Youthful Offender Program Follow Up Report, 2001

In 1996, the Iowa Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning was asked by the Governor’s Alliance on Substance Abuse (GASA) to examine the five Youthful Offender Programs (YOPs) that were in operation at that time. The focus of the original study was to describe the programs, their clientele, and two outcome measures (program completion and recidivism). One section of the report provided a detailed description of each of the five programs in operation at the time of the original study and the findings for each. Another section of the report highlighted program completion rates and recidivism rates. The Youthful Offender Programs were designed to operate as part of a partnership with a number of different agencies (county attorneys, the district departments of correctional services, and a variety of different treatment agencies) to provide a holistic approach in the rehabilitation of youthful offenders. These programs were designed specifically for offenders between the ages of 16 and 21 who had committed first time felonies or aggravated misdemeanors as an alternative to incarceration or in response to non-compliant probationer behaviors. Offenders who were 16 and 17 years of age had to have been waived to the adult court to be eligible for entry to the program.

The Effect of Four-Lane to Three-Lane Conversion on the Number of Crashes and Crash Rates in Iowa Roads, June 2005

We analyze crash data collected by the Iowa Department of Transportation using Bayesian methods. The data set includes monthly crash numbers, estimated monthly traffic volumes, site length and other information collected at 30 paired sites in Iowa over more than 20 years during which an intervention experiment was set up. The intervention consisted in transforming 15 undivided road segments from four-lane to three lanes, while an additional 15 segments, thought to be comparable in terms of traffic safety-related characteristics were not converted. The main objective of this work is to find out whether the intervention reduces the number of crashes and the crash rates at the treated sites. We fitted a hierarchical Poisson regression model with a change-point to the number of monthly crashes per mile at each of the sites. Explanatory variables in the model included estimated monthly traffic volume, time, an indicator for intervention reflecting whether the site was a “treatment” or a “control” site, and various interactions. We accounted for seasonal effects in the number of crashes at a site by including smooth trigonometric functions with three different periods to reflect the four seasons of the year. A change-point at the month and year in which the intervention was completed for treated sites was also included. The number of crashes at a site can be thought to follow a Poisson distribution. To estimate the association between crashes and the explanatory variables, we used a log link function and added a random effect to account for overdispersion and for autocorrelation among observations obtained at the same site. We used proper but non-informative priors for all parameters in the model, and carried out all calculations using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods implemented in WinBUGS. We evaluated the effect of the four to three-lane conversion by comparing the expected number of crashes per year per mile during the years preceding the conversion and following the conversion for treatment and control sites. We estimated this difference using the observed traffic volumes at each site and also on a per 100,000,000 vehicles. We also conducted a prospective analysis to forecast the expected number of crashes per mile at each site in the study one year, three years and five years following the four to three-lane conversion. Posterior predictive distributions of the number of crashes, the crash rate and the percent reduction in crashes per mile were obtained for each site for the months of January and June one, three and five years after completion of the intervention. The model appears to fit the data well. We found that in most sites, the intervention was effective and reduced the number of crashes. Overall, and for the observed traffic volumes, the reduction in the expected number of crashes per year and mile at converted sites was 32.3% (31.4% to 33.5% with 95% probability) while at the control sites, the reduction was estimated to be 7.1% (5.7% to 8.2% with 95% probability). When the reduction in the expected number of crashes per year, mile and 100,000,000 AADT was computed, the estimates were 44.3% (43.9% to 44.6%) and 25.5% (24.6% to 26.0%) for converted and control sites, respectively. In both cases, the difference in the percent reduction in the expected number of crashes during the years following the conversion was significantly larger at converted sites than at control sites, even though the number of crashes appears to decline over time at all sites. Results indicate that the reduction in the expected number of sites per mile has a steeper negative slope at converted than at control sites. Consistent with this, the forecasted reduction in the number of crashes per year and mile during the years after completion of the conversion at converted sites is more pronounced than at control sites. Seasonal effects on the number of crashes have been well-documented. In this dataset, we found that, as expected, the expected number of monthly crashes per mile tends to be higher during winter months than during the rest of the year. Perhaps more interestingly, we found that there is an interaction between the four to three-lane conversion and season; the reduction in the number of crashes appears to be more pronounced during months, when the weather is nice than during other times of the year, even though a reduction was estimated for the entire year. Thus, it appears that the four to three-lane conversion, while effective year-round, is particularly effective in reducing the expected number of crashes in nice weather.

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Listen Up!" -- for Tips on Buying a Hearing Aid, January 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Listen Up!" -- for Tips on Buying a Hearing Aid

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Hang Up on Telemarketing Fraud!, January 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Hang Up on Telemarketing Fraud!

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Hang Up on Telemarketing Fraud!, July 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Hang Up on Telemarketing Fraud!

Consumer Advisory Bulletin, Hang up on long distance slamming!, January 2008

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division receives hundreds of calls and consumer complaints every year. Follow these tips to avoid unexpected expense and disappointments. This record is about: Hang up on long distance slamming!

Buckle-up Baby, May 2006

Six tips on how to keep your child safe in car seats, the correct way to buckle in babies into car seats.

Buckle-up Kid, May 2006

Six tips on how to keep your toddler and children safe in car seats, the correct way to buckle in them into car seats and seats belts.

Guidelines for Cleaning up Former Methamphetamine Labs, June 2009

Methamphetamine (meth) drug labs are not a new hazard to Iowa. In 2004, federal, state and local authorities seized more than 1,400 Iowa labs. These labs are discovered in houses, apartments, motel rooms, motor vehicles, and even an occasional combine. A dramatic decrease in the number of meth labs occurred in 2005 when a law restricting the purchase of pseudoephedrine was implemented. Although the number of meth labs has decreased, they continue to exist. Since there is currently no official federal guidance or regulations on how to clean up a former meth lab, the Iowa Department of Public Health, Division of Environmental Health, has created these basic guidelines to assist public health officials, property owners and the general public in cleaning up former meth lab properties.

The Check-Up, January 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.

The Check-Up, February 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.

The Check-Up, March 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.

The Check-Up, April 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.

The Check-Up, May-June 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.

The Check-Up, July 2010

An update on issues and ideas related to health reform in Iowa Second Story Headline The Check-Up is a monthly health care reform newsletter designed to keep interested Iowans up to date on the progress of health reform initiatives assigned to IDPH.