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State rejects two proposals to operate youth lockup RACHEL O'NEAL ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE The state Department of Human Services has rejected the two proposals submitted by private companies to run the state's Youth Services Center at Alexander. The department will continue running the center, department spokesman Joe Quinn said Thursday. Department director Kurt Knickrehm said this week that he had hoped for more proposals. Proposals were submitted by Corrections Corporation of America of Nashville, Tenn., which runs private prisons in other states; and Rivendell Management Co. of Benton, which runs Alexander's educational system. The target date to have the center privatized was July 1. The department rejected the Corrections Corporation proposal because it called for the state to spend $9.4 million on a new building to house youths at Alexander. The company also wanted to negotiate a stipulation by the department that the state could cancel the contract with 30 days' notice. The stipulation was non-negotiable, Quinn said. Corrections Corporation wanted $8.3 million a year to operate the center, Quinn said. The operating price in the Corrections Corporation proposal was never considered, Quinn said, because of the proposal's construction aspect. Rivendell's plan was rejected because it called for $9.6 million a year to run the center. The state spends $9.2 million to operate it, Quinn said. If a private company's projected operating cost is more than the state spends, "we have to ask ourselves whether it's worth the additional cost," Quinn said. Russell Rigsby, director of the department's Youth Services Division, met with Alexander employees Wednesday to "reassure them" that they would have jobs, Quinn said. Some Alexander employees had expressed concern that they would lose their jobs if the center was turned over to a private company. Last June, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published a series of articles on conditions at the division's centers for juvenile delinquents, including instances of abuse and mismanagement. Since then, the division has worked to correct the problems. For months, the department has discussed privatizing some division functions. Rivendell has a $827,475 contract with the state to provide regular, special and vocational education to youths at the Alexander center. The contract became effective Dec. 1, 1998. This article was published on Friday, April 23, 1999 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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