BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Officials are planning to open a shelter at the Benton County juvenile detention center for teenage boys who need a place to stay.
The Alternative Placement Adolescent Center in Bentonville will house eight boys ages 13 to 17 for up to 90 days each, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
“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,” said Drew Shover, the county’s chief probation officer.
He said the boys staying at the shelter won’t mix with the teens detained at the facility, and that juveniles with a history of violent or sexual crimes and those with gang affiliations won’t be eligible to stay at the shelter.
“I do not want any kid learning how to be a gang member from anyone in the shelter,” Shover said.
Parents are required to sign the youths in and the boys won’t be court-ordered into staying at the facility.
The shelter should open by May 3, Shover said.
Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Smith, who presides over the county’s juvenile cases, said the Arkansas Department of Human Services provided the county with a license to run the shelter.
The shelter gives the county a chance to provide services to the teens without arresting them, Smith said. He added the shelter is another resource they can use to find services to assist adolescents.
The Endeavor Foundation, a grant-making organization based in Springdale, has donated $211,000 to the county to convert the detention space.
Justin Fletcher, the vice president of programs for Endeavor Foundation, said the northwest Arkansas organization believes the new shelter will be a vital resource for children in need of mediation instead of incarceration.
“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.
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Information from: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.nwaonline.com
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