Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Juvenile Justice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rep. Tara Shephard urges study of Arkansas juvenile justice amid high incarceration rates
Summary
At a joint House–Senate committee hearing Feb. 11, Rep. Tara Shephard pressed lawmakers to study reforms under HCR1010, citing high costs and saying Arkansas incarcerates more youth than any other state; agency officials presented SAVRY risk data, Division of Youth Services custody figures and ADE attendance and discipline trends.
Representative Tara Shephard asked the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth and the Senate Committee on Children and Youth on Feb. 11 to back HCR1010, a resolution requesting a study of ways to improve Arkansas’ juvenile justice system.
Shephard told the joint committee that the state faces high costs to house juvenile offenders and that Arkansas incarcerates more youth than any other state, and she urged a formal study to identify alternatives to placement in the Division of Youth Services (DYS).
Senator Missy Irvin and two circuit judges, Troy Braswell (20th Judicial District) and Kathie Hess (1st Judicial District), joined Brooke Steen, Juvenile Division Director for the Administrative Office of the Courts, in presenting on compliance, enforcement and implementation of Ark. Code § 9-35-423. The presenters summarized Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) data covering 2016–2025 (figures presented but not specified in the record) and discussed how risk assessment informs placement and supervision decisions.
Michael Crump, Director of the Division of Youth Services, provided counts of children in DYS custody and noted the number of youth enrolled in the Rite of Passage program (specific counts were presented to the committee but are not specified in the minutes). Representatives from the Arkansas Department of Education — Courtney Salas-Ford, Chief of Staff, and Stacy Smith, Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education — gave an overview of student attendance and discipline data for 2024–2025 to show school-related factors that affect juvenile justice referrals.
Keesa Smith-Brantley, Executive Director of Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, and Dr. Fitz Hill, pastor and advocate, recommended evaluating children who have committed offenses to determine whether they should be placed in DYS or receive alternative, community-based interventions.
No formal vote on HCR1010 or on changes to § 9-35-423 was recorded at the meeting; the discussion generated requests for further study and data. The committees adjourned at 4:15 p.m.
