As officials work to ensure that the state's last-minute takeover of seven youth jails is seamless, larger questions about Arkansas' juvenile justice system remain.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson's decision to put the Department of Human Services in direct control of the lockups prompted a debate about the Legislature's role in approving government contracts.
Hendrix College politics professor Jay Barth said the governor's move also provoked discussion about the "dramatically different perspectives on how to do juvenile justice."
"It doesn't cut neatly across party lines," Barth said. "In this case, there was the legislative and gubernatorial battle, the partisan divide, and this fundamental divide about what juvenile justice programs would look like in the first place."
Barth supervised the writing of a recent study of the state's system for dealing with children who habitually skip school, disobey parents or run away from home, actions that specialists say often put those children on a path to incarceration.
The disputed youth services contract "was such a time-sensitive thing, [it] brought to the surface a tension that was bubbling there," he said.
As many as 249 children in state custody are housed at the jails. With a looming deadline and no approved contract, many had worried about a lapse in services.
The $160 million youth services contract, set to begin Jan. 1, was intended to go to Youth Opportunity Investments LLC of Carmel, Ind., even though the for-profit company submitted the most expensive proposal. The daily per-bed rate jumped from $147 to about $232 under the new contract.
The current operators -- South Arkansas Youth Services of Magnolia and Jonesboro-based Consolidated Youth Services, which have managed the lockups for more than 20 years -- began protesting the state's decision in August.
They argued that the change resulted from an unfair bidding process or a "rigged system," according to letters filed by their attorneys.
In the following months, their challenge triggered a back and forth of legal filings, letters and memos involving state agencies and the groups eyeing the contract.
The two current lockup operators also filed suits in Lafayette County Circuit Court seeking to prevent the state from giving the contract to Youth Opportunity Investments.
The Human Services Department defended its selection of Youth Opportunity Investments and said the company offered the best proposal, twice earning higher scores from evaluators.
Agency officials said the increase in funding was only indicative of inflation and the department's commitment to lowering juvenile recidivism and offering youths better treatment.
On Dec. 16, Hutchinson attempted to put an end to the skirmish after members of the Arkansas Legislative Council rejected the contract twice by declining to review it.
A 2015 state law that implemented a 2014 voter-approved constitutional amendment gave legislators greater authority in reviewing proposed rules changes by state agencies. Legislators now vote to either review or not review rules and contracts.
In announcing his decision to end the contract dispute by putting the Human Services Department in charge for six months, Hutchinson criticized lawmakers for "killing the procurement process" and positioning the state for a "government shutdown."
"There's some confusion on what 'review' means," Hutchinson said in an interview Tuesday .
"There's an appropriate legislative role to play," the governor said. "Most of that is in the advance side of the budgeting process, and after the contracts are awarded, there's really a limited role that can and should be played if we're going to keep it a technical- and merit-based contract award system.
"I think we'll have some ongoing discussions with the Legislature on that, and hopefully we can smooth out that process," he added.
Lawmakers who voted not to review the contract insist they have the authority to review contracts in their final stages and said other steps could have been taken without threatening a shutdown.
"I met with the Bureau of Legislative Research and the Department of Finance and Administration to make sure there were options so that these services were covered," said Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia.
"We could have done an emergency procurement and entered into a contract on a short-term basis."
However, legislators who rejected the contract, including Maloch, said they understand why Hutchinson opted for the state to take over the seven youth jails instead.
"The governor did what he thought he had to do," said Rep. Scott Baltz, D-Pocahontas. "The bottom line is taking care of the kiddos. The other stuff can be worked out."
Baltz also said he was concerned about the many services that have been privatized by the state, echoing the nationwide conversation on private prisons in general.
"There are certain things the state needs to take over," he said. "I am not necessarily saying this is one of them, but I feel like the state can run them. We do have a lot of contracts that concern me."
Since Hutchinson's decision, Jerry Walsh, executive director of South Arkansas Youth Services, said he may still take the state to court over its handling of the evaluation of the contract proposals.
Bonnie Boon, who leads Consolidated Youth Services, said she is dropping her lawsuit.
Human Services Department officials have been meeting with staff already working at the facilities this week, said Brandi Hinkle, an agency spokesman.
An "onboarding process" will essentially make those staff members state employees, she said.
The agency "will begin analyzing the situation to determine how to appropriately move forward with the management of our facilities" next month, Hinkle added.
The state likely will have to overcome staffing challenges in the coming months, since employee turnover at those lockups, and within the juvenile justice field in general, is relatively high, Boon said.
Scott Tanner, juvenile justice ombudsman with the Arkansas Public Defender Commission, said the department's presence there for the next six months may improve the way the lockups are run.
Officials could "gain better insight into the intricate operations," which would afford the Human Services Department a chance to draft a new, enhanced proposal to run the sites or allow the agency to mediate with current providers more effectively, Tanner said.
Information for this article was contributed by John Moritz of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
Metro on 12/24/2016