Iowa Initiative Calls For Creating Intensive Juvenile Justice Settings For High-Risk Girls

The Iowa Girls’ Justice Initiative planning group recommends that the state create regional intensive and secure gender-specific juvenile justice settings for high-need/high-risk girls. Doing so would allow girls needing intensive supervision and services to remain in-state and closer to their families. It would also avoid placing high-need/high-risk girls in justice settings developed for adults, or in settings intended for short-term use, or in settings with girls with less intensive needs and risk.

The state operates secure juvenile justice facilities for high-need/high-risk boys; however, no parallel setting has existed . . .