DYS and Arkansas’ Juvenile Justice System

Entrance Children age who are proven to have broken the law and are under the authority of a juvenile court judge may be committed to DYS. When kids are committed to state custody by a judge, DYS determines the place and length of their commitment.

Assessment and Placement DYS uses a risk and needs assessment process to determine the best service, placement and sentence length for each child. Arkansas contracts out all of its juvenile services with 13 nonprofit organizations and one private, for-profit corporation.

Release DYS determines when a child will be released from state custody. After DYS releases a child, the youth is required to attend an after care program.

A Snapshot of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System

Who Do We Serve? Approximately 8,249 Arkansas kids were involved with DYS in % of the children committed to DYS in Arkansas are boys.

The Current System Deepens Divisions In Arkansas, African-American youth are disproportionately committed to DYS: More than half the youth committed to DYS are African American. Kids in the juvenile justice system are twice as likely to have a mental disorder, and their condition typically worsens when they’re locked up.

Most Kids Are Minor, Nonviolent Offenders In Arkansas, 90% of kids who get into trouble do not commit violent acts. 36% of Arkansas youth crimes are misdemeanors. More juveniles are arrested for curfew violations than violent crimes such as murder, rape and assault.

Disadvantaged Youth and Other Conditions Of all the youth in Arkansas’ locked facilities, 91% have mental and/or behavioral disorders. Most kids in the Arkansas juvenile justice system come from chaotic home lives. More than 83% have had some contact with the child welfare system before, 82% come from homes where one or both parents are absent, and more than 63% have parents or guardians with drug or alcohol addictions.

Children Are Different than Adults

The brain systems that govern impulse control, planning and thinking ahead continue developing well after age 18. The average age of youth committed to DYS is only 16.

Kids Experience Different Reactions During puberty, hormonal changes affect decision-making by increasing impulsivity and sensitivity to others’ reactions. Kids are more vulnerable to thrill-seeking and peer pressure.

Kids Are More Capable of Change As people age, their impulsivity, thrill- seeking behaviors and vulnerability to peer pressure decline naturally. Because adolescents are not fully mature and are still developing, they have a greater capacity for change than adults.

Kids Are Different in the Eyes of the Law Juvenile justice systems treat adolescents differently when they commit a crime because teens are more capable of change and less legally culpable than adults. Many youth, especially those with learning disabilities, have greater difficulty understanding their rights and the law in general.

Harms of Detention

Locking Kids Up Harms Them More than it Helps Them Studies show that incarcerating most kids actually provides no benefit to the children or the community. Incarceration is counterproductive for low-risk kids because interaction with other troubled youth reinforces past behaviors, worsens antisocial tendencies and allows them to acquire new delinquent skills.

Jail Time Actually Creates More Problems for the Community The majority of juvenile crimes are committed by a small number of kids. Only 15% of detained youth are being held for a violent offense. Using correctional facilities to punish children actually increases future crime rates.

Most Kids Will Stop Breaking the Law on their Own Studies have found that almost 92% of kids stop committing crimes on their own as they age.

Programs that Work – for Everyone

Community-Based Programs Help Stop Crime Before it Starts Kids who are unsupervised three or more days a week are at least twice as likely to get into trouble. Creating after-school programs can reduce gang activity and reduce youth law violations by as much as two-thirds.

Community-Based Programs Are Less Expensive than State Custody The total cost of treating a child in an Arkansas lockup is approximately $131,000 per year. Family-therapy programs can save as much as $14 for every $1 invested. Every high-risk child who is prevented from living a life of crime can save taxpayers $1.7 million to $2.3 million.

Community-Based Interventions Help Kids Learn to Be Productive Citizens Community-based programs in Arkansas have been up to 93% successful in preventing future arrests. In one Arkansas multi-systemic therapy program, more than 75% of the youth who participated have been discharged from probation and are engaged, contributing citizens.

Why Does Arkansas’ Juvenile Justice System Need Reform?

DYS’ Vision for Reform Indicators Concept of public safety Our Past Incarcerating and committing offenders Our Future Creating and restoring healthy families Role of DYSResponding to juvenile crimePreventing juvenile delinquency Response to system youthMany in secure confinementMore in community-based services Primary focusYouth in troubleStrength-based family systems BudgetsSpiraling costs of incarcerationMoney re-allocated to treatment Method of operationIndependent bureaucracyResponsive and agile network Basis for decision-makingTradition and precedentPractices proven effective and evidence-based System employeesHigh stress and turnoverHighly trained and professional Data system on youthFragmented and incompleteInteractive, integrated and useful Evaluation of providersCompliance with contractsPositive outcomes for youth Relationship with schools and courtsIndependent effortsPartners in prevention Relationship with correctionsFeeder for adult prisonsReverses path toward crime National reputationBehind national progressLeader in reform

Arkansas’ Current System Is Not as Effective as It Can Be in Helping Youth Arkansas strives to provide the right help at the right time for youth, in the most cost- effective way possible. Without a broad range of community-based programs available, the Arkansas juvenile courts are often forced to rely on confinement, even though it costs more money and there are more effective alternatives to help kids.

Reform that Increases Community-Based Programs Will Save Taxpayer Money In one state, it has been shown that providing youth in the juvenile justice system with an advocate ensures better care in the community and can save the state $4,000 per child a year. Using data from across the country, a Washington State research agency found that community programs for youth could result in as much as $2 billion in taxpayer savings and reduced crime rates.

Reform Better Protects Our Communities In Arkansas, nearly all kids who are locked up – even those with serious offenses – will eventually return to the community. That’s why we need to provide them with effective programs to help them. Youth who are allowed an opportunity for success in therapy programs are 43% less likely to get arrested than those youth who are not.

Reform Gives Kids a Better Future By requiring quality care and accountability in juvenile justice systems, we will recognize children as our most valuable resource and help them acquire the positive adult relationships needed to help develop their strengths.