Moines, Dr. Eric Pruitt of Ankeny, and Dr. Julious Lawson of Ames—discussed “How School Districts Can Disrupt the School to Prison Pipeline” on a panel at the November 2023 Summit on Justice and Disparities. A future Bleeding Heartland post will cover their reflections.

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Appendix 1: Final report and recommendations by the Iowa Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Task Force, February 2023

Appendix 2: Iowa Department of Human Rights report by the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning from November 2020, “Racial Disparities – An Analysis of Three Decision Points in Iowa’s Juvenile Justice System”

Appendix 3: Presentation by Chad Jensen, director of Juvenile Court Services in Iowa, for the November 2023 Summit on Justice and Disparities

Top image by chatiyanon, available via Shutterstock.