Shelter close to opening at juvenile detention center

NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Kelley Bridges, a special education teacher, talks Thursday about some of the books stocked in the common area at the new Alternative Placement Adolescent Center next to the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center in Bentonville.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/BEN GOFF • @NWABENGOFF Kelley Bridges, a special education teacher, talks Thursday about some of the books stocked in the common area at the new Alternative Placement Adolescent Center next to the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center in Bentonville.

BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's juvenile officials will soon open a shelter within the juvenile detention center for boys who need a place to stay.

The shelter will house up to eight boys ages 13 to 17 who can stay up to 90 days. Parents will sign the teens into the shelter. They won't be court-ordered into the program.

Center circumstances

The Alternative Placement Adolescent Center will be for male Benton County Court involved youth only under the following circumstances:

• New arrest and used as an alternative

• Open probation case

• Open Family In Need of Services case

• Any pending Benton County Juvenile Court matter.

Source: Benton County Juvenile Probation Office

Drew Shover, the chief probation officer for Benton County, expects the Alternative Placement Adolescent Center to begin housing juveniles by May 3. The boys will be kept separate from the ones in the detention center. The shelter and detention center have separate entrances and schools, he said.

Juveniles with a history of violent or sexual offenses and those involved in gang activity won't be allowed in the shelter program, he said. Teens in the shelter won't be allowed to wear any clothing connected to gangs, drugs or alcohol, Shover said.

"I do not want any kid learning how to be a gang member from anyone in the shelter," he said.

The teens in the shelter won't pose a danger to the community, Shover said.

"It usually will be situations where there are problems in the home and some of those issues can be addressed while they are in the shelter," he said.

The shelter's open house will be from 3 to 5 p.m. today.

A portion of the juvenile detention center was converted into the shelter. The metal tables and seats have been replaced by a picnic table, foosball table, a sofa and colorful chairs. There's a television to watch movies and also one for video games.

The cell doors no longer lock. Visits in the shelter will be in family rooms instead of in the detention center where visits are by telephones with glass dividers.

"This is not the Y," Shover said. "It will be a structured environment, and kids will not be sitting around all day watching television."

Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Smith, who presides over the county's juvenile cases, said the shelter will allow the county to provide services to the teens without having to lock them up. Smith sees the shelter as another tool he can use to find services to help juveniles.

Teens from Benton County have been sent to Youth Bridge in Springdale since Youth Bridge closed its Benton County shelter in 2017, Smith said. Benton County is contracted through the state with Youth Bridge to house four or five juveniles, he said.

The Arkansas Department of Human Services granted the county a license to operate the shelter, Smith said.

The Benton County Juvenile Detention Center holds an average of six juveniles a day, Shover said. He expects the number to decrease and for teens to eventually start requesting to be at the shelter.

Teens in the shelter also will get help with family issues and educational needs, along with working to prevent recidivism.

The shelter has two rooms dedicated for family visits or to meet with counselors. Shover said they purchased a van in order to take the teens on outings.

It isn't a lock-down shelter. Teens are free to leave, and the staff cannot physically stop them, Shover said. There will be consequences if a teen walks away, he said.

The Endeavor Foundation provided the county with a $211,000 grant to convert the detention space.

Endeavor continues to believe the Alternative Placement Adolescent Center is a much-needed resource for children who need interventions, not incarceration, said Justin Fletcher, the vice president of programs for Endeavor Foundation.

"Given the strong links between jail time and youth recidivism, it is vital that low-risk, high-need kids are given every opportunity to receive services in an environment that reinforces, rather than hinders, the impact of those services," Fletcher said.

Shover said he's getting telephone calls from other areas of the country about the shelter. He hopes other counties in the state consider establishing similar shelters.

NW News on 04/22/2019

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