Arkansas policymakers have long expressed concerns about the state’s high recidivism rate. Over the past 10 years, an estimated 72 percent of prison admissions in the state involved people who were revoked from supervision, with unmet substance use and mental health challenges playing a significant role in these failures.

In April 2025, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed a package of bipartisan criminal justice legislation into law, which is designed to increase public safety and improve community supervision. The legislation passed nearly unanimously. 

As the Stepping Up initiative marks its 10th year, America’s justice and behavioral health systems are facing a shared crisis: how to meet the behavioral health needs of people cycling through jails.