Title 9 — Family Law

(a) (1) The court shall review every case of dependency-neglect when:(A) A juvenile is placed by the court in the custody of the Department of Human Services or in another out-of-home placement until there is a permanent order of custody, guardianship, or other permanent placemen…

(a) (1) A permanency planning hearing shall be held to finalize a permanency plan for the juvenile:(A) No later than twelve (12) months after the date the juvenile enters an out-of-home placement;(B) After a juvenile has been in an out-of-home placement for fifteen (15) of the pr…

(a) (1) (A) This section shall be a remedy available only to the Department of Human Services or a court-appointed attorney ad litem.(B) This section shall not be available for private litigants or other agencies.(2) (A) This section shall be used only in cases in which the depar…

(a) Absent orders of a circuit court or another court of competent jurisdiction to the contrary, the biological mother, whether adult or minor, of a juvenile for whom paternity has not been established is deemed to be the natural guardian of that juvenile and is entitled to the c…

(a) An appeal shall be made to the Supreme Court or to the Court of Appeals in the time and manner provided for an appeal in the Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure. (b) Pending an appeal from any case involving a juvenile out-of-home placement, the juvenile division of circuit…

(a) A person or agency appointed as the custodian of a juvenile in a proceeding under this subchapter shall:(1) Care for and maintain the juvenile; and(2) See that the juvenile:(A) Is protected;(B) Is properly trained and educated; and(C) Has the opportunity to learn a trade, occ…

(a) (1) The court may order progress reports from a service provider whenever a juvenile is placed out of home and in a setting other than a Department of Human Services foster home.(2) The order shall:(A) Set forth the schedule for the progress reports; and(B) Identify the servi…

(a) The court shall not specify a particular provider for placement of a foster child. (b) (1) (A) When the Department of Human Services takes custody of a juvenile under § 12-18-1001, or when the court determines that a juvenile shall be removed from his or her home under this s…

(a) A hearing shall be held to determine whether the Department of Human Services shall file a petition to terminate parental rights if:(1) A juvenile has been in an out-of-home placement for fifteen (15) continuous months, excluding trial placements and time on runaway status; a…

(a) After an order of termination of parental rights, the circuit court shall review the case following the termination hearing at least every six (6) months until permanency is achieved, and a permanency planning hearing shall be held each year following the initial permanency h…

(a) (1) Seven (7) business days before a scheduled dependency-neglect review hearing, including the fifteenth-month review hearing and any post-termination of parental rights hearing, the Department of Human Services and a court-appointed special advocate, if appointed, shall:(A)…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) A juvenile in foster care should have a family for a lifetime, but too many juveniles in foster care reach the age of majority without being successfully reunited with their biological families and without the security of permanent homes;(2…

(a) (1) (A) Any party can file a motion for no reunification services at any time.(B) The motion shall be provided to all parties in writing at least twenty (20) days before a scheduled hearing.(C) The court may conduct a hearing immediately following or concurrent with an adjudi…

(a) The Department of Human Services or an attorney ad litem may file a motion to resume services for a parent whose parental rights were previously terminated under this subchapter if:(1) The child:(A) Is currently in the custody of the department;(B) Is not in an adoptive place…

(a) The Department of Human Services or an attorney ad litem may file a petition to reinstate the parental rights of a parent whose parental rights have been terminated under this subchapter if the:(1) Court has granted a motion to resume services under § 9-35-336;(2) Services ha…

(1) This subchapter shall be liberally construed to the end that its purposes may be carried out to:(1) Protect society more effectively by substituting for retributive punishment, whenever possible, methods of offender rehabilitation and rehabilitative restitution, recognizing t…

(a) (1) The circuit court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of and shall be the sole court for the following proceedings governed by this subchapter, including without limitation:(A) (i) Proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to be delinquent as defined in this subch…

(a) (1) (A) Except as set forth in subdivisions (a)(2)-(4) of this section, a proceeding under this subchapter shall be commenced in the circuit court of the county in which the juvenile resides.(B) Proceedings may be commenced in the county where the alleged act or omission occu…

(a) The judge or judges of the circuit court designated to hear juvenile cases in the judge's district plan under Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 14, originally issued on April 6, 2001, shall designate no fewer than one (1) person in the judge's judicial district as a juve…

(a) All records may be closed and confidential within the discretion of the circuit court, except:(1) Records of a delinquency adjudication for which a juvenile could have been tried as an adult shall be made available to a prosecuting attorney for use at sentencing if the juveni…

(a) A proceeding shall be commenced by filing a petition with the circuit clerk of the circuit court or by transfer by another court. (b) (1) The prosecuting attorney shall have sole authority to file a delinquency petition or petition for revocation of probation.(2) A petition f…

(a) The petition shall set forth the following:(1) The name, address, gender, Social Security number, and date of birth of each juvenile subject of the petition;(2) The name and address of each of the parents or the surviving parent of the juvenile or juveniles;(3) The name and a…

(1) A copy of the petition and either a notice of hearing or order to appear shall be served in the manner provided by the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure to:(1) A juvenile defendant ten (10) years of age and older;(2) A person having care and control of the juvenile; and(3) Al…

(a) (1) A juvenile may be taken into custody without a warrant before service upon him or her of a petition and notice of hearing or order to appear as set out under § 9-35-408 only as follows:(A) By an order of the circuit court under this subchapter;(B) By a law enforcement off…

(a) (1) In a delinquency case, a juvenile and his or her parent, guardian, or custodian shall be advised by the law enforcement official taking a juvenile into custody, by the juvenile intake officer at the initial intake interview, and by the circuit court at the juvenile's firs…

(a) Waiver of the right to counsel at a delinquency hearing shall be accepted only upon a finding by the court from clear and convincing evidence, after questioning the juvenile, that:(1) The juvenile understands the full implications of the right to counsel;(2) The juvenile free…

(a) The state may proceed with a case as a delinquency only when the case involves a juvenile:(1) Fifteen (15) years of age or younger when the alleged delinquent act occurred, except as provided under subdivision (c)(2) of this section; or(2) Less than eighteen (18) years of age…

(a) A juvenile who has been subjected to an adjudication pursuant to a petition alleging him or her to be delinquent shall not be tried later under criminal charges based upon facts alleged in the petition to find him or her delinquent. (b) A juvenile who has been tried for a vio…

(a) (1) When a juvenile is arrested for any offense that if committed by an adult would constitute a Class Y, Class A, or Class B felony, the juvenile shall be photographed and fingerprinted by the law enforcement agency.(2) In the case of an allegation of delinquency, a juvenile…

Statements made by a juvenile to the juvenile intake officer or juvenile probation officer during the intake process before a hearing on the merits of the petition filed against the juvenile shall not be used or be admissible against the juvenile at any stage of any proceedings i…

(a) Upon receiving notice that a juvenile has been taken into custody on an allegation of delinquency, the juvenile intake officer shall immediately notify the juvenile's parent, guardian, or custodian of the location at which the juvenile is being held and of the reasons for the…

(a) If the prosecuting attorney, after consultation with the juvenile intake officer, determines that a diversion of a delinquency case is in the best interests of the juvenile and the community, the juvenile intake officer with the consent of the juvenile and his or her parent, …

(a) The juvenile intake officer shall also conduct a preliminary investigation upon receiving notice that a juvenile has been taken into custody on an allegation of delinquency. (b) In the course of a preliminary investigation, the juvenile intake officer may:(1) Interview the co…

(a) (1) (A) All hearings under this subchapter shall be conducted by the judge without a jury, except as provided by the Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction Act, § 9-27-501 et seq.(B) If a juvenile is designated an extended juvenile jurisdiction offender, the juvenile shall have a rig…

(a) (1) If a juvenile is taken into custody on an allegation of delinquency, violation of Division of Youth Services aftercare, violation of probation, or violation of a court order and not released by the law enforcement officer or juvenile intake officer, a detention hearing sh…

(a) (1) (A) An adjudication hearing shall be held under this subchapter to determine whether the allegations against a juvenile in a petition are substantiated by the proof.(B) On a motion of the court or any party, the court may continue the adjudication hearing up to sixty (60)…

(a) If the circuit court finds that the petition has been substantiated by the proof at the adjudication hearing, a disposition hearing shall be held for the circuit court to enter orders consistent with the disposition alternatives. (b) When a juvenile is held in detention after…

(a) If a juvenile is found to be delinquent under this subchapter, the circuit court may enter an order making any of the following dispositions based upon the best interest of the juvenile:(1) (A) Transfer legal custody of the juvenile to any licensed agency responsible for the …

(a) (1) A commitment to the Division of Youth Services is for an indeterminate period not to exceed the juvenile's twenty-first birthday, except as otherwise provided by law.(2) An order of commitment shall remain in effect for an indeterminate period not exceeding two (2) years …

(a) A juvenile who is alleged to be or who has been adjudicated either dependent-neglected or a member of a family in need of services shall not be placed or detained in a secure detention facility, in a facility utilized for the detention of alleged or adjudicated delinquent juv…

(a) The juvenile probation officer shall make and keep a complete history of each case before disposition and during the course of any probation imposed by the circuit court. (b) (1) It is the intention of this section to require an intelligent and thorough report of each juvenil…

(a) Absent orders of a circuit court or another court of competent jurisdiction to the contrary, the biological mother, whether adult or minor, of a juvenile for whom paternity has not been established is deemed to be the natural guardian of that juvenile and is entitled to the c…

(a) All appeals from juvenile cases shall be made to the Supreme Court or to the Court of Appeals in the time and manner provided for appeals in the Arkansas Rules of Appellate Procedure. (b) The petitioner may appeal only under those circumstances that would permit the state to …

(a) Juvenile adjudications of delinquency for offenses for which the juvenile could have been tried as an adult may be used at the sentencing phase in subsequent adult criminal proceedings against those same individuals. (b) (1) No other evidence adduced against a juvenile in any…

(a) (1) After an adjudication of delinquency, the court may place a juvenile on probation. The conditions of probation shall be given to the juvenile in writing and shall be explained to him or her and to his or her parent, guardian, or custodian by the juvenile probation officer…

The Division of Youth Services shall have the responsibility for the collection, review, and reporting of statistical information on detained or incarcerated juveniles, for adult jails, adult lockups, and juvenile detention facilities to assure compliance with the provisions of t…

The escape of a juvenile from the locked portion of a juvenile facility is an act of delinquency.

(a) A person or agency appointed as the custodian of a juvenile in a proceeding under this subchapter shall:(1) Care for and maintain the juvenile; and(2) See that the juvenile:(A) Is protected;(B) Is properly trained and educated; and(C) Has the opportunity to learn a trade, occ…

(a) If a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent for any of the following offenses, the court shall order a sex offender screening and risk assessment:(1) Rape, § 5-14-103;(2) Capital rape, § 5-14-114;(3) Sexual assault in the first degree, § 5-14-124;(4) Sexual assault in the second …

(a) A person who is adjudicated delinquent for the following offenses shall have a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sample drawn:(1) Rape, § 5-14-103;(2) Capital rape, § 5-14-114;(3) Sexual assault in the first degree, § 5-14-124;(4) Sexual assault in the second degree, § 5-14-125;(5)…