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Senate Judiciary Committee advances SB152 to standardize juvenile risk assessments and reinvest in community services
Summary
SB152 would require validated juvenile risk-and-needs assessments, expand diversion agreements, and direct DHS/DYS to develop a reinvestment plan to shift funds from residential placements to evidence-based community programs; judges and DHS testified the change preserves judicial discretion and aims to reduce commitments.
Senator Irvin introduced SB152 to the Senate Judiciary Committee as the outcome of a six-year collaborative effort among juvenile judges, the Department of Human Services, and community providers to reshape juvenile justice in Arkansas. "This is six years of work," she told the committee, adding the bill aims to "maintain public safety and improve outcomes for Arkansas youth and families through a validated risk assessment tool."
Associate Justice Rhonda Wood and a coalition of juvenile judges described the bill's central change: using validated risk-and-needs assessment instruments to guide disposition and treatment…
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