A private Nevada-based company is slated to take control of Arkansas' youth prisons in a $15.8 million contract, state officials announced Wednesday.
Rite of Passage submitted the winning bid to take over management of state-run youth lockups in Harrisburg, Lewisville, Dermott and Mansfield. The contract should be signed this summer, pending any protests from unsuccessful bidders, said Department of Human Services spokeswoman Amy Webb.
The firm has managed the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center, the state's largest juvenile correctional facility with 120 beds, since 2016. She did not comment further.
Rite of Passage's attorney was not available for immediate comment.
In 2016, the department tried to award operation of the youth facilities to a private company out of Carmel, Ind., called Youth Opportunities Investments LLC for $160 million.
At the time, the lockups had been managed for decades by two Arkansas nonprofits. Executives from both groups twice protested the state's intent to award the contract to Youth Opportunities, claiming that officials "robbed the entire bidding process of equity."
In December 2016, lawmakers failed to approve the contract, and Gov. Asa Hutchinson ordered the department to take over the facilities, citing a need to avoid government shutdown.
NW News on 02/28/2019