Youth unit chief who resigned had tax debts, faced pay seizure

Youth Services Division Director Marcus Devine
Youth Services Division Director Marcus Devine

Arkansas Department of Human Services officials were looking into whether the department needed to take action against Youth Services Division Director Marcus Devine when he resigned from the position this week, a department spokesman said Friday.

The department received last week a writ of garnishment of Devine's wages because of tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid state income taxes, spokesman Amy Webb said.

According to court records, Devine owes $67,053.23 in unpaid individual income taxes. Plus costs and a 10 percent post-judgment interest rate, Devine owes $72,585.77. The court issued a writ of garnishment in that case in January to the state of Arkansas and another writ of garnishment in March to the Department of Human Services. Webb said Devine's supervisor, Keesa Smith, was notified of the writ of garnishment last week.

Smith, a deputy director of the department, is currently serving as interim Youth Services Division director.

Attempts to reach Devine, 44, were unsuccessful Friday.

"We were in the process of determining our next steps when he resigned," Webb said.

That process was led by Smith, who needed to determine whether Devine's situation had an effect on his position as director of the Youth Services Division.

Webb said department officials had not discussed the garnishment notice with Devine and that she couldn't speak to what a potential punishment, if any, Devine might have faced.

"We did not get that far in the process," Webb said, noting that department officials have been involved in the fiscal legislative session at the same time.

In February 2014, the state filed a lien against Devine and his ex-wife, Allison Shaw, for $21,675.96 in unpaid taxes dating back to 2012, records show. The lien was released March 9, 2015, the same day Devine started his job as the director of the Youth Services Division.

In May 2015, the state filed a lien against Devine for $67,053.23 in unpaid individual income taxes dating from 2013. Two writs of garnishment were issued in that case, including the one that was sent to the Department of Human Services.

In September, the state filed another lien against Devine and Shaw for $13,197.71 for unpaid individual income taxes dating from 2011.

Devine, who earned $101,077.39 annually as Youth Services Division director, resigned his position with no advance notice Wednesday with a two-sentence letter that stated, "I have appreciated the opportunity to lead this division and am saddened to leave but it is apparent that my business affairs warrant my attention."

Devine is also president of Adevco Management LLC. From 2011 until 2013, Devine, Adevco and Poseidon Energy Services, which is a former company of Devine's, have been taken to court by banks and Episcopal Collegiate School for failure to pay back loans or make payments, according to court records. The state also filed a lien against Devine in October 2011 for $26,689.22 in unpaid individual income taxes from 2009, but the debt was paid back and the lien was released in January.

Devine is the second division director in three years to lead the department for a span of only 14 months. Tracy Steele led the department from August 2013 until October 2014. Smith also served as interim division director between Steele's tenure and Devine's.

Before serving as division director, Devine had served in state government as a regulatory liaison for Gov. Mike Huckabee from 1997 until becoming deputy director of the Department of Human Services in 1999. He was appointed director of the state Department of Environmental Quality by Huckabee and served from 2002 until 2007.

Devine was Youth Services Division director from March 2015 until Wednesday.

The division is currently working with the 21-member Youth Justice Reform Board, established in August, to improve the effectiveness of the state's juvenile-justice system. The board was formed after Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports on assaults and uses of restraint and punishment at juvenile jails.

The Youth Services Division director oversees the state's residential facilities that house about 500 youths subject to court-ordered treatment, as well as community-based programs for hundreds more juvenile delinquents across the state. The division contracts with outside companies for the majority of its services.

Metro on 04/23/2016

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