it was the court’s turn to discuss the condition of the state. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen made the annual Condition of the Court addressed yesterday, noting the state’s court system has been upended by the pandemic.

Christensen told legislators her current priority is steering the court system through the final months of the pandemic, then she spent the remaining 15 minutes of her speech focused on child welfare cases in the courts.

Christensen presented a report to lawmakers showing 72 percent of the children involved in family treatment court cases returned to the home of a parent or caregiver within a year of the adult entering that court program.