The Ombudsman has jurisdiction to investigate complaints about State correctional facilities and programs. This includes state prisons, residential facilities, and work release. Included here is also the Iowa Board of Parole. Before you make a complaint to us, we want to make sure the facility or program you are complaining about has had an opportunity to review and resolve your complaint. For this reason, we ask that you or the individual incarcerated first utilize and exhaust the available grievance and appeal processes.
Iowa’s Correctional Facilities
Unless a matter is an emergency, we generally prefer to hear directly from the individual incarcerated. Incarcerated individuals can contact our office confidentially by telephone or mail. For additional information on frequently asked questions visit:
https://doc.iowa.gov/friends-and-family-resources
You can find the Department of Corrections’ policies, that may aid in addressing your questions or concerns, at:
Residential Facilities, Work Release, Probation and Parole
Community-based corrections provides correctional supervision and services in a community setting as an alternative to jail or prison. For probation-related issues, we can take complaints about probation officers and district offices, but we cannot review concerns relating to a court decision to grant, deny, or revoke probation.
For more information about community-based corrections and contact information for district facilities and directors, visit:
https://doc.iowa.gov/about-us/about-community-based-corrections
Iowa Board of Parole
Iowa courts have acknowledged that the Board of Parole has broad discretion in granting or denying parole to offenders. This makes oversight on specific cases difficult. Additionally, a Board of Parole decision is appealable, and we ask that individuals utilize this option before filing a complaint with our office.
For more information regarding frequently asked questions, including how the Board makes its decisions, visit:
https://bop.iowa.gov/general-faqs
For the Board’s contact information, as well as access to the agency’s online complaint form, visit:
Already completed this process?
If you have already gone through this process and want to file a complaint with our office, click here:
Tips for Making a Complaint
► Ask if you can speak with a supervisor or manager about your issue.
► Clearly explain what your issue is and what you’d like the outcome to be.
► Write down the names of the people you speak with, when you spoke with them and what they said.
► Make the conversation about what you need, be persistent but remain calm and polite.
► If you are still unsatisfied, ask what appeal and review processes are available and pay close attention to their criteria and deadlines.
Not Sure? Contact Us!
Please contact us directly if you don’t think it would be appropriate for us to require you to go through an available complaint or review process before we consider your complaint. We can consider your specific circumstances before we decide – including the urgency of your complaint or any disabilities or barriers you may be experiencing.
