The Arkansas Board of Corrections is considering using the former White River Juvenile Detention Facility in Batesville to expand its supervision program for the state’s parolees and probationers.
Independence County Judge Robert Griffin said the former Juvenile Detention Center in north Batesville has been available since the pandemic, and other considerations led the county to close the facility.
Griffin said his staff reached out to Solomon Graves, cabinet secretary at the Arkansas Department of Corrections, about the facility being used to serve the needs of the DOC. Graves forwarded the request to the DOC.
The department said if the request is approved, it will use the facility to expand the Supervision Sanction Program for parolees and probationers.
According to the DOC, “The goal of this facility will be to provide interventions and services which will hopefully interrupt the behavior of offenders before they violate the terms of their supervision. Emphasis will be placed on the resolution of personal problems, encouraging personal responsibility, and taking accountability for one’s behavior. We will offer offenders structure, supervision, drug and alcohol education, career technical education, employment counseling, socialization, and life skills programs, as well as other evidence-based services designed to enhance public safety by returning offenders to their community as productive, law-abiding citizens.”
Judge Griffin said discussions with the state to use the facility began in mid-2020.
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