It is located in Palo Alto Township, in unincorporated Jasper County, Iowa, near Newton.

[1] Currently[update] the institution has 265 staff members and about 1,300 inmates.

[2] The facility houses the Correctional Release Center - a low security unit that prepares inmates in the Iowa correctional system for parole, work release, or discharge.

The center's programs place emphasis on the need for such inmates to accept responsibility for their actions.

The substance abuse program not only prepares inmates for release, but it also provides treatment for parolees and work release people who have developed substance abuse issues.