DRA Issues Statement: Governor’s Plan to Reform Juvenile Treatment Centers Long Overdue UPDATE: Arkansas Democrat Gazette Reports on Plan

by Susan Pierce | Nov 16, 2018 | Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, Featured, Juvenile Justice, News

UPDATE: The Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported November 17 on Governor Hutchinson’s plans for some of the state’s juvenile treatment centers in an article titled, “2 Youth Jails to Close as Arkansas Reworks Juvenile Justice System”.  To read...

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: Helping hand can slap kids in jail

by Susan Pierce | May 29, 2018 | Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, Education, Featured, Juvenile Justice, News, Public Policy

“It should be a wrap-around for the youth, to give them the services they need,” he said. “It’s not supposed to turn into a punitive measure. That’s how they get in the [juvenile penal] system.”  This quote, attributed to Disability...

From the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: 2 of Arkansas’ lockups for youths a danger, state told; inspectors report chaos

by Susan Pierce | May 17, 2018 | Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, Featured, Juvenile Justice, News

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,...

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Editorial Cites DRA Report on Juvenile Justice Facilities: Lost in Teenage Jail

by Kerri Michael | Jan 29, 2018 | Juvenile Justice

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...

Disability Rights Arkansas Cites Mistreatment at Two State-Run Juvenile Facilities

by Susan Pierce | Jan 26, 2018 | Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation, Featured, Juvenile Justice, News

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...

DRA Had Warned of Insufficient Staffing Levels at Youth Facility Where Staff Fired After Recent Escapes

by Susan Pierce | Aug 31, 2017 | Community, Juvenile Justice, News

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...