Harrisburg Juvenile Treatment Center

Youth committed by a juvenile judge to the Arkansas Division of Youth Services may be placed at the Harrisburg Juvenile Treatment Center, 1800 Pine Grove Lane, Harrisburg, AR 72432-9334, 870-578-5886. Once a judge commits a child to DYS, the child is usually taken 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 to wait for a bed. Call 870-578-5886 or the Division of Youth Services at 501-682-8654. A treatment team builds a plan for the child and then refers the child to a treatment center or a DYS group home (DYS family guide). 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.

To protect children, the names of youth in juvenile treatment centers never appear on this site. Call 870-578-5886 or the Division of Youth Services directly. Details are kept private to protect the minor, so staff share them with a parent or guardian.

Visiting days and times:

• Saturday and Sunday: two-hour visits, starting from 8:00 AM to noon or from 1:00 to 5:00 PM
• If those times don't work, your child's case manager can set a visit on another day. Your child isn't able to set up a visit for you.

Hours can change, so call 870-578-5886 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. Visits are limited to immediate family: mother, father, sisters, brothers, step-family and legal guardians. A pastor or clergy member can visit your child any day. A visit can be accepted or refused by your child.

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 870-578-5886 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.

Length of stay depends on your child's risk assessment, treatment plan and the judge's review of progress. Once your child completes the plan, the judge decides when your child goes home, usually with an aftercare plan. Every 60 to 90 days, the treatment team reviews progress. For an extended juvenile jurisdiction (EJJ) case, the committing judge has the final say (DYS family guide). DYS must explain the aftercare terms to your child and to you before release (Ark. Code 9-35-436).

The first call, within 24 hours of arrival, can go to a legal guardian or approved immediate family member. Then your child gets 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. Parents may call the case manager on weekdays, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, to ask about progress or leave a message. In a family emergency, staff try to have your child call you back right away. Call 870-578-5886 to ask how calls work for your child. These details are kept private to protect the minor.

School runs every weekday, with high school, GED, career and vocational classes, along with therapy groups, counseling and recreation (DYS family guide). Call 870-578-5886 to ask about your child's school work, medicine or counseling. Those details are kept private to protect the minor.

Committed youth from any Arkansas county are placed by DYS based on age, gender, risk and treatment needs. The case remains with the juvenile court of the county that committed the child.

Call the center at 870-578-5886 and ask for your child's case manager. The Division of Youth Services main office is 501-682-8654. On weekdays, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, parents may call the case manager. Questions about the court order go to the juvenile court in the county that committed your child.

Yes. The mailing address and mail rules are in the mail section of this page.

For a 14- or 15-year-old, kidnapping, rape, aggravated robbery, first-degree battery, a terroristic act, capital murder or first-degree murder can be charged in adult (criminal) court; for a 16- or 17-year-old, any felony can (Ark. Code 9-35-412(c)). When a 14- or 15-year-old faces certain other serious charges, the state can request a transfer to adult court or ask that the child be treated as an extended juvenile jurisdiction offender (Ark. Code 9-35-412(b)). Adult rules on release and bail take over. If the felony case is in adult court, the youth can be held in an adult jail (Ark. Code 9-35-425(b)). Get in touch with your child's lawyer right away.