2004: Currently, almost 5,000 registered sex offenders are residing in Arkansas. The vast majority of these offenders are adults. Approximately 12-17% of released sex offenders fail to ever register with law enforcement agencies. The mission of the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence is to enhance investigation, treatment, support, and prevention in cases of child abuse, rape, and domestic violence. As a reflection of this mission, the Commission proposes to unite dedicated and committed stakeholders toward one common vision of preventing the reoccurrence of sexual victimization in Arkansas. Arkansas has established a multidisciplinary policy team that consists of all professional groups involved in adult sex offender management in the State of Arkansas. The policy team will conduct a thorough review of the state's current sex offender management practices, identify strengths and needs within their system, and develop a strategy to address those needs. Grant funds will be used to implement the strategy to address gaps in the current system. The strategy will include a plan to monitor and evaluate the practices implemented and their outcomes, and a procedure for ongoing collection and analysis of information that can be used beyond the duration of the grant period.
2001: The State of Arkansas is predominantly rural and had a 2001 population of 2,351,000. The state saw a 13.3% increase of sex offenses perpetrated by juveniles in the years leading up to the grant. Through a prior planning grant supported by the Office of Justice Programs, the state identified the supervision and treatment of juvenile sex offenders as an area in which increased and specialized services were needed. The grant allowed them to address this issue by implementing specific training and treatment standards for juvenile sex offender treatment providers; enhancing victim advocacy services and notification; and implementing a pilot Sexual Abuse Management Team in two counties in the state as a model for local collaboration on this issue. The team developed and provided community and criminal justice system education regarding juvenile sex offender issues.
1999: The State of Arkansas utilized a planning grant to evaluate its management of juvenile sex offenders. At the time of this grant, Arkansas had a population of approximately 2,527,600. Despite several thriving metropolitan areas, it is predominately rural, and many of its rural regions are poor and isolated. Between 1995 and 1998, 527 counts of sexual offenses were recorded for juveniles adjudicated in the state, with 189 counts of those constituting felony forcible rape. Juveniles adjudicated for sex crimes increased by approximately 13 percent during that same four-year period. The grantee team conducted a statewide review of practices in juvenile sex offender management, identified the strengths and weaknesses of those practices, and provided recommendations to enhance the management of these youth.
