Assistant Linn County prosecutor promoted to Juvenile Division head

CEDAR RAPIDS — Assistant Linn County Attorney Kelly Kaufman has been working in the office’s Juvenile Division for nearly 24 years because it’s where she feels she can make a difference — either through early rehabilitation to prevent youths committing crimes or saving a child from an unsafe or unhealthy environment.

“I really enjoy those moments,” Kaufman said. “When I went to law school, I always wanted to help people. When we make good outcomes and changes in someone’s life, that’s the moments I enjoy.”

Kaufman was promoted to last month to be head of the Juvenile Division following Lance Heeren’s retirement. She is the first woman with the formal title of division head in the office.

Kaufman, who grew up in Cherokee and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and received her law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law, started her law career in 1996 with the Iowa State Public Defender’s Office in Mason City.

She then had the opportunity to take an assistant prosecutor’s position with the Linn County Attorney’s Office, where she prosecuted misdemeanors in the Adult Division before moving to the Juvenile Division in 2000, where she initially wanted to be.

“She moved to the Juvenile Division when I started here going on 24 years ago and has become one of the most well-respected professionals in the field of juvenile justice across Iowa since that time,” Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said. “She epitomizes what it means to be a public servant and unquestionably deserved this promotion.”

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Maybanks said the office is fortunate to have someone with Kaufman’s “immense expertise and passion” for her work.

Eric Nelson, an assistant public defender who represents children and teens in juvenile court, said Kaufman is “passionate about protecting children and teens” and, most importantly, brings “compassion for the struggles and issues that bring them to court in the first place, like parental poverty and substance abuse.”

She “understands that juvenile court is a microcosm of larger societal issues in Linn County such as gun violence and addiction,” Nelson said.

Kaufman also realizes there is no “one-size-fits-all solutions for these problems,” Nelson said. Every family and each delinquent child is different, and has different needs. Kaufman works with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Juvenile Court Services office and judges and attorneys to try to find the most appropriate help for kids and families.

Juvenile Division

The Juvenile Division is different from the adult system because the focus isn’t on punishment, Kaufman said. It’s a specialized area of law, much different from the adult system. The youths aren’t referred to as defendants.

“We don’t label them,” Kaufman said. “There are dispositions (convictions in adult court) for a delinquency act — usually probation. The focus is on rehabilitation.”

The other side of the division is child welfare — when a Children in Need of Assistance case — or CINA — is opened, and children may be removed from unsafe or violent living environment. The prosecutors work with health and social services official for resolutions. These situations, as well as some of the delinquencies, can deal with substance abuse, domestic violence and physical and sexual abuse.

Many of these cases can remain open for 18 months to two years, especially the CINA cases. Kaufman said she is passionate about these cases because she gets to know the families and develops a relationship with them. She and the child’s lawyer work together for the best solution that will help the child not return to juvenile court.

“We try to find out the ‘why’” — why did the child get into trouble? she said. The goal is resolve the issues that led to the problem in hopes of preventing more serious criminal activity in the future.

There are typically more CINA cases than delinquencies, Kaufman said. While delinquencies have gone down in the last few years, the charges are more serious — more gun violence, weapons and eluding incidents.

Kaufman said there are about over 1,000 juvenile open cases in the county. and less than half of those are delinquency cases.

Some of the cases involving teens under age 18 are moved into district — adult — court, depending on a judge’s ruling, when they involve more serious offenses such as armed robbery, vehicular homicide and fatal shootings. Those are the toughest for Kaufman. She doesn’t want to give up on a child but knows the juvenile system has limitations.

As an example, there were 33 motions to waive — or move — a juvenile to adult court in 2022, and 10 were granted. Last year, 37 motions to waive were filed and 15 of those were moved.

Kaufman admits working as a prosecutor in the juvenile system can have a high burnout rate and can at times be stressful and disheartening. But she says she has always wanted to help people and knows her calling is to make a difference.

She deals with her stress by taking it out on a golf balls.

“I have a highly competitive but friendly competition with my mom for bragging rights” that gives her an outlet for work frustration.

She also enjoys yoga, reading mysteries and biographies, Hawkeye baseball and spending time with her family and dog, Henry, a goldendoodle.

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com