For Immediate Release:
April 15, 2020

Media Contacts: 
Amy Webb
Chief of Communications
amy.webb@dhs.arkansas.gov

Marci Manley
Deputy Chief of Communications
marci.manley@dhs.arkansas.gov

DHS Amends Contract with Rite of Passage to Manage Juvenile Treatment Centers

(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) — The Department of Human Services (DHS) Division of Youth Services (DYS) has amended its current contract with Rite of Passage (ROP) so that the company will now manage all state juvenile treatment centers in Arkansas.

ROP has had a contract to handle the day-to-day management of the state’s Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center in Saline County since August 2016. The other four facilities in Lewisville, Mansfield, Dermott, and Harrisburg are overseen by Youth Opportunities Investments (YOI). In mid-February, YOI notified DYS that it would not continue with its oversight of those facilities after June 30 due to financial concerns. As a result, DHS presented an amendment to ROP’s contract to the State Legislature today.

The amendment allows ROP to take on the day-to-day management of the treatment centers in Dermott, Mansfield, and Harrisburg. With the center in Saline County, there are 230 residential beds and 20 assessment beds available across all these centers. ROP may use the Lewisville campus to operate a substance abuse treatment program, if funding is available.

ROP will immediately begin working with YOI to transition the centers to new management, with the official takeover date of July 1.

###