Arkansas: DecARcerate

Campaign efforts led by DecARcerate have played an active and central role in shared efforts to seek change. They have organized individuals and partner organizations around the state to advocate for HB1530, a bill to require data collection on the use of solitary confinement by the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC). While this bill did not pass, it did lead to a concession by ADC to collect and disseminate data on solitary confinement in its quarterly public reporting. In 2021, they helped pass HB1470, which bans solitary confinement for pregnant juveniles and places restrictions on its use for pregnant adults. Arkansas has the third highest rate of solitary confinement in the country, and ADC recently increased the number of isolation cells by 400. The long-term goal is to eliminate solitary confinement and replace it with incentive-based and program-rich alternatives and building a state-wide organizing effort around this goal.