The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article today about the response by the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Youth Services (DYS) to Disability Rights Arkansas’ (DRA) letter informing DYS of concerns DRA has about the ongoing, troubling treatment of youth by staff at the two Dermott juvenile justice facilities. DRA noted in its […]
Sunday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an editorial about the state of juvenile justice facilities in Arkansas; the editorial cited information derived from a letter Disability Rights Arkansas addressed to the Division of Youth Services about conditions found during recent monitoring visits to two facilities, the Dermott Juvenile Treatment Center and the Dermott Juvenile Correctional Facility. The editorial […]
UPDATE 2/14/18: The Arkansas Nonprofit News Network in Arkansas released their investigative report about the juvenile lockups in Dermott; the article is extensive, and cites conditions identified by Disability Rights Arkansas during monitoring activities. To read the investigative report, which was published in yesterday’s Arkansas Times, click here: Locked Away and Forgotten UPDATE 2/8/18: The Division […]
A jail supervisor at the Lewisville Juvenile Treatment Center (LJTC) was fired after two teenagers escaped from the facility last week. While no injuries occurred and the the boys were located the next day, the supervisor was terminated due to a finding that he had failed to follow procedures and allowed them to cross the […]
“It [isolation] has a detrimental effect on a youth’s treatment, education, physical health and mental health,” DRA executive director Tom Masseau said, speaking to David Ramsey for his two-part story about youth in isolation at juvenile treatment facilities. Part I of the story focuses on isolation practices at the state’s largest juvenile facility, Arkansas Juvenile […]
“It has a detrimental effect on a youth’s treatment, education, physical health and mental health,” Tom Masseau, executive director of Disability Rights Arkansas, explained to David Ramsey of the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network about “room confinement”, which is again being highlighted as an issue at the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center (AJATC), which is the […]
Little Rock, AR – Today, Disability Rights Arkansas (DRA) released a white paper entitled, “Protecting Arkansas Students with Disabilities: The Need for Binding Educational Standards and Law to Address the Use of Restraint in Schools.” The white paper educates individuals on the need for enforceable standards related to the use of physical restraint in Arkansas […]
A letter detailing incidents of abuse and neglect at juvenile treatment and correctional facilities around the state was sent to the Division of Youth Services last week by Disability Rights Arkansas. The letter outlines several problem areas, such as a lack of therapy and educational services, poor living conditions, inadequate staffing, a lack of transition […]
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has developed a guide for how professionals can assist individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), particularly with respect to their increased risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system. Too often, individuals with FASD are not properly diagnosed, or are not diagnosed prior to their involvement with […]
Guest Editorial published in the June 18, 2016 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., alone stands in the way of an opportunity for our country to stop the socially and financially costly practice of incarcerating children for skipping school and running away from home. These behaviors, known as status offenses, are petitioned as a […]