356A.1 County supervisors may act--county halfway houses.

A county board of supervisors may, by majority vote, establish and maintain by lease, purchase, or contract with a public or private nonprofit agency or corporation, facilities where persons may be detained or confined pursuant to a court order as provided in section 356.1. The facilities may be in lieu of or in addition to the county jail. The board shall establish rules and regulations for the operation of each facility. A person detained or confined to such a facility shall be required to do all cleaning, upkeep, maintenance, minor repairs, and anything else necessary to properly maintain, operate, and preserve the facility. The sheriff shall not have charge or custody of a person detained or confined in such facility or transferred thereto. Such facility need not contain cells, cell blocks, or bars, if it is not necessary for the protection of the public, as determined by the board.

356A.2 Contract.

If the board of supervisors contracts with a public or private nonprofit agency or corporation for the establishment and maintenance of such a facility, the contract shall state the charge per person per day to be paid by the county; that each facility shall insure the performance of the duties of the keeper as defined in section 356.5; the activities and service to be provided those detained or confined; the extent of security to be provided in the best interests of the community; the maximum number of persons that can be detained or committed at any one time; the number of employees to be provided by the contracting private nonprofit agency or corporation for the maintenance, supervision, control, and security of persons detained or confined in the facility; and any other matters deemed necessary by the supervisors. A contract shall be for a period not to exceed two years. The board of supervisors shall deliver a copy of the contract to each judicial officer of the district which includes that county.

356A.3 Alternative confinement of prisoners.

A district judge may sentence and commit a person to a facility established and maintained pursuant to section 356A.1 or 356A.2 instead of the county jail. A district judge may order the transfer of a person sentenced and committed to the county jail to such a facility upon the judge's own motion, the motion of the sentenced and committed person, or the motion of the sheriff. The original order of commitment or the order of transfer to the facility shall set forth the terms and conditions of the detention or commitment and that the detained or committed person shall abide by the terms and conditions of this chapter and the rules of the facility to which committed or transferred. The order shall be read to the detained, committed, or transferred person in open court. The committing court or a district judge may order a person who has been detained, committed, or transferred to such a facility to be transferred to the county jail if, upon hearing, the court determines the person has been refractory or disorderly, has willfully destroyed or injured any property in the facility, or has violated any of the terms and conditions of the order of detention, commitment, or transfer or the provisions of this chapter or the rules of the facility where the person was detained or committed. Any violations of the order of detention, commitment, or transfer shall further be punished as contempt of court pursuant to chapter 665. Section 719.4 is applicable to any person detained, committed, or transferred to a facility established and maintained pursuant to this chapter. The county or city to which the cause originally belonged is liable for the expense of the original detention, commitment, or transfer and the subsequent expenses of maintaining the person in the facility.

356A.4 Work release.

A person detained, committed, or transferred to a facility established and maintained pursuant to sections 356A.1 or 356A.2, may further be released from such facility during necessary and reasonable hours, by court order, for the purposes stated in section 356.26. Such release and any wages earned shall be governed by the provisions of sections 356.27 to 356.35 except that during such time the released person shall not be in the legal custody of the sheriff; any wages earned shall be collected, managed, and dispensed by the person in charge of the facility and not the sheriff; and any wages earned shall first be applied to the reasonable cost of housing such person in the facility.

356A.5 Calendar kept.

Any person sentenced, detained, committed, or transferred to a facility established and maintained pursuant to section 356A.1 or 356A.2 shall be discharged therefrom upon completion of the original term of detention or commitment. The person in charge of the facility shall keep a calendar as required in section 356.6.

356A.6 Transfer.

A judicial officer of the district court may originally commit a person to the county jail to serve any part of the sentence pronounced, and thereafter the person may be transferred to a facility established and maintained pursuant to section 356A.1 or 356A.2.

356A.7 Contract with another county.

A county board of supervisors may contract with another county or a city maintaining a jail meeting the minimum standards for the regulation of jails established pursuant to section 356.36 for detention and commitment of persons pursuant to section 356.1. A person detained or confined in the jail shall be in the charge and custody of the governmental unit maintaining the jail. The cost of detention and confinement shall be levied and paid by the city or the county to which the cause originally belonged.