Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders has proclaimed April 21st-25th Reentry Awareness Week.
She stated, “With more than 90,000 adult offenders currently incarcerated or supervised by the Department of Corrections, Arkansas is committed to lowering recidivism through an effective reentry process that provides offenders with opportunities for success in the community.”
In the spirit of the Easter season, we pause to reflect on the power of renewal, redemption, and hope. Just as Easter reminds us of new beginnings and the promise of restoration, Reentry Awareness Week calls our communities to extend grace, opportunity, and support to individuals and families seeking a second chance.
We are deeply grateful for the many agency and service provider partners who labor daily, often quietly and without fanfare, to make reentry a reality rather than just a hope. Your work — whether in employment services, housing assistance, mental health support, education, substance use recovery, family reunification, or case management — transforms lives and strengthens families.
Successful reentry is not the product of any one program or agency. It is the result of committed collaboration: government leaders, nonprofits, faith-based groups, law enforcement, employers, and volunteers working together to remove barriers and restore pathways to dignity and self-sufficiency.
Thank you for believing that mistakes do not have to define a person’s future — and for building the systems that create opportunity for those willing to pursue it. Together, we are living out a truth central to both this month and this season: that with the right support, a life can be renewed, a family can be strengthened, and a community can be made whole.
Happy Easter, and thank you for all you do.
Read the proclamation below:
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS COME – GREETINGS:
WHEREAS: With more than 90,000 adult offenders currently incarcerated or supervised by the Department of Corrections, Arkansas is committed to lowering recidivism through an effective reentry process that provides offenders with opportunities for success in the community; and
WHEREAS: A majority of state prison inmates will be released from prison at some point in their sentence, but face obstacles long after their incarceration ends. A criminal record can create barriers to rejoining the workforce, finding adequate housing, securing transportation, and meeting financial obligations. These barriers contribute to more than fifty percent of offenders returning to prison within three years of release; and
WHEREAS: The Protect Arkansas Act passed in 2023 and signaled historic investment in public safety and commitment to the goals of rehabilitation and reentry; and
WHEREAS: Because high recidivism increases the cost of corrections and puts Arkansas citizens at a greater risk of becoming victims of crime, it is imperative that offenders returning to the community have the programs, services, and support they need to become productive, crime-free citizens of the state; and
WHEREAS: Reentry begins on an offender’s first day of incarceration and continues through release, providing offenders with the tools necessary to turn away from criminal behavior and embrace a better future where they are contributing to society and taking care of their families; and
WHEREAS: State agencies across Arkansas are focused on reentry, but Arkansas reentry efforts extend well beyond correctional agencies through partnerships with community-based groups, faith-based organizations, and volunteers across the state that can assist offenders returning to their communities; and
WHEREAS: State agencies across Arkansas are focused on reentry, but Arkansas reentry efforts extend well beyond correctional agencies through partnerships with community-based groups, faith-based organizations, and volunteers across the state that can assist offenders returning to their communities; and
WHEREAS: Arkansans can enhance public safety by supporting evidence-based practices and joining reentry efforts that decrease reoffending and offer hope for offenders returning home from incarceration;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim April 21th through April 25th, 2025, as
“REENTRY AWARENESS WEEK”
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Arkansas to be affixed this 11th day of April in the year of our Lord 2025.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Governor
Related Stories:
Smart Justice is a magazine, podcast, and continuing news coverage from the nonprofit Restore Hope and covers the pursuit of better outcomes on justice system-related issues, such as child welfare, incarceration, and juvenile justice. Our coverage is solutions-oriented, focusing on the innovative ways in which communities are solving issues and the lessons that have been learned as a result of successes and challenges.
The podcast is available on all major podcasting platforms.
Subscribe to the Smart Justice newsletter.
