Surrounded by leaders of local religious organizations and state agencies, Gov. Asa Hutchinson today announced an inter-faith steering committee and summit to help the state’s efforts in supporting the foster care and prison re-entry systems.
The Governor’s Restore Hope Summit: A Call to Action for Faith Leaders on Foster Care and Prison Re-entry will be held Aug. 25-26 at the Little Rock Marriott Hotel.
“The need is great, and we need to enlist the partners — the support of faith and nonprofit communities — to carry out their responsibilities, particularly to our children,” Hutchinson said today at a press conference held at the governor’s office conference room at the State Capitol.
Private funds will cover the expenses associated with the summit, including the mailing of about 5,000 save-the-date notices to houses of worship across the state.
The steering committee will set the agenda, goals and parameters for improving the state’s foster care and prison re-entry systems. This includes determining how to add more foster-care beds in the state, developing better transition support and employment opportunities for recently released inmates, and creating more engagement among the state’s faith community.
At the press conference, Hutchinson said the state currently has more than 4,400 children in foster care with only 2,500 approved beds.
Each year, about 6,000 inmates leave prison and are released back into the community, and the governor said the unemployment rate for these individuals is 47 percent and the recidivism rate exceeds 40 percent. Earlier this year, to address prison overcrowding, Hutchinson unveiled a plan to add 500 re-entry beds for recently released inmates.
“Arkansas is about second chances,” Hutchinson said.
The initiative is not a state endorsement for religion, Hutchinson said. However, he said, faith will be a component of the group’s recommendations, which will be “voluntary, not compulsory.”
Steering Committee Members
Hutchinson said many of the members of the steering committee are already engaged in efforts to improve the prison or foster care systems. Members of the steering committee who were in attendance at the announcement include:
- Jerry Cox, Family Council
- Stephen Copley, Interfaith Arkansas
- Tom Navin, Catholic Charities of Arkansas
- Scott McLean, Pathway to Freedom
- Anna Cox, Compassion Works for All
- Dubs Byers, First Baptist Church of Dumas, board member of Arkansas Department of Correction
- Milton Graham, Missionary Baptist Church, Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services, Pulaski County
- Paul Stevens, retired pastor
- Kalman Winnick, Synagogue Agudath Achim
- Paul Chapman, Fellowship Baptist Church
- Pat Page, The CALL
- Lauri Currier, The CALL
- Keesa Smith, deputy director, Arkansas Department of Human Services
- Betty Guhman, Hutchinson senior adviser
- Kevin Murphy, chief deputy director, Arkansas Community Correction
Hutchinson said there are other members of the steering committee who did not attend the press conference, including Johnny Hasan of the Islamic Center of Little Rock.