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Child abuse, Frazier's job on agenda of lawmakers
RACHEL O'NEAL
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

Legislative hearings begin Monday on allegations that children are abused while in state custody.
Lawmakers say they hope to find out:

Why the apparent abuse happened.

Why the lawmakers didn't know more about it earlier.

What they can do to prevent future abuse.

How the head of the biggest state agency, which includes the division that had the abuse problems, winds up with a higher-paying job now that he's leaving the troubled department.
They don't know how many meetings the hearings will take, but they say they'll hold as many as are needed to explore the problems in the Youth Services Division, which is part of Department of Human Services.
If they are unable to get officials to cooperate, legislative committees have subpoena power, lawmakers noted.
"There's been a lot of rumors and allegations of a cover-up by some pretty high-ranking officials who may have known of the abuse and neglect and rape and simply did nothing, and that's not how we run our government," said Sen. Mike Ross, D-Prescott. "I'm not prepared right now to name names. We're dealing basically with rumors and allegations, but that's what we hope to find out."
Ross is chairman of the Senate Children and Youth Committee. It will hold the hearings with the House Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs Committee, starting at 10 a.m. Monday in Room 130 at the Capitol.
In June, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ran a six-part series of articles about the division's problems, including the physical abuse of delinquents in the state's care.
On June 19, Gov. Mike Huckabee announced plans to close the division's Observation and Assessment Center in North Little Rock, which houses some of the children in state custody.
Human Services Director Lee Frazier resigned June 24, partly because of the division's problems.
Boys have alleged they were beaten or sexually assaulted at the North Little Rock center, the Alexander Youth Services Center and the division's wilderness camps for serious offenders.
An Arkansas State Police report showed Huckabee was briefed last August on reports of abuse. An Aug. 13, 1997, memo to Huckabee from staff liaison Sandra Winston outlined problems in the division.
Huckabee said last month that he was told by "highest-level" state officials that the problems were being corrected. He said he "trusted people who I thought were telling the truth." He wouldn't name names.
At Monday's hearing, lawmakers will discuss the state police report and audits of the division's facilities by the Department of Correction and the Department of Health. They will hear from witnesses from the state police, the division and the departments that audited the facilities.
In April and May, teams from the health and correction departments inspected the center and the Alexander facility and found problems, including backed-up toilets, filthy kitchens, readily accessible knives and blocked fire exits.
The North Little Rock center is scheduled to be closed by mid-August. The children are being moved to Alexander Youth Services Center and other state facilities.
"There are lots of questions in the minds of legislators," said Rep. Pat Flanagin, D-Forrest City, a member of the House committee. "Are we closing down the center and sending the kids back home and letting them commit crimes in their communities or is there all of a sudden a decrease in juvenile crime and a lot of extra beds at Alexander?"
Sen. Kevin Smith, D-Stuttgart, a member of the Senate committee, said he expects some lawmakers to call for "breaking up DHS," which is the largest state agency with 12 divisions and 7,725 employees. Smith said he isn't sure that dividing the agency into smaller departments is the right way to go.
He is in the process of drafting legislation for the 1999 legislative session which would create a state office of inspector general, Smith said. The office would be similar to the federal inspector general and would make independent investigations, as needed, he said.
"Certainly, the buck stops at governor," he said, "but at the same time, he was told it was being taken care of.
"In this case, the governor would submit the problems to the inspector general to check it out. The governor wouldn't have to worry about someone trying to downplay their problems to save their job."
Also, legislators said they want answers about Frazier's new job at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
In August, Frazier will become director of community programs at UAMS, which pays about $118,000 a year, $8,000 more than he's making now.
UAMS Chancellor Dr. Harry Ward created the position for Frazier after Frazier asked for a job. Frazier will report to Ward, who said he and Frazier have been friends for 10 to 15 years.
They frequently "chatted informally that one day he would come over here and help us out with some of our areas," Ward said.
He decided to pay Frazier $118,000 after considering Frazier's current salary and what Ward's other administrators are paid, Ward said.
At Human Services, Frazier was in line for a 5.2 percent pay raise, which would have brought his salary to $110,776.
Ward could create the job because language in UAMS' appropriation bill gave the agency the flexibility to do it.
"Obviously, it was never intended for that," state Sen. Mike Beebe, D-Searcy, said of the creation of Frazier's job. "It was intended to provide the flexibility to [UAMS] to hire physicians or other extraordinary health-care professionals when, and if, the opportunity presented itself."
Beebe predicted the Joint Budget Committee, which will begin holding budget hearings in the fall, will be interested in Frazier's position. He said he didn't know whether lawmakers will try to abolish it.
"But I do know it was never the legislative intent when we allowed flexibility to have a job created for people when there wasn't a need for the job," Beebe said.
So was the job unneeded?
"I have no clue," Beebe said. "I know one thing, based upon news accounts I've read, it appears there wasn't a need for the job and it was created for Lee Frazier when he left DHS."
Ward is developing job duties for Frazier. He said Frazier will likely work to develop a relationship between UAMS and community health centers. Frazier also would help "network" with the clinic's Medicaid patients and help with UAMS' reimbursement, information and administration systems.
Frazier may also work with the state Health Department to raise the state's rankings in categories such as obesity, hypertension and mortality. And he will teach a master's level public-health class that UAMS offers in conjunction with Tulane University in New Orleans.
Frazier's wife, Deborah, is chief of staff at the Health Department. Her salary is $75,365 a year.
Flanagin said he also believes Frazier's job "was more or less created for him." He also believes the Joint Budget Committee will have questions for UAMS.
Huckabee named Richard Weiss, director of the state Department of Finance and Administration, to serve as Human Services' interim director during a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
That's led some people to ask why Ed Rolle, a retired military colonel who has worked at the department from March until last month, wasn't made interim director. Rolle was appointed by Huckabee in January 1997 as director of the state Employment Security Department. Before that, Rolle was Huckabee's executive assistant for plans and programs. He also helped Huckabee with his transition from lieutenant governor to governor.
Frazier asked Rolle to help out at Human Services in February. From March through early July, Rolle both headed Employment Security and worked at Human Services.
Many lawmakers say privately that they believe Rolle actually ran Human Services behind the scenes. Rolle said that isn't true. He said he gained a reputation early on in the Huckabee administration as being a person who was not afraid to make tough calls and fire employees. One newspaper columnist dubbed him "Colonel Death." Rolle said his reputation is "unjustified."
"I believe Lee did a wonderful job," Rolle said. "He had incredible vision. Part of what he asked me to do is listen to that vision, and we spent time together trying to develop recommendations to develop his visions."
Huckabee's spokesman, Jim Harris, said Rolle worked at the department "longer than intended and needed to go back" to the Employment Security Department.
Rolle said Frazier asked Huckabee in February if he could "borrow me." At that time, Human Services Deputy Director Rich Howell had just retired. Rolle said Frazier wanted an "objective look at the organization, staff and functions" of the department.
"I found an agency made up of a lot of competent people, but some people, I felt in my personal opinion, needed more direction and more structure," Rolle said. "I felt they needed some structure. I felt it was too loose."
Rolle said he told Frazier he would be willing to work at Human Services for one or two months. He ended up working at Human Services for more than four months.
Rolle said he "probably" will not apply for the permanent director's job.

This article was published on Sunday, July 12, 1998

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