The polk county jail is crowded with offenders whose release is often delayed pending the availability of adequate supervision, placement, or substance abuse treatment services

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance awarded the Iowa Department of Public Safety $153,012 on October 1, 2025, under the Residential Substance Abuse Treatment for State Prisoners program (CFDA 16.593) to fund clinically managed medium-intensity residential substance abuse treatment services within the Polk County Jail.

The grant funds treatment and recovery services for offenders with significant substance abuse issues who are released on conditions to the RSAT program rather than incarcerated. The jail identifies inmates who qualify for the program, and Bridges of Iowa, the contracted treatment provider, conducts substance abuse needs assessments and delivers treatment. The RSAT program operates within an otherwise vacant wing of the jail; clients are housed there and allowed to leave to work, support families, and participate in community-based services. Programming includes medical services through the County Hospital, cognitive-based counseling, mental health services, financial literacy, education, employment support, and healthy relationships instruction, with services tailored to individualized treatment plans.

Place of performance is Des Moines, Iowa. The period of performance runs through September 30, 2029. The assistance type is formula grant.

The grant-funded rsat program provides these services within an otherwise vacant wing of the jail. Though clients are housed in the facility and receive a variety of treatment and other services onsite, they are not considered to be incarcerated and are allowed to leave the facility to support their families, work, and participate in any number of community-based habilitation services. The jail identifies inmates who may qualify for participation in the rsat program, and the contracted treatment provider, bridges of iowa, conducts a substance abuse needs assessment. Inmates who qualify for the program are referred to the county attorney who, with input from jail and treatment staff, petitions the court for conditioned release to the rsat program. The rsat program is designed to transition offenders with significant substance abuse issues to the community. The program provides clinically managed medium-intensity residential substance abuse treatment as a component of an overall treatment protocol to address a broad range of deficiencies commonly faced by incarcerated individuals. Auxiliary programming includes medical services through the county hospital, healthy relationships, cognitive-based counseling, financial literacy, education, employment, mental health services, and other services as determined by the individualized treatment plan.