Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s senior adviser, Betty Guhman, started work Tuesday as the interim director of the Youth Services Division, state officials said Tuesday.
Guhman, 66, has been the Republican governor’s senior adviser since 2014, with a particular focus on the Department of Human Services and child welfare.
She will serve as interim director of the agency while the Human Services Department searches for a permanent director. Her salary is $100,077 a year as interim director, said Amy Webb, a spokesman for the department. Her salary was $95,420 as senior adviser for the governor, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.
“We can take our time [in the search] until we find the right candidate,” Webb said, and Guhman is welcome to apply for the permanent job.
A deputy director of the department, Keesha Smith, has served as interim director for the division since the resignation of Marcus Devine in April, Webb said.
Devine, who held the job from March 2015 until April 20 of this year, resigned in 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.”
The state Department of Finance and Administration filed a lien in May 2015 against Devine for $67,053.23 in unpaid individual income taxes dating from 2013, and another lien in September against Devine and his ex-wife, Allison Shaw, for $13,197.71 for unpaid individual income taxes dating from 2011, according to Pulaski County Circuit Court records.
The Youth Services director oversees the state’s residential facilities that hold about 500 youths subject to court-ordered treatment, as well as community-based programs for hundreds more juvenile delinquents.
The division is working with the 21-member Youth Justice Reform Board, established in August, to improve the effectiveness of the juvenile-justice system. The board was formed after
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
reports on assaults and the use of restraints and punishment at youth lockups.
Guhman’s appointment comes after a legislative panel last week signed off on the Human Services Department’s decision to hire a new private contractor for the operation and management of the Arkansas Juvenile Assessment and Treatment Center near Alexander, which holds youths for medium and serious offenses.
Rite of Passage of Mindsen, Nev., has a three-year contract for $34.1 million that starts Aug. 1. The current contractor is G4S of Florida.
As interim director of the Youth Services Division, Guhman is returning to work for an agency where she was deputy commissioner from 1977-1979 after the agency was formed, according to her resume.
Guhman started her career in 1973 as a caseworker investigating child abuse and neglect complaints in what is now the Department of Human Services’ Children and Family Services Division, a job she held until 1975. She received a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1972 and a master’s degree in social work administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1976.
Since her first stint for the Youth Services Division, Guhman has worked as a private consultant, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Rape Crisis program, a faculty member at UA, and coordinator of an overhaul of child welfare systems under Gov. Bill Clinton, according to her resume.
She also was chief of staff for Hutchinson’s congressional office; senior adviser at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, where Hutchinson was director; chief of staff for border and transportation security at the Department of Homeland Security, where Hutchinson was undersecretary; a partner with the Hutchinson Group LLC in Little Rock and Washington, D.C.; and stakeholder relations adviser at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Guhman said she was excited when Human Services Director Cindy Gillespie asked if she would consider taking on the job as interim director of the youth agency.
“Under the new leadership of Cindy Gillespie, this is a time to take hard looks at all DHS programs, policies and services, and considering ways to promote innovations and enhance partnerships,” Guhman said in a written statement. “I look forward to working with DYS staff, service providers, advocates, legislators and the Governor’s office as we strengthen the services provided to DYS children and their families.”
Gillespie said Guhman has spent many years working for the children of Arkansas and working to solve complex issues affecting both the child-welfare and juvenile-justice systems.
“As I move into the next phase of agency review, she will be a great asset and a strong voice at the table,” Gillespie said in a written statement.
Hutchinson said he and Guhman have known each other since they attended Springdale High School together decades ago.
“Her advice and counsel have been invaluable to me throughout the years,” he said in a written statement.
“While she is leaving the Governor’s office, I am glad that she will be nearby as she takes the role of interim director of the … Youth Services [Division]. Betty’s years of experience in child welfare and human services will be a perfect fit for DYS during this time of transition as they continue the search for a director,” Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson spokesman J.R. Davis said governor’s aide Phyllis Bell will become senior adviser for child welfare.
Hutchinson is proposing raising Bell’s salary from $53,000 to $80,000 a year, but the salary will require the Legislative Council’s approval before it goes into effect, Davis said. Bell is the wife of state Rep. Nate Bell, an independent from Mena.