Arkansas to open halfway housing near prison | News

PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas' Department of Community Correction is planning to open a halfway house in Pine Bluff.

The department is converting a handful of buildings into what spokeswoman Rhonda Sharp says is the first state-owned transitional living facility in Arkansas.

The buildings are fenced in at a community correctional center where women are sentenced in lieu of prison. They used to house employees who came to Pine Bluff for training. The buildings will hold about 30 parolees when they open this spring.

The parolees will have a separate entrance that leads to the fenced-in compound and transportation if they need it.

Officials hope the housing will trim the list of more than 200 inmates who have made parole but are still sitting in prison because they have no place else to go.

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