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April 3, 2007
NCYL has joined forces with Arkansas’s Disability Rights Center (DRC) to reform the state’s juvenile justice system. The vast majority of juveniles committed to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services (DYS) are non-violent offenders. Many of these youth, especially those with disabilities, are being unnecessarily incarcerated at Alexander Juvenile Correctional Facility, an old 143-bed juvenile prison located not far from Little Rock. In addition, youth detained at Alexander are being subjected to serious abuse and other unlawful practices, despite presenting little or no risk to the community. NCYL and DRC are involved in legislative efforts, media advocacy, and negotiations with the Governor and DYS staff to get Alexander shut down, and to reduce Arkansas’s over-reliance on incarceration for youth in the juvenile justice system.
Despite years of monitoring by the U.S. Department of Justice, Alexander continues to operate in violation of state and federal law. Among the problems: - Children at Alexander are inappropriately medicated with anti-psychotic drugs
- Two boys committed suicide by hanging themselves, just six months apart and in the same cell
- Deficiencies in medical care resulted in the avoidable death of a teenage girl
- Children are subjected to painful and unnecessary physical restraint
- Children do not receive the basic education necessary to earn a high school diploma
- Special education and related services mandated by federal law are not provided
In an effort to avert litigation, NCYL and DRC have met with Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, top DYS officials, legislators, and other state stakeholders to discuss solutions to the problems at Alexander. The goal is an agreement by the state to phase out the use of Alexander and to develop better community based treatment alternatives. NCYL and DRC are also working with attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice to inform its ongoing investigation of conditions and practices at Alexander.
NCYL and DRC have obtained legislative, agency, and stakeholder support for Senate Resolution 31, which was passed at the end of the legislative session in March 2007. SR 31 calls on state agencies to develop a broad juvenile justice reform plan to reduce the state’s unnecessary reliance on incarceration. The plan is to be developed with the assistance of independent juvenile justice experts and key state stakeholders. SR 31 also requires the reform plan to be based on an assessment of the needs and risks of the entire juvenile justice population, as well as any gaps in types and location of community based services. These assessments are to be completed by the end of 2007. In the meantime, NCYL and DRC have put on hold their plan to file a lawsuit, at least for now, depending upon how the process called for by SR 31 unfolds. The two groups will continue to monitor conditions at Alexander, and participate in the development of the juvenile justice reform plan.
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