Here’s the Sunday open line. Three cheers for Little Rock. The UALR men’s basketball team is now 10-0 after an 84-57 win over Northern Arizona this afternoon at the Jack.
Now a word on a much bigger topic:
* SUFFER THE CHILDREN: Chad Day of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette continued his reporting on Arkansas’s (mis)treatment of troubled children today. The focus: The number of times juvenile judges lock up status offenders in correctional facilities with youths accused of crime. Lockup is not a cure for truancy, disobeying parents or running away from home, though many judges seem to think so. This is not surprising in a state where so many hold firmly to the believe that physical abuse — excuse me, corporal punishment — is a cure for the cause of misbehavior.
Happily the reporting — supported by a grant from a nonprofit — notes that some judges with poor records have begun to see the light. But not all.
Child welfare law professor Jerald Sharum says status offenders are being treated differently because of things that are out of their control — a situation that undermines the fairness and equality that are supposed to be guaranteed by the courts.
“It is a problem because you’re not really getting the same shake,” said Sharum, an adjunct professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville.
A graphic compiled from Day’s report told a key part of the story simply, with a map of the 48 counties where kids will be locked up and the 27 where they won’t (though some that do lock kids up, such as Pulaski, have judges turning less to the practice). Jefferson/Lincoln, Faulkner, Sebastian, Washington and Miller lead the lockup count, in order.
Day’s work reminds me again of my churlishness about politicians who held a photo opp last week to illustrate their goodness in giving some Christmas presents to foster children but don’t seem willing to support a system adequate to the task of taking care of kids in need year-round.