Editing Lincoln County, Arkansas (section)

==Human resources==

===Education===
{{See also|Education in Arkansas}}
Educational attainment in Lincoln County is typical for a rural Arkansas county, with a 2012 study finding 78.4% of Lincoln County residents over age 25 held a high school degree or higher and 8.9% holding a bachelor's degree or higher. The Lincoln County rates are below Arkansas averages of 84.8% and 21.1%, and significantly below national averages of 86.7% and 29.8%, respectively.<ref>{{ cite web |title= American Community Survey |year= 2011–2015 |url= https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/05121,05,00 |publisher= United States Census Bureau |access-date= July 31, 2017 }}</ref>

====Primary and secondary education====
<!-- [[File:Map of Lincoln County Public School Districts.png|right|thumb|Public school district boundaries in Lincoln County as of July 2016]] -->
One public school district is based in Lincoln County; the [[Star City School District]], which serves the western two-thirds of the county. The remainder of the county is served by the [[Dumas Public School District]], based in [[Dumas, Arkansas|Dumas]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st05_ar/schooldistrict_maps/c05079_lincoln/DC20SD_C05079.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220720075918/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st05_ar/schooldistrict_maps/c05079_lincoln/DC20SD_C05079.pdf |archive-date=July 20, 2022 |url-status=live|title=2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lincoln County, AR|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|accessdate=July 20, 2022}} - [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st05_ar/schooldistrict_maps/c05079_lincoln/DC20SD_C05079_SD2MS.txt Text list] - The [https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st05_ar/c05079_lincoln/DC10SD_C05079_001.pdf 2010 map] ([https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/dc10map/sch_dist/st05_ar/c05079_lincoln/DC10SD_C05079_SD2MS.txt text list]) indicated a portion was served by the [[DeWitt School District]], but that section shown as being in DeWitt and in Lincoln County in the 2010 map is shown as being in DeWitt and in Jefferson County in the 2020 map.</ref> Successful completion of the curriculum of these schools leads to graduation from [[Star City High School]] or [[Dumas New Tech High School]], respectively. Both high schools offer [[Advanced Placement]] (AP) courses and are accredited by the [[Arkansas Department of Education]] (ADE). Dumas Public Schools is also accredited by [[AdvancED]].<ref>{{ cite web |title= Dumas School District |url= http://www.advanc-ed.org/oasis2/u/par/accreditation/summary/pdf?institutionId=4228 |publisher= AdvancED |work= Institution Summary (Executive Summary) |date= December 22, 2015 |access-date= July 31, 2017 }}</ref>

[[File:Star City High School.jpg|right|thumb|Star City High School]]
The school districts at [[Gould School District|Gould]] and [[Grady School District|Grady]] were merged into Dumas and Star City for the 2004–05 school year pursuant to the Public Education Reorganization Act{{#tag:ref|Act 60 of the Second Extraordinary Session of 2003.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Holley |first= Marc J. |title=School Consolidation |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |url=http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5052 |date=June 14, 2015 |access-date= August 28, 2016 }}</ref>|group=Note}} passed by the [[Arkansas Legislature]].<ref>{{ cite web |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110707163238/http://arkansasnews.com/2005/05/11/dumas-inherits-gould-districts-deficit/ |archive-date= July 7, 2011 |url=http://arkansasnews.com/2005/05/11/dumas-inherits-gould-districts-deficit/ |title= Dumas inherits Gould district's deficit |publisher= [[Arkansas News]] |date= May 11, 2005 |access-date= March 7, 2011 }}</ref>

====Higher education====
Lincoln County does not contain any institutions of higher education. The three nearest institutions in the region are [[University of Arkansas at Monticello]] to the south and [[Southeast Arkansas College]] (SEARK) and [[University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff]] in Pine Bluff to the north, all public four-year colleges.

====Library system====
The Star City Branch Library in downtown Star City is a member library of the Southeast Arkansas Regional Library system. The location offers books, [[e-book]]s, media, reference, youth, business and [[genealogy]] services.

===Public health===
Lincoln County's above-average poverty rate{{#tag:ref|Lincoln County's poverty rate was 32.9%, comparing to 22.4% for Arkansas's rural areas, and a 19.6% statewide average.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvp|"Profile"|2015|pp= 54-55}}.</ref>|group=Note}} suggests a high [[Medicaid]] eligibility rate. As of 2012, 25.6% of Lincoln County was eligible for Medicaid, with 62.8% of children under 19 eligible for [[ARKids First]], a program by the [[Arkansas Department of Human Services]] that combines children's Medicaid (ARKids A) and other programs for families with higher incomes (ARKids B).<ref>{{harvp|"Profile"|2015|p= 55}}.</ref> These values are more in line with statewide averages{{#tag:ref|Statewide averages were 27.8% and 59.1% for Medicaid eligibility and ARKids eligibility, respectively.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvp|"Profile"|2015|pp= 54-55}}.</ref>|group=Note}} than typical values for rural Arkansas counties.{{#tag:ref|Arkansas rural county averages were 31.3% and 66.3% for Medicaid eligibility and ARKids eligibility, respectively.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvp|"Profile"|2015|pp= 54-55}}.</ref>|group=Note}}

The county's population is significantly above healthy weight, with 69.8% of adults and 43.5% of children/adolescents ranking as overweight or obese, above the state averages of 67.1% and 39.3%,<ref>{{harvp|"Profile"|2015|pp= 56-57}}.</ref> themselves significantly above national averages of 62.9% and 30.3%, respectively.<ref>{{cite web |title= Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity: Data, Trends and Maps |publisher= Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |url= https://nccd.cdc.gov/NPAO_DTM/Default.aspx |access-date= July 31, 2017 |archive-date= December 21, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161221162248/https://nccd.cdc.gov/NPAO_DTM/Default.aspx |url-status= dead }}</ref>

The [[Jefferson Regional Medical Center]] in Pine Bluff is a [[community hospital]] offering acute inpatient care, [[emergency care]], cardiology, home health, inpatient hospice, neurology, surgery, and the UAMS South Central Family Residency Program. The facility is rated as a [[Level 4 Trauma Center]] by the [[Arkansas Department of Health]]. [[Baptist Health Medical Center]] and [[CHI St. Vincent Infirmary]] are [[Tertiary referral hospital|referral hospital]]s in Little Rock. The nearest [[Level 1 Trauma Center]]s are [[Arkansas Children's Hospital]] (ACH, or "Children's") and [[University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences]] (UAMS), both in Little Rock.<ref>{{cite web |title= Designated Trauma Centers |date= June 7, 2016 |url= http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/injuryPreventionControl/TraumaticSystems/Pages/DesignatedTraumaCenters.aspx |publisher= Arkansas Department of Health |access-date= July 31, 2017 |archive-date= February 11, 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120211165823/http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/injuryPreventionControl/TraumaticSystems/Pages/DesignatedTraumaCenters.aspx |url-status= dead }}</ref>

===Public safety===
The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The agency is led by the Lincoln County Sheriff, an official elected by countywide vote every four years.

The county is under the jurisdiction of the Lincoln County District Court, a [[Arkansas District Court|state district court]].<ref name="harvp|Directory|2017|p= 45">{{harvp|"Directory"|2017|p= 45}}.</ref> State district courts in Arkansas are courts of [[original jurisdiction]] for criminal, civil (up to $25,000), small claims, and traffic matters.<ref name="jd" >{{cite web |author= Staff of the Arkansas Judiciary |title= Arkansas Court Structure |url= https://courts.arkansas.gov/sites/default/files/Arkansas%20Court%20Structure.pdf |date= September 2, 2014 |publisher= Arkansas Judiciary |access-date= July 31, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161223021248/https://courts.arkansas.gov/sites/default/files/Arkansas%20Court%20Structure.pdf |archive-date= December 23, 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> State district courts are presided over by a full-time District Judge elected to a four-year term by a districtwide election. The district is subdivided into the Star City (city), Star City (county), Gould, and Grady departments. All departments of Lincoln County District Court are located at 300 South Drew, and are presided over by one District Judge, who is elected in a countywide election.<ref name="harvp|Directory|2017|p= 45"/> Superseding district court jurisdiction is the [[Arkansas Circuit Courts|11th West Judicial Circuit Court]], which covers Jefferson and Lincoln counties. The 11th West Circuit contains six circuit judges, elected to six-year terms circuitwide.<ref>{{harvp|"Directory"|2017|p= 25}}.</ref>

====State prisons====
[[File:CumminsUnitSignArk.jpg|thumb|The [[Cummins Unit]] is one of two prison units in Lincoln County]]

The [[Arkansas Department of Correction]] operates two prisons in [[unincorporated area]]s in the county.<ref>"[http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/facilities/facilities5.html#varner Varner Unit]." [[Arkansas Department of Correction]]. Retrieved on July 18, 2010. "28 miles south of Pine Bluff off Highway 65 in Lincoln County."</ref><ref>"[http://www.adc.arkansas.gov/facilities/facilities2.html#cummins Cummins Unit]." [[Arkansas Department of Correction]]. Retrieved on August 15, 2010.</ref> The [[Varner Unit]] is located in [[Varner, Arkansas|Varner]],<ref>"[http://www.telegram.com/article/20100929/APA/309299588 New hearing ordered for 3 in Ark. scout deaths]." ''[[Associated Press]]'' at the ''[[Worcester Telegram]]''. Wednesday September 29, 2010. Retrieved on March 5, 2011. "Damien Echols is interviewed in the visiting area of the Arkansas Department of Correction Varner Unit prison in Varner,"</ref> and the [[Cummins Unit]] is near Varner.<ref>"[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D5BC90C67787&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Arkansas killer plans no more appeals He is to die Wednesday in '84 death of trooper]." ''[[Associated Press]]'' at ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]''. April 18, 1995. Retrieved on March 5, 2011. "[...] and he was transferred to the death watch cell at the Cummins Unit near Varner."</ref>