About Homes for Iowa
The Premier Homebuilding and Job Training Initiative in Iowa
Our Mission is to provide state of the art building trades training and re-entry employment assistance to reduce recidivism while constructing
quality homes for sale to Iowans across the state.
Homes for Iowa, Inc. (HFI) is a public-private partnership with Iowa Prison Industries. The vision of the partnership is to "Be the premier public-private partnership that trains offenders, reduces recidivism, and benefits Iowans".
The HFI program officially launched in 2019 with the incorporation of Homes for Iowa, Inc. (a 501c3 organization), staffing the program, and improving the home-building and training site. Efforts to start the program date to 2014.
The homes are built near the Newton Correctional Release Facility, south of Newton, IA.
The first home was moved to Jefferson, IA, in January, 2020, for Region XII COG. As of mid-2023, HFI has built, sold, and moved 69 homes.
HFI is made possible by investments made by the State of Iowa, through American Rescue Plan Act funds authorized by Gov. Kim Reynolds, and an Iowa Finance Authority startup grant authorized by their board of directors. The program will become self-sustaining over the longterm.
Iowa Prison Industries (IPI) builds the homes, trains the minimum-security offender crew, and sells the homes to HFI to pay for the training. HFI sells the homes to the public, manages all sales orders, coordinates moving logistics with IPI, and decides program policy.
All offenders in the program enter the program voluntarily, typically through a recruitment and interview process. Crew members receive training in all aspects of the homebuilding process, and can earn certificates in: OSHA 10 for construction, NCCER Construction Craft Laborer 1, and may start appreticeships in electrical, plumbing and carpentry.
Homes for Iowa, Inc. is governed by up to 11 directors from around Iowa with varied backgrounds: Finance, Real Estate, Local Government, Industry, Labor, Homebuilders, General Contracting and Councils of Governments.
Board of Directors:
Mike Norris, President
(Executive Director, SEIRPC)
Jay Iverson, Vice President
(Executive Officer, Home Builders Association of Iowa)
Andy Roberts, Secretary/Treasurer
(Business Manager, Plumbers and Pipefitters UA Local 33)
Barb Smidt, Director
(Keokuk Market President, Two Rivers Bank and Trust)
Lance Henning, Director
(President and Executive Director, Greater Des Moines Habitat for Humanity)
Nick Badding, Director
(President, Badding Construction)
Paul Gregoire, Director
(Vice President Human Resources, retired, Emerson, a division of Fisher)
Chris Rodman, Director
(City Clerk, City of Wall Lake, IA)
Fiscal Agent:
Region XII COG
Key Partners:
Katrina Carter, Iowa Dept of Corrections
Shelley Seitz, Iowa Workforce Development
Bob Fairfax, Iowa Prison Industries
Sen. Mark Lofgren, District 48, Muscatine
