Arkansas Administrative Code

9 CAR § 40-1009. Request for investigation review by Child Maltreatment Investigations Oversight Committee. (a)(1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 10-3-3202 the Division of Children and Family Services will work with the Child Maltreatment Investigations Oversight Committee to promot…

9 CAR § 40-101. Acronyms. As used in this part: (1) “AA” means Alcoholics Anonymous; (2) “AAL” means attorney ad litem; (3) “AC” means alternative compliance; (4) “ACF” means Administration for Children and Families; (5) “ACH” means Arkansas Children’s Hospital; (6) “ACIC” means …

9 CAR § 40-1010. Disclosure of information on overturned true findings of child maltreatment to the Legislative Oversight Committee. (a) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 12-18-713 the Department of Human Services, Division of Children and Family Services and the Crimes Against Childre…

9 CAR § 40-1011. Child near fatalities and fatalities. (a)(1) Although an infrequent occurrence, near fatalities and fatalities of children who are receiving services or who have recently received services from the Division of Children and Family Services do occur. (2) Fatalities…

9 CAR § 40-1012. Near fatality of child. (a) In the case of a child near-fatality the county office will: (1) Report maltreatment or any suspected maltreatment to the Child Abuse Hotline immediately if it has not already been called into the Child Abuse Hotline; and (2) Notify th…

9 CAR § 40-1013. Disclosure of information on near fatalities. (a) Pending. Upon request, the Division of Children and Family Services shall release the following information via the Department of Human Services Director of Communications to the general public when an investigati…

9 CAR § 40-1014. Child fatality notification. (a) The Crimes Against Children Division will: (1) Investigate child maltreatment allegations according to established procedures; (2)(A) If safety concerns are identified, immediately contact the Division of Children and Family Servi…

9 CAR § 40-1015. Disclosure of information on fatalities. (a) Pending. Upon request, the Division of Children and Family Services shall release the following information via the Department of Human Services Director of Communications to the general public when an investigation is…

9 CAR § 40-1016. Driver’s license and insurance reimbursement programs for youth in out-of-home placement. (a)(1) In accordance with Arkansas Code § 27-16-702(a)(1)(D), the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services may authorize an employee of the Department of Hum…

9 CAR § 40-1017. Driver’s license program for youth in out-of-home placement. (a) The Family Service Worker will: (1) Provide written notification to every youth in out-of-home placement sixteen (16) years of age or older, that they may submit a request to the Division of Childre…

9 CAR § 40-1018. Insurance reimbursement program for youth in out-of-home placement. (a) The Family Service Worker will: (1) Check if the youth has a valid driver’s license and submit required documentation; (2) Advise the youth and foster parents that motor vehicle liability ins…

9 CAR § 40-102. Definitions. As used in this part: (1) “Abandoned infant” means a juvenile less than nine (9) months of age and whose parent, guardian, or custodian left the child alone or in the possession of another person without identifying information or with an expression o…

9 CAR § 40-1101. Home studies and supervision. (a)(1) The Division of Children and Family Services will conduct home studies or provide supervision services when ordered by the juvenile division of the circuit court. (2) The division will also conduct home studies for cases in wh…

9 CAR § 40-1102. Guidelines for a home study. (a) Upon receipt of a request for a home study, the Services Supervisor will: (1) Assign the case to a Family Service Worker or, if it is a request to conduct a nonrelative independent adoption study, forward the request to the Adopti…

9 CAR § 40-1103. Content of the home study. (a) Purpose of the home study. Discuss the basis of the action and primary persons involved. (b) Motivation. The individual’s or individuals’ motivation for opening his or her home. (c) Household composition. The full legal names of eve…

9 CAR § 40-1104. Supervision record. The Family Service Worker or Adoption Specialist will: (1) In CHRIS, document services delivered and activities conducted on the services provided to resource screen in resource; and (2) Maintain a file containing the court order, corresponden…

9 CAR § 40-1201. Services to children of immigrant families. (a)(1) There will be special situations when the Division of Children and Family Services will be required to respond to child welfare related emergencies that occur in the immigrant community. (2) The division may prov…

9 CAR § 40-1202. The Division of Children and Family Services response to children of actual or suspected undocumented immigrants. (a) Maltreatment reports. The Division of Children and Family Services will accept a maltreatment report regarding a suspected undocumented immigrant…

9 CAR § 40-1301. Child Maltreatment Central Registry. (a)(1) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry is established within the Department of Human Services for the collection of records of cases involving allegations of child maltreatment which are determined to be true pursuant …

9 CAR § 40-1302. Placement of name on the child maltreatment central registry. (a) An offender’s name shall be placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry in the following cases, as provided by Arkansas Code § 12-18-903: (1) After notice, the offender eighteen (18) years of…

9 CAR § 40-1303. Automatic name removal from child maltreatment central registry — Criteria for removal. (a) The offender’s name will be automatically removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry for the following types of child maltreatment or types of maltreatment invol…

9 CAR § 40-1304. Child Maltreatment Central Registry Review Team. (a) If the offender’s name is not eligible to be automatically removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry as described in 9 CAR § 40-1303, the Child Maltreatment Central Registry Review Team shall review …

9 CAR § 50-1305. Name removal from Child Maltreatment Central Registry by an adult offender’s request. (a) Removal criteria. (1) An adult offender is defined as a person age eighteen (18) years or older at the time of the act or omission that resulted in a true finding of child m…

9 CAR § 40-1306. Name removal from child maltreatment central registry by a juvenile offender’s request. (a) Removal criteria. (1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 12-18-908, the name of an offender who was a juvenile at the time of the offense shall not be removed from the Child Malt…

9 CAR § 40-1401. Notices regarding child maltreatment. (a) The Division of Children and Family Services will issue notices regarding child maltreatment allegations, child maltreatment investigative findings, and appeal decisions to all persons pursuant to Arkansas Code § 12-18-70…

9 CAR § 40-1402. Notices of allegations of child maltreatment. Upon receipt of an initial report of child maltreatment, the investigating agency shall notify the following: (1)(A) Law enforcement. (B) Type of allegation. Severe maltreatment only. (C) What information. (i) Name of…

9 CAR § 40-1403. Notices of at-risk determinations. (a) If it is determined that the alleged offender is a juvenile or works with children or is otherwise engaged in paid or volunteer child-related activities or works with the elderly or an individual with a disability or mental …

9 CAR § 40-1404. Follow-up notices of at-risk determinations. (a) If upon further investigation the investigator concludes children, the elderly, or individuals with a disability or mental illness under the care of the alleged offender are not at risk, the “at risk” determination…

9 CAR § 40-1405. Notices of true investigative findings. (a)(1) When a preponderance of the evidence found during an investigation indicates that an allegation should be determined true, the investigating agency shall notify certain persons as noted below or may notify the certai…

9 CAR § 40-1406. Notices of unsubstantiated allegations of child maltreatment. (a) When a determination that an allegation of child maltreatment is not supported by a preponderance of evidence and is determined to be unsubstantiated, the investigating agency shall notify as outli…

9 CAR § 40-1407. Notices of overturned true investigation determination. (a) Due process is satisfied by providing the alleged offender with notice and an opportunity for an administrative hearing and when: (1) The administrative law judge makes a decision to either uphold or ove…

9 CAR § 40-1408. Notices that offender’s name will be placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry. (a)(1) Due process is accomplished by providing the alleged offender with notice and an opportunity for an administrative hearing. (2) Due process is satisfied when: (A) The a…

9 CAR § 40-201. Division mission, practice model, powers, and duties. (a) Mission statement. (1) Our mission is to keep children safe and help families. (2) The Division of Children and Family Services will respectfully engage families and youth and use community-based services a…

9 CAR § 40-202. Child welfare delivery system. (a)(1) The Division of Children and Family Services purchases services from private and public agencies, universities, and individuals using state and federal funds. (2) Programs and services of other divisions within the Department …

9 CAR § 40-203. Division volunteers. (a)(1) Because families’ success depends on community involvement, Division of Children and Family Services volunteers are an integral part of the child welfare system working to improve outcomes for children and families. (2) Division of Chil…

9 CAR § 40-204. Volunteer application process and approval. (a) The Division of Children and Family Services County Office Volunteer Designee or Community Organization Liaison will: (1)(A) Provide volunteer applicant with a Volunteer Packet and instructions on completion. (B) The…

9 CAR § 40-205. Volunteer background check renewals. (a) The Division of Children and Family Services Statewide Volunteer Coordinator will: (1) Mail the following to the volunteer’s home address (as identified in CHRIS) at least thirty (30) business days prior to the volunteer’s …

9 CAR § 40-206. Relative and fictive kin volunteer application and process for approval. The FSW will: (1) Ensure that relatives and fictive kin who have already been approved as a provisional placement resource for a child under 9 CAR § 40-708 are not referred for processing as …

9 CAR § 40-207. Official record keeping — Access to official records. (a)(1) The official record of child welfare information for the Division of Children and Family Services is maintained through the Children’s Reporting Information System (CHRIS). (2) CHRIS is a fully automated…

9 CAR § 40-208. Confidentiality. (a) Overview. (1)(A) The Division of Children and Family Services is committed to best practice in relation to respecting client confidentiality. (B) Information is confidential if it is not intended to be disclosed to persons other than those to …

9 CAR § 40-301. Prevention services. (a) Overview. (1)(A) Prevention services are designed to reduce the likelihood of future child maltreatment by providing interventions to: (i) Help caregivers in their child-rearing role; (ii) Strengthen family functioning; and (iii) Promote t…

9 CAR § 40-302. Differential response. (a) Overview. (1)(A) Differential response (DR) is a family engagement approach that allows the Division of Children and Family Services to respond to reports of specific, low risk allegations of child maltreatment with a family assessment a…

9 CAR § 40-303. Receipt and assignment of differential response referral. (a) Upon receipt of the DR referral from the Child Abuse Hotline, the Differential Response (DR) Supervisor or designee will: (1) Determine if the referral meets the criteria for differential response by co…

9 CAR § 40-304. Differential response initiation and family assessment. (a) The Differential Response (DR) Supervisor will: (1)(A) Assign each new report to a DR Worker within two (2) hours of receipt from the DR Program Manager or designee. (B) Initial face-to-face contact with …

9 CAR § 40-305. Management of family’s refusal to participate. (a)(1) If the DR Worker has been unable to conduct a safety assessment or is unable to assess underlying issues or additional child maltreatment concerns that may not have been identified in the original hotline repor…

9 CAR § 40-306. Differential response services management. (a) The DR Worker will: (1)(A) Engage the household in a comprehensive and collaborative family assessment of the family’s strengths and needs and gather other relevant, corresponding information within fourteen (14) days…

9 CAR § 40-307. Child Abuse Hotline for child maltreatment reports. (a) Pursuant to Acts 1997, No. 1240, the Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police entered into an agreement for the Crimes Against Children Division to assume responsibility for the …

9 CAR § 40-308. Child Abuse Hotline acceptance and assignment of maltreatment reports. (a) The Child Abuse Hotline worker will: (1) Receive and document all child maltreatment allegation reports with sufficiently identifying information as defined by Arkansas law; (2)(A) Receive …

9 CAR § 40-309. County office interaction with Child Abuse Hotline. The county supervisor or designee will: (1) Take the information on child maltreatment as directed in 9 CAR § 40-308 if a reporter contacts the county office and refuses to call or has been unable to contact the …

9 CAR § 40-310. County office secondary review requests from the Division of Children and Family Services Central Office and requests for clearance of other reports from the Child Abuse Hotline. (a) The FSW Investigative Supervisor or County Supervisor will: (1) Determine if an a…