Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

The Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.

And welcome to Arkansas Week.

I'm Dawn Scott.

Thanks for being here.

A new documentary tells the story of Arkansas placing statues of civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer Johnny Cash in the U.S. Capitol.

I'll talk with the filmmaker about that in just a bit.

But we begin the program this week talking about paycheck, not the kind of paycheck that we receive from maybe the work that we do, but something very unique.

It's aimed at providing support for Arkansas children who've been traumatized by crime.

The University of Arkansas Criminal Justice Institute created this initiative called Protecting Arkansas for Youth Check, or Paycheck Creators are hoping that partnerships between law enforcement and schools will be the key to helping these kids.

Joining me now is the institute director, Dr. Cheryl May, for a deeper conversation on how this program works.

And thanks so much for being here.

I have so many questions this for for having me.

This is a very important program and I greatly appreciate the interest.

Well, we inability to talk about it.

Yeah.

We appreciate your time here.

And let's just get started by what paycheck is.

I've read a bit about it.

Very fascinated.

Sure.

If I may, I'm going to put it in a little bit more of a broader context and kind of give you a little bit of history about how we got to the paycheck program, because I think that's really important.

Several years ago, we started a program that focuses on the relationship between law enforcement and children and Family services.

And that program is called Drug Endanger Children, Maltreatment and Drug Endanger children.

Kids are at risk of physical abuse, sexual abuse and mostly neglect because they live in homes where there are illicit drug activities.

We've had issues in our state with mass, a variety of other drugs, opioids, and most people don't understand that more kids in this country die from neglect than they do from physical abuse every year.

And so what we wanted to do was identify who these children are and then be able to provide some services so that it's like what we call an early intervention program.

So we've set up a program in seven counties around the state, and it's focused on the communication between law enforcement and children and family services.

A really critical case in all of this would be like the Gabriel Fernandez case.

It was a kid in California about a decade or so ago who had been seen by law enforcement, who had been seen repeatedly by children and Family Services, but yet he was being abused and nobody was able to make the connection.

But the school saw signs for signs because who's our primary mandated reporters that turn in a lot of these to the to the hotline?

It's our school personnel.

And so the school kept trying to bring it to attention.

To make a long story short, unfortunately, Gabriel was murdered and it was just a case that brought to light how critically important that all of these entities and their collaboration.

You know, I've worked with law enforcement for a very long time.

And one thing I do know is that they're very focused on helping kids.

And obviously, Southwest CFS.

So why not try to bring them together?

And it was in the process of doing this program that the whole idea of wrapping in our schools became critically important.

And the reason why that was so important was because there was a program out in West Virginia that's called Handle with Care.

So it originated originated in West Virginia, and it goes back years and years and years, decades.

And the primary purpose of the handle with care program was to identify kids that are traumatized outside of school.

They end up going to school after being traumatized.

The school doesn't know, is not aware.

The kid will act out.

They'll have behavioral issues like not have homework done, and then it can start the whole discipline program.

So we decided as part of our Maltreatment and Drug Endangered Children program that we would do the handle with care.

But what we soon realized was that there's only two states in the country that cannot use call it handle with care.

And the reason why we can't call it handle with care is because we have in our schools a handle with care program that's focused on restraints.

And we didn't want to get to the two.

And so that that's where the name Paycheck.

And it was actually initiated and brought about through a an initiative of these seven counties and primarily white county that came up with a name.

And this is specifically focused toward children who've experienced trauma related to crime, or could it be related also to drugs or abuse?

It can be related to just about anything.

One of the key things that we focus on and and if you like, I can talk about the requirements of the program and why they're so important is the overall fact that kids can be traumatized in a variety of different ways.

And like I said earlier, oftentimes they're traumatized and it's outside of school.

We see domestic violence, law enforcement is a great example.

Law enforcement's calls to homes all the time for domestic violence.

And oftentimes there are kids that are in those homes and they go back to school.

Nobody knows.

I think we can easily make the case that these kids have been traumatized.

And so the idea is if the school is alerted, then they can keep an eye on the kid.

The last thing that you want to do is further traumatize them by asking them a series of questions.

Just keep an eye on them.

Yeah.

Have them on your radar.

Yes.

Don't punish them because you know, you think about it and the child will go to school for 8 hours, 7 hours a day.

And the teachers and educators are the ones who see them much more than the parents, more than law enforcement, more than a DCFS employee or worker.

And you're right.

They they might act out and then the school or teacher may punish.

Yes.

Which is the worst thing that could happen.

And then there could be a history.

And so we see that escalation of discipline that can be extremely harmful to our kids.

So the idea is if they're alerted early enough and the child acts out, then the school knows, hey, we need to get them hooked up with the counselor.

You know, maybe there are some mental health resources that either the child or other resources that the that the family might be able to benefit from.

Well, let me ask this then.

How would the school know?

Is is it that this program I know is working to bring information to all parties that need to know?

So is it a law enforcement that would file a report so that the school might be notified?

How how tell us how that works.

Yes, if Let's take the case of domestic violence.

One of the requirements that we have for law enforcement is that they have to adopt this policy called safeguarding children of arrested parents, because if they go in a home and they arrest a parent, it's going to traumatize that child and we teach them how to.

And that this policy acknowledges the importance of limiting the amount of trauma that the child is exposed to.

And so they would know that in a domestic violence situation where there's either toys around or there's an actual child present that they need to go to our electronic portal, they identify a person that is going to be emailed at the school, a point of contact at the school, and that the school will then take that information.

It'll go to the people who need to know.

And then those folks and law enforcement and those folks at the school will get training on the how to recognize the kid being traumatized, the importance of that child being traumatized and why it's important not to retraumatize them.

Well, I read that training did roll out in October for the program.

Do all districts in the state take part in this or only a small number?

And this time we've only got a small number.

Right now, we're about 35 school districts.

It's important that the school district and the law enforcement agency has to be engaged.

And because most people who know me know that I'm very passionate about a number of things, and particularly things that involve our kids.

Sure.

And that it's really important that we can do it, but let's do it the right way so that we don't have any kids falling through the cracks.

And we can actually get them to where they need to be.

Is it a sale process for all districts?

Yes, we rolled it out.

Instead of it being with just within the seven agencies of the Maltreatment and Drug Endangered Children program in October, we rolled it out statewide.

Okay.

Who funds the program?

It's funded by our state funding at the Criminal Justice Institute.

Okay.

Very interesting.

Is there do you think, in or has there been, I guess, a disconnect, do you think, between law enforcement thinking first, oh, let's contact a school, let's contact a teacher.

It's sort of like different entities and it's not top of mind, I think probably.

I mean, for law enforcement, is top of mind.

A safety, right.

Should protect all the people.

Sure.

In this environment.

When I arrive on the scene, absolutely.

And I don't want I don't want what I'm about to say to be portrayed negatively for law enforcement, but sometimes opening their mind and their perception to how certain things they can do can impact kids in a negative way is really important.

So that's why that training and then having that policy.

Probably the biggest issue that we have in in getting new schools implemented is either law enforcement or schools wanting to do the extra work I see to get it done.

Well, what is the work entail?

Well, it's adopting, adopting the policy and being able to to take the training.

And the training is online.

So we try to make it as as easy as possible.

We give them an extended period of time within which they can accomplish this.

And so, you know, we understand that, you know, law enforcement agencies and schools can be understaffed.

And, sure, you know, just by asking them to do additional work can create a hardship.

But it's something that this has been the critical missing piece for such a long time.

It seems like such common sense as sitting here talking about it, but it hasn't really been in place.

It has been.

The kids go to school if there are disciplinary them, they get in trouble, then they go home, but then they're left at home.

And, you know, to suffer whatever it is that they're facing.

Yep.

And you're right.

I mean, it's a key.

A key piece.

Yes, ma'am.

This puzzle.

Tell me the the learns act from earlier this year.

Our governors learned to act.

The State Department of Education mentioned this was a key component of that.

And keeping children safe.

Yeah, well, I think what they were referring to is the school safety component of the of the learners act.

I had the enormous honor of chairing Governor Hutchinson School Safety Commissions in 2018, and then 2022 when Duvall Day happened was the last one, and the Learning Act took some of the legislation that we had crafted because of needs that we saw.

But there's a connection in trying to prevent school shooters here as well.

And I think that it's important that we talk about it.

The governor's on on school safety and on shooters.

Are the U.S. Prison Service.

And they did a couple of studies that looked at the shooters.

And what they found was that there were there were some common elements in all of those shooters.

They had been grieved in some way.

They had been bullied in person.

They had either mental health or substance abuse issues themselves.

But the one key thing that I honed in on and connected these two initiatives together was the idea that they were negative factors at home.

And some of those negative factors were, of course, substance abuse in the home, domestic violence, parental incarceration.

Exactly right.

And so I see this as a way for us to reduce the number of kids that could possibly experience some of those triggers for school violence.

Dr. Cheryl May, we are out of time, but we thank you so much for being here to discuss the paycheck program, something I'm sure we'll be hearing much more about in the coming weeks and months.

Thanks so much again for having me.

Much more of Arkansas week coming up after a quick break.

Welcome back.

Arkansas unveiled two new statues last year that now represent the state of the U.S. Capitol.

Civil rights leader Daisy Bates and singer songwriter Johnny Cash were selected by the legislature in 2019, but it took five years for the process to culminate in the eight foot tall bronze statues being revealed during ceremonies in Washington, D.C.. A new documentary produced by Arkansas PBS has been premiered sharing details of that process and those involved in it.

And the film is called Unveiled Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash.

It was screened Wednesday, March 19, that Robinson Center in Little Rock, and made its broadcast debut here on Thursday, March 20th.

And joining me is the filmmaker in charge of the project, Nathan Willis.

Thank you so much for being here.

So good to see you.

So good to see you.

Thank you for having me.

I am so curious what you hope to capture as you began working to document the historic changing of these Arkansas statues and how that changed through the process.

Yeah, so I was just very honored to be asked to tell this story.

It's just a very exciting time in Arkansas history.

And really, I just wanted to capture the essence of Johnny Cash and Daisy Bates and their stories and why Arkansas chose them and what it means about what it says about Arkansas, that they're these are the two individuals that they chose to represent the state.

And then also, just as a creative effort, I was very interested in Kevin Cressy and Benjamin Victor, who were the two sculptors that did the statues.

And I was interested in their creative decision making, their approach and yes, I kind of wanted to combine those two elements of the creative and the history and try to tell these stories of Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash in a new way, because there's plenty of documentaries about the both of them.

But I wanted to try to figure out a creative way, a new way to to tell those stories.

Very interesting.

You began filming in 2022.

This has been a year long process, but that was not long after the state committee selected Benjamin Victor, as you mentioned, to make Bates and Kevin Cressy to make cash.

And after shooting hours of footage as they meticulously worked on their clay models, what struck you most about the two sculptors in all of this?

Oh, I just just like, I don't think Arkansas could have picked two better school, two better individuals to represent them in statuary Hall.

I don't think they could have picked two better sculptors, I think.

Benjamin Victor is one of the most accomplished sculptors alive, and he's the only living artist, I believe, with four statues in Statuary Hall.

And Kevin Christie, just his being from Arkansas and having already sculpted Johnny Cash for a previous personal project, it just it all just made sense.

And honestly, it was as a fellow artist and storyteller, I was just trying to follow their example and try to do the best job I could to tell this story.

But it was I think they captured the essence of Johnny Cash and Daisy Bates in their pieces, and it just shows whenever you see the finished pieces and they're worth seeing.

I actually saw this summer, I saw them.

It's really incredible.

And you think of both of these people, Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash, they're both such different people, although they share the theme of activism, social activism, and they spoke very openly about what they believed.

And so I'm wondering if that's what you use to weave their stories together or was it something different?

Yeah, that was certainly an element of it.

I think it was a challenge to to to tell their stories because I didn't want to take anything from either one of them, and I didn't want to look for connections that were there that I was forcing.

So it was a creative challenge to to do that.

And, you know, Daisy Bates is an amazing civil rights leader and she she did some amazing things, but she's actually not that well known outside of Arkansas and even in Arkansas.

I tell folks, this is who's going to represent them.

And they're like, Who else?

She is one of the Little Rock nine.

So I wanted to make sure we gave her the platform and told her story and that we told Johnny Cash's story and told it in a way that that told his connection to Arkansas.

So really kind of the light bulb moment for me was trying to figure out, okay, I can't make a film about just Johnny Cash or Daisy Bates, and I don't how do I combine these two individuals that have a lot of similarities, but differences.

So for me, I just decided to look at it as a film about Arkansas.

It's about them, but it's ultimately a story about Arkansas.

And I think the similarities that they had is something that I think runs through the whole entire state and the people who live there and have lived there.

You know, of course, you're a storyteller, but you also have mentioned that you believe Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash also were storytellers in many respects.

How so?

Yes.

So Johnny Cash, he told stories through his songs.

He told stories about the prisoners and the farmer and the folks who had been forgotten by by the by the culture.

And Daisy Bates was a newspaper writer, and she ran a newspaper and she told stories through this, the Arkansas State Press.

And, you know, I think both of them use their platform to tell the stories of people that had been forgotten and people who were often overlooked.

And so I just think that's beautiful.

And to have them be storytellers.

And to John, Kevin and Ben tell their stories, I just think that's ultimately what it is that I think one of the things I was trying to address with the film, because I think stories are a way for us to communicate things that we can't always communicate in other ways.

And I think it just really shows.

I think this film in their lives and these pieces are show the power of that storytelling.

You know, it's interesting.

I don't think the general public maybe knows everything that goes through this.

Over several years, the legislative approval, the selection of the sculptors, creating the statues, of course, and then getting the federal approval, and then, of course, placing them where they're supposed to be, there had to have been surprises to this process for you.

Yeah, no, when we first started, I started filming April 20, 22, and I think everyone was optimistic that they would be dedicated in D.C. by December 2022 and, you know, with multiple approvals and it literally takes acts of Congress to get these approved.

So it ended up taking a little longer.

So a project that we thought was going to be over in about a year, we're now almost three years out from when I started.

So it definitely was a challenge and waiting and they had told us that we might only have a one or two week heads up when the day that they were going to be dedicated.

So for about three years or two years before the dedications were scheduled, I was just never wanting to plan anything too far out because I think this might be the moment, this might be the weekend or the week that they choose to dedicate.

So that was a little stressful, but it was is all all's well that ends well.

Is there anyone you met through the process that really struck you?

Yeah, I mean, obviously Benjamin and Kevin just two two now called artists like that of that caliber Friends was something surprising.

I feel like I'm always this is my third feature and I feel like every participant, every person I film with, I have a very special relationship with.

But to spend so much time with these amazing artists was was very it made me a better filmmaker.

It made me a better storyteller.

And just other folks I met along the way.

Shane Broadway, who led this entire process for the state, was just a complete rock star, and I don't think Arkansas will ever really fully know all of the work that he did behind the scenes to make this happen.

And then the folks at the Arkansas, the Johnny Cash Childhood Home, they let us come film.

They're the folks from the LC and Daisy Bates House Museum.

The their their committee was just so welcoming and helpful in this process, and we were able to go film at her home.

And yes, it was just so many friends that I made along the way.

It was very special.

You know, what a personal matter for you.

Not long after you began working on the film, you were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

And for people like yourself, with this young onset Parkinson's, it means retiring early, sometimes within ten years of the disease is onset.

First of all, all of us are thinking about you.

But did that diagnosis affect your work in making this documentary?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yes, I was.

I started filming April 20, 22, and then in September 2022, I was diagnosed with Parkinson's and yeah, I mean, it was a surprise.

I was 36 years old at the time and, you know, thought I had a long career and maybe I still do, but there was just a lot of self-doubt and just panic and just I guess my career was over and I guess I have to I have to hang up my hat and but I think this film, making this film was a way for me to process a lot of that.

And it gave me hope because I look at the lives of Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash and the hard things that they went through and devastating things that I would never wish on anyone.

And to see that they overcame that and persevered and they didn't make it their story and they didn't let that define them.

And for me, that's that's the approach I took.

And because of that and because of their stories and making this film, I'm much more hopeful and determined to make films as long as I can.

And even when my physical body is maybe not cooperating, maybe I'll figure out other ways to continue telling stories, because I think that's what that's what I was made to do.

Well, you're definitely making an impact.

And thank you for sharing not only your personal story, but your journey through making this film unveiled Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash.

Nathan Willis, thank you.

Thank you so much for having me.

For those who missed the documentary, unveiled Daisy Bates and Johnny Cash, it will eventually air again and is also available to be viewed on the PBS app.

That's it for this week's edition of Arkansas Week.

I'm Don Scott.

We'll see you next time.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.