An official with the state's Department of Human Services announced his plans for retirement Thursday.
Ron Angel, 66, is set to retire June 1 after serving nearly six years as director of the department's youth services division, according to a news release from the department.
The Arkansas National Guard veteran is said to have "dramatically enhanced" the state's juvenile justice system, including his efforts to "transform the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center in Saline County, resulting in the facility’s release from nearly a decade of federal oversight," the release states.
“Ron came in and offered two things that DYS desperately needed: Leadership and stability,” DHS Director John Selig said in the release. “With him at the helm, no problem seemed insurmountable.”
Steven Jones, the department's deputy director, will serve as interim director until Angel's position is filled.
Read more in Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.