The director of the state agency responsible for housing and treating Arkansas' youth offenders has announced his resignation.
The Department of Human Services announced Thursday that its Division of Youth Services director, Marcus Devine, had resigned. Spokeswoman Amy Webb says Devine met with staff Thursday to announce he was leaving immediately for a position in the private sector.
Webb says she does not know what that position is. Devine, a former Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality official, took the director's job in March 2015, nearly four months after former director Tracy Steele resigned.
Devine told a legislative committee last month that he believed the state system should only be locking up juvenile felony offenders. Webb says DHS Deputy Director Keesa Smith, who supervised Devine, will serve as interim director.
A statement from DHS:
Marcus Devine, Director of the Department of Human Service’s Division of Youth Services (DYS), has resigned his position.
Devine, 44, put in his resignation Wednesday and met with his staff on Thursday to announce his decision to leave effective immediately. Devine is leaving for the private sector.
“I have enjoyed the work and working alongside the people at DHS. They are serious about taking care of the neediest among us and dedicated to improving the state’s juvenile justice system. I know reform efforts will continue, and I look forward to seeing what is to come.”
Devine took over as DYS director in March 2015. DHS Deputy Director Keesa Smith, who supervised Devine, will serve as interim director.
