The Iowa Correctional Institution for Women (ICIW), located in Mitchellville, Iowa — a suburb approximately 15 miles east of Des Moines — is the only dedicated women's state prison in Iowa. Every woman serving a state prison sentence in Iowa is housed here, regardless of the nature of her offense or her security classification. This concentration means that ICIW must serve an exceptionally diverse population: women with short sentences and women serving decades, women who need substance abuse treatment and women who don't, women close to Des Moines and women from rural corners of the state whose families face long drives to visit.
Facility Overview
ICIW provides all security levels under one roof — from minimum to maximum custody — because there is no separate facility for different security classifications. The facility handles both intake and classification for newly sentenced women and houses them for the duration of their sentence. This differs from the men's system, where newly sentenced men go to a separate classification center before being assigned to a facility that matches their security needs.
The 2025 Drug Testing Case
ICIW was the site of the ACLU of Iowa's landmark drug testing lawsuit. Three women at Mitchellville — Amanda Wright, Monica Fagan, and Cheyanne Harris — challenged the Iowa DOC's use of unreliable field drug tests as the sole basis for major disciplinary violations. The 2025 settlement they secured changed drug testing and disciplinary standards for all Iowa inmates statewide: the DOC now must allow lab confirmation of positive field tests and must meet a "greater weight of evidence" standard to sustain a major disciplinary finding.
For women currently at ICIW, this means that any disciplinary charge based on a drug test result now carries the right to request laboratory confirmation before the finding is made. This is a significant due process protection that did not exist before the settlement.
Programs at ICIW
ICIW offers programming specifically designed for the women's population, including:
- Substance abuse treatment: A significant proportion of women in state prisons have histories of substance use disorders, often intertwined with trauma and domestic violence. ICIW provides substance abuse treatment programming addressing these co-occurring needs.
- Mental health services: Clinical mental health services including assessment, medication management, and counseling.
- Educational programs: GED preparation, adult basic education, and vocational training.
- Parenting programs: Programs addressing parenting skills, communication with children across distance, and preparation for family reunification after release — recognizing that a high proportion of incarcerated women are mothers of minor children.
- Trauma-informed programming: Research shows that most women who are incarcerated have histories of trauma, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and childhood abuse. ICIW programming increasingly incorporates trauma-informed approaches.
Visiting at ICIW
ICIW is located at 420 Mill Road, Mitchellville, IA 50169. Visiting hours and procedures follow Iowa DOC's standard visiting policy. To visit:
- You must be on the approved visitor list — the inmate submits the request through their case manager
- Valid government-issued photo ID is required for all adults
- Check current visiting hours at doc.iowa.gov or call ICIW directly before traveling
Phone, Mail, and Money
- Phone calls: GTL / ConnectNetwork. Set up a free AdvancePay account at ConnectNetwork.com.
- Money deposits: JPay.com — search for the inmate under Iowa DOC.
- Mail: Address letters to the inmate's full legal name and DOC number at 420 Mill Road, Mitchellville, IA 50169. All non-legal mail is opened and inspected.
Unique Challenges of a Single-Facility Women's System
Iowa's single women's facility creates geographic inequity: women from western Iowa, northern Iowa, and the state's rural southern counties may be housed 200 miles or more from their families. For children who depend on prison visits with an incarcerated mother, this distance can mean visits are infrequent or impossible without significant family resources.
If distance is a barrier to visiting, regular phone contact — maintained through a funded ConnectNetwork account — can partially substitute for in-person visits in maintaining the relationship. Video visiting, if available at ICIW, is another option worth asking about through the facility's programming office.