The Iowa Juvenile Home Artwork Collection dates from 2008 to 2011. The collection comprises 66 works of art and an additional 2 linear inches of papers related to the artworks. The artworks were transferred to the Iowa Women’s Archives by the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) in 2016. Five of the works listed in the exhibit catalog were retained by the Iowa DHS. The collection is arranged in three series: Exhibit papers, Student artwork, and Other artwork.

The Exhibit papers series includes a draft of the exhibit guide with statements by the artists and quotations from staff and psychology experts. The series contains donor forms for fundraising activities, as well as a collection of student essays about the importance of libraries and books. Several additional works of art included in the collection were not part of the exhibit and, therefore, are not listed in the exhibit catalog.

The Student artwork series contains 48 works of art produced by residents of the IJH in art therapy classes. The artworks are anonymous and include paintings, collages, digital photographs, and multimedia pieces. Many of them deal with themes of anger, pain, and physical and sexual abuse. Some of the works were created with found objects, because there was almost no budget for art supplies. Enhanced photos were made with equipment purchased by Rachel Williams with a grant from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust. Many works in this series were not included in the exhibit catalog, but were created by students. Each artwork is listed by its title.

The Other artwork series contains 18 works of art created by other artists. These pieces were transferred along with the exhibition pieces, and many of them have unclear origins. This series contains mass-market posters, professional art pieces, and works which may be unattributed student pieces.