Title 20 — Public Health and Welfare

(a) In order for the Department of Health to fully perform the duties outlined in § 20-36-103, the department shall diligently pursue funding for bioterrorism and for the biological agent registry. (b) The department's administration of this registry program is subject to adequat…

(1) As used in this chapter:(1) “Care” means treatment, services, assistance, education, training, instruction, or supervision for which the service provider is compensated either directly or indirectly;(2) “Determination” means the determination made by either the licensing or c…

(a) (1) (A) When an operator applies for a license, exemption from licensure, certificate, or other operating authority for a service provider from its licensing or certifying agency, the operator shall submit a criminal history records check form and a complete set of fingerprin…

(a) (1) Before making an offer of employment or engaging as an independent contractor, a service provider shall inform an applicant that employment is contingent on the satisfactory results of criminal history records checks.(2) If a service provider intends to make an offer of e…

(a) A request for a state criminal history records check on a person shall include a completed statement that:(1) Contains the name, address, and date of birth appearing on a valid identification document issued by a government entity to the person who is the subject of the state…

(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the licensing or certifying agency shall issue a determination that a person is disqualified as a service provider, operator, or from employment or engagement in a contract as an independent contractor with a service p…

(a) A service provider shall maintain on file, subject to inspection by the Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police, or the licensing or certifying agency evidence that criminal history records checks have been complet…

The licensing or certifying agency shall establish remedies for failure to comply with this subchapter to be imposed on a service provider licensed, exempted from licensure, certified, or otherwise authorized to operate by its licensing or certifying agency.

(a) The Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police shall make reasonable efforts to respond immediately to requests for state criminal history records checks and to respond to requests for national criminal history records checks within ten (10) calendar day…

The Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police, and the licensing or certifying agency shall cooperate to prepare forms and promulgate consistent rules as necessary to implement this subchapter.

(a) All reports obtained under this subchapter are confidential and are restricted to the exclusive use of the Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Division of Arkansas State Police, and the licensing or certifying agency or the third-party employee…

The Arkansas Crime Information Center, the Identification Bureau of the Department of Arkansas State Police, the licensing or certifying agency, and the service provider are immune from suit or liability for damages for acts or omissions other than malicious acts or omissions occ…

(a) Except for employees of licensed childcare facilities or church-operated exempt childcare facilities, this subchapter does not apply to a person who provides care to clients of a service provider subject to a professional license issued under:(1) Section 17-27-101 et seq., re…

(1) The Department of Human Services shall:(1) (A) Contingent upon the receipt of funding, appropriation, and positions, create and maintain a program that automates the databases of the Child Maltreatment Central Registry created in § 12-18-901, the Adult and Long-term Care Faci…

(a) The membership of the governing board of any nonprofit organization which receives mental health funds from the State of Arkansas on a per-capita basis shall include at least one (1) member from each of the various counties for which funds are received by the organization. (b…

No nonprofit organization receiving mental health funds from the State of Arkansas on a per-capita basis shall be eligible to receive state mental health funds on a per-capita basis unless the governing board of the organization is apportioned among the counties for which funds a…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Licensed certified social worker” means a licensed certified social worker licensed by the Arkansas Social Work Licensing Board under § 17-103-306(c) who provides mental health services;(2) “Licensed marriage and family therapist” means a licen…

(a) A mental health services provider, hospital, facility, community mental health center, or clinic is not subject to liability, suit, or a claim under § 25-44-204 on grounds that a mental health services provider did not prevent harm to an individual or to property caused by a …

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Five hundred sixteen (516) Arkansans died by suicide in 2013, making suicide the leading cause of injury death in Arkansas, and suicide is an urgent and serious public health and welfare problem in the state;(2) Arkansas needs a comprehensi…

A.C.A. § 20-45-302Current through all legislation of the 2025 Regular Session.Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated Official EditionCopyright © 2026 by the State of Arkansas All rights reserved

(a) (1) The Department of Health shall establish and maintain, to the extent that funding is available, the Suicide Prevention Hotline for the purpose of helping to prevent suicide in the state.(2) The department may contract with vendors to maintain the Suicide Prevention Hotlin…

The State Board of Health and the Board of Trustees of the University of Arkansas are authorized and directed to work with the Arkansas State Hospital to implement the services and objectives of this act.

(a) Physicians and others appointed to hospital utilization review committees for the purpose of determining questions relating to the hospitalization of Medicare patients under the provisions of Pub. L. No. 89-97, which is the Medicare law, shall be immune from liability with re…

(a) All information, interviews, reports, statements, memoranda, or other data of the State Board of Health, the Arkansas Medical Society and allied medical societies, or from in-hospital staff committees of licensed hospitals, but not the original medical records pertaining to t…

(a) The records, reports, statements, notes, and other information furnished to the Arkansas State Hospital and its divisions for mental research by individuals, by private, public, or governmental hospitals, and by other agencies for the purpose of mental research are not admiss…

(a) (1) The Department of Human Services shall report monthly to the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth or appropriate subcommittees thereof the number of children placed in residen…

(a) (1) It is the intent of the General Assembly that treatment for emotionally disturbed youth within the State of Arkansas will result in higher quality care provided for less cost when compared with similar services delivered out of state.(2) Before making an out-of-state plac…

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) Sites for outpatient behavioral healthcare agencies have been prohibited from being adjunct to or colocated with nonbehavioral healthcare services or facilities;(2) Integrated care is a best practice and should be the standard set in this s…

(a) The Department of Human Services shall have the authority and power to create and maintain the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services and to provide services for community mental health clinics and centers, which shall be …

(a) The Arkansas State Hospital shall have the power to establish guidelines and rules in the administration of this section. (b) (1) The Arkansas State Hospital through the Department of Human Services is authorized and empowered to assist community mental health centers and cli…

(1) In approving or rejecting community mental health clinics for the purpose of mental health services, the Secretary of the Department of Human Services shall consider the following factors:(1) Adequacy of mental health services provided by the clinic, including mental health o…

(a) (1) The Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services shall adopt appropriate minimum standards of performance in the delivery of mental health services by community mental health centers.(2) The standards shall include professio…

(a) As a condition of certification or recertification by the Department of Human Services, each community mental health center shall furnish to the department a resolution of its governing board expressing the board's pledge and intent to conform to the professional standards an…

(a) The minimum standards prescribed by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services for purchases by community mental health centers, so far as practicable, shall be comparable to the limits set for small purchases under the pu…

(a) The minimum purchasing standards and procedures prescribed by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services for community mental health centers shall not require preaudit or prepurchase approval by the state of purchases made…

(a) (1) Each community mental health center shall undergo a periodic audit as may be required by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services.(2) Each audit shall reflect the compliance or noncompliance with the provisions of §§…

(1) The Secretary of the Department of Human Services shall require the following as to the composition and professional qualifications of the clinic or center staff and control and direction of the clinic or center:(1) The community mental health center or clinic should have an …

Mental health centers in this state, whether local or regional, which have been approved by the Secretary of the Department of Human Services shall provide, upon request of the courts of record in this state, screening and evaluation studies of such persons as shall be referred t…

(a) The Arkansas State Hospital may from time to time during each year provide such consultation and conduct such institutes and training programs on a state, regional, district, county, or community level as may be necessary to coordinate, inform, and assist in the training of s…

Any state board, state agency, county, municipality, court, school district, hospital district, or other political subdivision of the state or any county court or circuit court is authorized to purchase mental health services from community mental health clinics or centers or to …

The Arkansas State Hospital through the Department of Human Services is authorized to distribute such funds to community mental health clinics or centers as are appropriated by the General Assembly.

The Arkansas State Hospital shall be designated as a proper agency to receive grants-in-aid from the United States Government under the provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 246, and shall administer the grants in accordance therewith, in addition to grants-in-aid from the United States Gove…

The Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services is authorized to retain and transfer to the Department of Human Services that portion of each community mental health center's or clinic's allotment which is required for the state's …

(a) On or before April 30, July 31, October 31, and January 31 of each year, the Department of Human Services shall report the following data to the Legislative Council or the Joint Budget Committee during a regular, fiscal, or extraordinary session:(1) A list of community mental…

(a) A psychiatric residential treatment facility licensed under this subchapter and holding a permit from the Health Services Permit Agency or the Health Services Permit Commission shall not admit a child for psychiatric residential treatment unless the child is:(1) An Arkansas r…

(a) (1) It is unlawful for any person, partnership, group, corporation, association, or other entity or identifiable group of entities having a coordinated ownership with controlling interest to operate or assist in the operation of a psychiatric residential treatment facility th…

(1) If the Department of Human Services issues a license to operate a psychiatric residential treatment facility, the license shall be posted and displayed in a conspicuous place in the psychiatric residential treatment facility and must state at a minimum:(1) The full legal name…

(a) A psychiatric residential treatment facility licensed under this subchapter shall:(1) (A) Provide a range of comprehensive services to treat the psychiatric condition of residents on an inpatient basis under the direction of a physician.(B) The psychiatric residential treatme…

The purpose of this subchapter is to enable the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services to provide intensive residential treatment for adults with long-term severe mental illness within specialized mental health residential set…

(1) As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise requires:(1) (A) “Adults with long-term severe mental illness” means a person, eighteen (18) years of age or over, who meets criteria for service eligibility as defined by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral He…