Title 9, Family Law

(a) When an order of protection is issued under this chapter, upon request of the petitioner the circuit court may order a law enforcement officer with jurisdiction to accompany the petitioner and assist in placing the petitioner in possession of the dwelling or residence or to o…

Any order of protection issued by the circuit court pursuant to a petition filed as authorized in this chapter may be modified upon application of either party, notice to all parties, and a hearing thereon.

When a petitioner or any law enforcement officer files an affidavit with a circuit court that has issued an order of protection under the provisions of this chapter alleging that the respondent or person restrained has violated the order, the court may issue an order to the respo…

A no contact order shall prohibit the person from making contact, directly or through an agent, except under such conditions as may be provided in the order.

All law enforcement officers shall follow the same procedures as outlined in § 16-90-1107.

The circuit court shall not deny a petitioner relief solely because the act of domestic or family violence and the filing of the petition did not occur within one hundred twenty (120) days.

(a) In addition to other factors that a circuit court shall consider in a proceeding in which the temporary custody of a child or temporary visitation by a parent is at issue and in which the court has made a finding of domestic or family violence, the court shall consider:(1) As…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a circuit court shall not grant a mutual order of protection to opposing parties. (b) Separate orders of protection restraining each opposing party may only be granted in cases in which each party:(1) Has properly filed an…

(a) (1) (A) A person who is charged with violating an ex parte order of protection under § 5-53-134 may be ordered as a condition of his or her release from custody to be placed under electronic surveillance at his or her expense until the charge is adjudicated.(B) A person who i…

(a) Commencing July 1, 2017, at an initial or subsequent hearing on a petition filed under this subchapter, to ensure that the petitioner may maintain his or her existing wireless telephone number and the wireless numbers of minor children in the petitioner's care, the court may …

(a) As used in this section:(1) (A) “Course of control” means a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with the free will and personal liberty of a person.(B) “Course of control” includes without limitation the following:(i) Unreasonably isolating a…

(a) An order of protection shall be afforded full faith and credit by the courts of this state and shall be enforced by law enforcement as if it were issued in this state if the order of protection:(1) Meets the requirements of subsection (b) or subsection (c) of this section and…

(a) Law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies shall be immune from civil or criminal liability if acting in good faith in an effort to comply with this subchapter. (b) A military order of protection as defined under § 5-53-134(f)(1) shall be enforced by law enforcemen…

This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Spousal Abuse Safety Plan Act”.

(a) The General Assembly finds that:(1) There are many resources to support victims of domestic abuse after the abuse has occurred. However, the issues of how to prevent spousal abuse and the possible solution of creating a safety plan for the spouse and the children in the house…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) “Emotional abuse” means any of the following acts:(A) Verbally attacking or threatening a spouse by yelling, screaming, or name-calling;(B) Using criticism, social isolation, intimidation, or exploitation to dominate a spouse;(C) Criminally hara…

(1) The purpose of this subchapter is to:(1) Develop increased and improved security measures that provide greater protection for victims of spousal abuse, especially those who have orders of protection;(2) Help victims create a safety plan to keep them and their children as safe…

(a) The Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission, in consultation with experts on spousal abuse prevention and intervention, shall develop educational material and training material to address the issues under this subchapter. (b) The educational material and traini…

The Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission shall promulgate rules to implement and administer this subchapter.

(1) The Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission shall report annually to the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth regarding:(1) The status of the implementation and adm…

This chapter shall be known as the “Family Preservation Services Program Act”.

(1) As used in this chapter, “family preservation services” means services for children and families that are designed to help families at risk or in crisis, including adoptive and extended families, and include:(1) Service programs designed to help a child:(A) When safe and appr…

(1) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Human Services shall:(1) (A) Make family preservation services accessible to all cases in which a child is about to be placed outside his or her home, or in which a child has been placed outside…

(a) The Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Human Services shall be the lead administrative agency for family preservation services and may receive funding for the implementation of such services. (b) The division shall:(1) Provide the coordination of an…

(a) The Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Human Services may provide family preservation services directly or may contract with a private, nonprofit social service agency or qualified individual to provide such services. (b) In the event a nonprofit so…

(a) (1) Family preservation services shall be provided to those children who are placed out-of-home for whom the goal is reunification and for those children who are at actual, imminent risk of out-of-home placement in situations in which family preservation services afford effec…

(a) The provision of family preservation services to a family shall constitute a reasonable effort by the Department of Human Services to prevent the removal of a child from the child's home, provided that the family has received timely access to other services from the departmen…

(1) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Human Services shall conduct a yearly evaluation of family preservation services that shall include the following:(1) The number of families in which the use of family preservation services has …

The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services of the Department of Human Services may use funds that become available through an increase in reimbursement of funds from family preservation services from Title IV-E of the Social Security Act as amended by Pub. L. No…

This chapter may be cited as the “Uniform Interstate Family Support Act”.

(1) In this chapter:(1) “Child” means an individual, whether over or under the age of majority, who is or is alleged to be owed a duty of support by the individual's parent or who is or is alleged to be the beneficiary of a support order directed to the parent.(2) “Child-support …

(a) The circuit court is the tribunal of this state. (b) The Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance Administration is the support enforcement agency of this state.

(a) Remedies provided by this chapter are cumulative and do not affect the availability of remedies under other law or the recognition of a foreign support order on the basis of comity. (b) This chapter does not:(1) provide the exclusive method of establishing or enforcing a supp…

(a) A tribunal of this state shall apply Articles 1 through 6 and, as applicable, Article 7 to a support proceeding involving:(1) a foreign support order;(2) a foreign tribunal; or(3) an obligee, obligor, or child residing in a foreign country. (1) a foreign support order; (2) a …

(a) In a proceeding to establish or enforce a support order or to determine parentage of a child, a tribunal of this state may exercise personal jurisdiction over a nonresident individual or the individual's guardian or conservator if:(1) the individual is personally served with …

Personal jurisdiction acquired by a tribunal of this state in a proceeding under this chapter or other law of this state relating to a support order continues as long as a tribunal of this state has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its order or continuing jurisdiction…

Under this chapter, a tribunal of this state may serve as an initiating tribunal to forward proceedings to a tribunal of another state and as a responding tribunal for proceedings initiated in another state or a foreign country.

(a) A tribunal of this state may exercise jurisdiction to establish a support order if the petition or comparable pleading is filed after a pleading is filed in another state or a foreign country only if:(1) the petition or comparable pleading in this state is filed before the ex…

(a) A tribunal of this state that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of this state has and shall exercise continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify its child-support order if the order is the controlling order and:(1) at the time of the filing of a reques…

(a) A tribunal of this state that has issued a child-support order consistent with the law of this state may serve as an initiating tribunal to request a tribunal of another state to enforce:(1) the order if the order is the controlling order and has not been modified by a tribun…

(a) If a proceeding is brought under this chapter and only one tribunal has issued a child-support order, the order of that tribunal controls and must be recognized. (b) If a proceeding is brought under this chapter, and two or more child-support orders have been issued by tribun…

In responding to registrations or petitions for enforcement of two or more child-support orders in effect at the same time with regard to the same obligor and different individual obligees, at least one of which was issued by a tribunal of another state or a foreign country, a tr…

A tribunal of this state shall credit amounts collected for a particular period pursuant to any child-support order against the amounts owed for the same period under any other child-support order for support of the same child issued by a tribunal of this state, another state, or…

A tribunal of this state exercising personal jurisdiction over a nonresident in a proceeding under this chapter, under other law of this state relating to a support order, or recognizing a foreign support order may receive evidence from outside this state pursuant to § 9-17-316, …

(a) A tribunal of this state issuing a spousal-support order consistent with the law of this state has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the spousal-support order throughout the existence of the support obligation. (b) A tribunal of this state may not modify a spousal-…

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, this article applies to all proceedings under this chapter. (b) An individual petitioner or a support enforcement agency may initiate a proceeding authorized under this chapter by filing a petition in an initiating tribunal for fo…