Juvenile Justice
Mission Statement
The mission of the Juvenile Justice Center is to achieve statewide excellence in juvenile justice through research, policy analysis, and education/training.
History
The Juvenile Justice Center emanated from a perceived need for information and training in the area of juvenile justice in Arkansas. The importance of establishing the Center has been enthusiastically echoed by practitioners in informal interviews. The area of juvenile justice is also the research focus of Dr. Lisa Hutchinson who has extensive experience in the field.
Dr. Hutchinson has worked in delinquency prevention, juvenile probation, and juvenile corrections. Informed by her practitioner experiences, she has spent much of her time focusing on applied research. Specifically, during her tenure as research coordinator for the Metropolitan Crime Commission, she headed an annual evaluation of all Criminal Court Judges in Orleans and Jefferson parishes and coordinated the Pretrial Research Study, which assessed the current pretrial process in both Orleans and Jefferson parishes. As an independent contractor in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, she participated in an in-depth assessment and reorganization of the Court’s abuse and neglect system. Through her work as a practitioner and community advocate, Dr. Hutchinson has been involved in the design and implementation of numerous juvenile justice programs, as well as coordination and provision of related training. Dr. Hutchinson spent three years working on the Kentucky State Advisory Group, serving as Policy and Program Chair. She is currently on the Disproportionate Minority Contact Committee of the Arkansas State Advisory Committee. Dr. Hutchinson is Vice Chair of the Juvenile Justice Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and is a founding member of the National Association for Children of Incarcerated Parents. She has also served on the board of numerous non-profit agencies and as a consultant to several local, state, and federal juvenile agencies. She currently serves as an associate professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Based on her experience, and in discussions with practitioners in the State, Dr. Hutchinson determined that no single agency in Arkansas serves as a clearinghouse for juvenile justice issues. However, Arkansas youth face many of the risk factors that past research associates with future delinquency. Of the population of individuals in Arkansas under 18 years of age, 18 percent live below the federal poverty line.
Furthermore, 7% of youth between 16 and 19 years old have dropped out of high school. In 2006, 34% of Arkansas’s 4th graders and 27% of the 8th graders scored below the basic reading level. In addition, in 2006, 50 per 100,000 teens died by accident. Teen deaths from all causes in 2006 were 66 per 100,000. Further, in 2006, 11% of the children in Arkansas had no health insurance.
The need for this Center is also demonstrated in the risk behaviors of Arkansas’s youth. In 2004-2005, 10% of 12 to 17 year olds and 42% of 18 to 25 year olds reported binge alcohol drinking, and 11% of 12 to 17 year olds and 39% of 18 to 25 year olds reported smoking cigarettes in the month prior to completing the survey. Marijuana use was reported at 7% for 12 to 17 year olds and 16% for 18 to 25 year olds and other illicit drugs were reported at 5% for 12 to 17 year olds and 8% for 18 to 25 year olds (Kids Count Data Book, 2006).
Finally, many youth in Arkansas are already under state supervision. In 2006, a total of 633 youth were committed to the Division of Youth Services for delinquent offenses. In addition to these youths, other young people were committed to community based programs throughout the state. The community based network consists of 14 privately operated non-profit organizations with whom the Division of Youth Services contracts to provide both residential and non-residential services. This extensive system of services and service providers has no evaluation mechanism currently in place. Millions of dollars are being spent in Arkansas to offer programs to troubled youth, yet no entity is responsible for evaluating outcomes. The Center will serve as the primary evaluator for state programs for youth.
The issues surrounding juvenile justice are complex. First, laws defining juvenile delinquency, families in need of services (FINS), and dependency and neglect are complex and multifaceted. Accordingly, many police, lawyers, and policy makers do not have a clear definition of juvenile justice. Furthermore, many family, school, community, and legal factors are intertwined when studying juvenile justice. For these reasons, a central location should be established where policy makers, state officials, police, courts, and corrections, as well as schools, parents, non profit service agencies and the Department of Health and Human Services can go to access information in a consistent, uniformed manner. The Center will serve as the primary mechanism in the state for research, evaluation, and data collection of the complex issues surrounding juvenile justice. Furthermore, the Center will train professionals in Arkansas regarding issues, laws, and policies germane to juvenile justice.
Complex issues of juvenile justice are at the forefront of national interests. From issues of juvenile substance abuse, to issues of school safety, federal agencies are funding research and evaluations aimed to improve the life chances of youth and their communities. Development of the Center will place the Department in the position to compete nationally for grants and to publish research findings of interest to a broad array of audiences; thereby, enhancing the visibility of The Department nationally.
The Juvenile Justice Center has been developed in consultation with representatives from the juvenile justice community. Dr. Hutchinson has already met with the Administrative Office of the Courts Juvenile Division, the Juvenile Justice Ombudsman for the state, the Director of Programming for the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Director of Community Based Programs. Based on these discussions, and the results of an upcoming focus group, a work plan will be developed. These relationships will be integral to the continued success of the Center. The representatives will participate in quarterly planning, review, and assessment meetings as well as the year-end Center evaluations. All parties agree that the Center is necessary, and will provide a vital link to juvenile justice information in Arkansas. All parties are dedicated to a cooperative relationship to the fullest extent possible.
The Juvenile Justice Center is located within the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Center has three focus areas: research/program evaluation, policy analysis, and education/training. Results from each of the components will affect juvenile justice policy and practice across the state. The Center will serve as the primary information clearinghouse for juvenile justice issues in Arkansas.