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| "Arkansas' Voice on the Internet" | Previous Features / Investigations |
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 Governor's panel produces suggestions to curb youth violence THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Copyright © 1998 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. A governor's group formed after the Jonesboro school shootings recommended Wednesday that Arkansas target violent media and send nurses into the homes of teen-age mothers to steer their children away from crime. The group proposed public service announcements, fund-raising drives, a statewide conference and local seminars, all aimed at teaching parents and children about the harmful effects of violent television shows, movies, video games, music and advertising. "The fact is violence attracts an audience, and ultimately, research is now telling us, begets violence" said state Rep. Rita Hale, D-Hot Springs, a member of the panel of prosecutors, police, public defenders, child advocates and others. Gov. Mike Huckabee formed the group after the March 24 shootings that killed four students and a teacher at Westside Middle School near Jonesboro. Two boys, then ages 11 and 13, were sentenced to the state's juvenile justice system and will probably be freed at age 18. Arkansas law prohibits youths younger than 14 from being tried as adults. Huckabee's task force has proposed allowing children as young as 10 to be sentenced as both juveniles and adults for capital or first-degree murder. But members couldn't agree Tuesday on how long juvenile offenders could be kept in adult prisons. They set a Nov. 15 deadline for reaching a consensus. Huckabee plans on using the recommendations to propose legislation during the 1999 session. The public awareness campaign suggests that parents find alternatives to television and violent forms of entertainment. "As a parent, I am very concerned about the upswing of shows like Jerry Springer, where we're bringing on these weird topics, and violence is shown as part of the programming," said Ouachita County Sheriff Ben Garner, a member of the committee. "I'm totally opposed to my child seeing any kind of programming like that." The committee cited several separate studies over the past eight years that conclude that violence in media increases chances of violence among children, as well as an increased insensitivity. The proposal involving nurses would target first-time, teen-age mothers from pregnancy through the first two years of a child's life. During home visits, nurses would discuss health and parenting issues, home safety and decision-making skills. Arkansas Children's Hospital estimates there are 30,000 births annually in Arkansas, of which 5,500 are to first-time teen-age mothers. The nurse program initially would cost $3,200 per family per year, then $2,800 after it is fully implemented. Hale, who pledged to sponsor legislation for the nurse program, said it would be phased in beginning in areas with the highest teen pregnancy rates. "The time has come for us to start putting our money where our mouths are, and that is in preventing problems before they get started," Hale said. Parent support programs lower the risk of child abuse and result in a 45 percent reduction in juvenile crime by age 15, according to committee figures developed by David Olds at the Prevention Research Center for Family and Child Health at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Other recommendations included encouraging after-school programs to keep youths out of trouble. But some committee members said such efforts aren't likely to succeed unless the state provides funding, and they did not include a request for funding in the recommendations. The group also suggested that all Arkansas schools employ truancy officers and that parents should be required to attend juvenile justice hearings involving their children. This article was published on Thursday, October 29, 1998 Copyright, permissions and privacy policy Copyright © 2008, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. This document may not be reprinted without the express written permission of Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. |
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