Dermott Juvenile Treatment Center

Youth committed by a juvenile judge to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services may be placed at the Dermott Juvenile Treatment Center, 1001 Regional Rd, Dermott, AR 71638, 870-538-0223. A child committed to DYS is usually driven either to the DYS Admissions and Records unit at the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center near Alexander, or to an approved county juvenile detention center until a bed opens. A treatment team makes a plan for the child, then refers the child to a treatment center or a DYS group home (DYS family guide). Call 870-538-0223 or the Division of Youth Services at 501-682-8654. Give your name, how you are related, and your child's full name and date of birth, and ask for your child's case manager.

Length of stay depends on your child's risk assessment, treatment plan and the judge's review of progress. In extended juvenile jurisdiction (EJJ) cases, the final decision belongs to the committing judge (DYS family guide). After the plan is complete, the judge decides on going home, usually with an aftercare plan. Progress is reviewed by the treatment team every 60 to 90 days. DYS has to go over the aftercare terms with your child and you before release (Ark. Code 9-35-436).

Your child may call a legal guardian or approved immediate family member within 24 hours of arriving, then one call a week from the case manager's office, to family on the approved phone log made at intake. Staff will work out the call time with you. Staff try to arrange a quick call back from your child in a family emergency. To ask about progress or leave a message, parents can call the case manager weekdays, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. Call 870-538-0223 to ask how calls work for your child. The rules for your child are kept private to protect the minor.

Call the center at 870-538-0223 and ask for your child's case manager. Division of Youth Services, main office: 501-682-8654. Parents may call the case manager on weekdays, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. For the court order, ask the juvenile court in the county that committed your child.

Committed youth from any Arkansas county are placed by DYS based on age, gender, risk and treatment needs. The juvenile court in the committing county keeps the case.

School runs every weekday, with high school, GED, career and vocational classes, along with therapy groups, counseling and recreation (DYS family guide). Call 870-538-0223 to ask about your child's school work, medicine or counseling. Those details are kept private to protect the minor.

To protect children, the names of youth in juvenile treatment centers never appear on this site. Call 870-538-0223 or the Division of Youth Services directly. Staff share these details with a parent or guardian, since they are kept private to protect the minor.

When visits happen:

• Saturday and Sunday: two-hour visits, starting from 8:00 AM to noon or from 1:00 to 5:00 PM
• If you can't come at those times, call your child's case manager to set a visit on another day. A visit can't be scheduled by your child for you.

Hours can change, so call 870-538-0223 before you go.

Who may visit: Up to four visitors at a time (children under 12 don't count toward the four). Visits by girlfriends, boyfriends and family friends aren't allowed. Visitors must be immediate family: mother, father, sisters, brothers, step-family and legal guardians. A pastor or clergy member can visit your child any day. Your child has the right to accept or refuse a visit.

When you arrive:

• Nothing can be handed to your child during a visit: no stamps, batteries, phone cards, magazines, pictures, letters or other items.

Parents and guardians can call 870-538-0223 to ask whether they are on the child's approved visitor list. Because these details are kept private to protect the minor, staff go over them by phone with a parent or guardian.

Yes. See the mail section of this page for the address and mail rules.

Speak with your child's lawyer as soon as you can, because adult release and bail rules apply in adult court and a youth facing felony charges there may be held in an adult jail (Ark. Code 9-35-425(b)). A prosecutor can file in adult (criminal) court for any felony by a 16- or 17-year-old, or for capital murder, first-degree murder, kidnapping, aggravated robbery, rape, first-degree battery or a terroristic act by a 14- or 15-year-old (Ark. Code 9-35-412(c)). For certain other serious offenses by a 14- or 15-year-old, the state can ask the juvenile judge to transfer the case or to treat the child as an extended juvenile jurisdiction offender (Ark. Code 9-35-412(b)).