The Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC) recently removed all inmates from the Twin Lakes Recovery Center in Flippin after receiving word they were being used as a labor source in a way that violated community supervision standards.
Dina Tyler, a spokesperson for the ADC, told KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News the inmates living at Twin Lakes Recovery were moved to other licensed community recovery facilities on July 28.
The facility, which lists an address along Crane Street in Flippin, housed prison inmates participating in a program designed to help them prepare for parole status and to “reenter” society. At one time, the facility was reported to have been licensed to house 23-24 inmates.
When asked for details on how the inmates were used, resulting in the violation of standards and being removed from the facility, Tyler said the matter was still under review.
When asked for a statement, Flippin Mayor Heith Hogan stated he could not comment at this time.
The state has several rules and regulations pertaining to how and where a reentry inmate can work. Operators or staff at a facility are not allowed to participate in any form of business enterprise with offenders, the inmates cannot “volunteer” to work without pay and inmates are required to be paid in full for their work.
Arkansas Community Corrections state they will reimburse licensed Transitional Housing Facilities $30 per day for inmates or residents staying 1-45 days and $20 per day for inmates or residents staying 46-90 days.
Employment and payment records for each inmate or resident must be made available if requested by the state.
It is up to the inmate to settle any debt owed to the operators of the reentry facility with the money they earn.
FROM COTTER TO FLIPPIN
Twin Lakes Recovery first planned to open a facility in Cotter in April 2016 but was met with opposition from the community and city leaders.
In December 2017, Twin Lakes Recovery Center filed a lawsuit against the City of Cotter, citing a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.
At the center of the dispute is action taken by the City of Cotter to terminate Twin Lakes Recovery’s occupational permit, saying the facility opened in April 2016, but the center’s officials did not request the document until May 2016. As a result, city officials contended the facility had opened without notification to surrounding residents.
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