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12-18-303. Minimum requirements for a report to be accepted.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
12-18-303. Minimum requirements for a report to be accepted.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report if:
(1) The report is of:
(A) An allegation of child maltreatment or suspected child maltreatment, that if found to be true, would constitute child maltreatment as defined under this chapter;
(B) The death of a child who died suddenly and unexpectedly; or
(C) The death of a child reported by a coroner or county sheriff under § 20-15-502;
(2) Sufficient identifying information is provided to identify and locate the child or the child's family; and
(3) The child or the child's family is present in Arkansas or the incident occurred in Arkansas.
(b)(1) If the alleged offender resides in another state and the incident occurred in another state or country, the Child Abuse Hotline shall document receipt of the report, transfer the report to the Child Abuse Hotline of the state or country where the alleged offender resides or the incident occurred, and, if child protection is an issue, forward the report to the Department of Human Services or the equivalent governmental agency of the state or country where the alleged offender resides.
(2) Any record of receipt of a report under subdivision (b)(1) of this section may be used only within the Department of Human Services for purposes of administration of the program and shall not be disclosed except to:
(A) The prosecuting attorney; or
(B) A law enforcement agency.
(3) Data identifying a reporter under subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be maintained under § 12-18-502.
(c) If the incident occurred in Arkansas and the victim, offender, or victim's parents no longer reside in Arkansas, the Child Abuse Hotline shall accept the report and the Arkan
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 12-18-303
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:12-18-303
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.12.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 2762c677b07ad6d64d437d0055105222cbe96211dc1ba14e2d31e78ead0d16b1
Source location: content.xml paragraph 9318
Stored source content
12-18-303. Minimum requirements for a report to be accepted.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report if:
(1) The report is of:
(A) An allegation of child maltreatment or suspected child maltreatment, that if found to be true, would constitute child maltreatment as defined under this chapter;
(B) The death of a child who died suddenly and unexpectedly; or
(C) The death of a child reported by a coroner or county sheriff under § 20-15-502;
(2) Sufficient identifying information is provided to identify and locate the child or the child's family; and
(3) The child or the child's family is present in Arkansas or the incident occurred in Arkansas.
(b)(1) If the alleged offender resides in another state and the incident occurred in another state or country, the Child Abuse Hotline shall document receipt of the report, transfer the report to the Child Abuse Hotline of the state or country where the alleged offender resides or the incident occurred, and, if child protection is an issue, forward the report to the Department of Human Services or the equivalent governmental agency of the state or country where the alleged offender resides.
(2) Any record of receipt of a report under subdivision (b)(1) of this section may be used only within the Department of Human Services for purposes of administration of the program and shall not be disclosed except to:
(A) The prosecuting attorney; or
(B) A law enforcement agency.
(3) Data identifying a reporter under subdivision (b)(1) of this section shall be maintained under § 12-18-502.
(c) If the incident occurred in Arkansas and the victim, offender, or victim's parents no longer reside in Arkansas, the Child Abuse Hotline shall accept the report and the Arkansas investigating agency shall contact the other state and request assistance in completing the investigation, including an interview with the out-of-state subject of the report.
(d)(1) If the Child Abuse Hotline receives a report and the alleged offender is a resident of the State of Arkansas and the report of child maltreatment or suspected child maltreatment in the state or country in which the act occurred would also be child maltreatment in Arkansas at the time the incident occurred, the Child Abuse Hotline shall refer the report to the appropriate investigating agency within the state so that the Arkansas investigative agency can investigate alone or in concert with the investigative agency of any other state or country that may be involved.
(2) The Arkansas investigating agency shall make an investigative determination and shall provide notice to the alleged offender that, if the allegation is determined to be true, the offender's name will be placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.
(3) The other state may also conduct an investigation in this state that results in the offender's being named in a true report in that state and placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry of that state.
(e)(1)(A) A report of child maltreatment that does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall not be accepted by the Child Abuse Hotline.
(B) The Child Abuse Hotline may accept a report of child maltreatment that does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section if sufficient information is provided to accept the report under §§ 12-18-304 — 12-18-310.
(2)(A) The Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police shall establish procedures for the Child Abuse Hotline.
(B) The procedures established by the Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police shall include without limitation the:
(i) Creation of a secondary review of an accepted report of child maltreatment by the investigating agency assigned under § 12-18-601 to ensure that the report of child maltreatment meets the requirements of this section; and
(ii) Ability of the Child Abuse Hotline and the investigating agency to contact the Department of Human Services to obtain or determine information relevant to whether a report of child maltreatment should be accepted.
(3) A report of child maltreatment that does not meet the requirements of subsection (a) of this section shall be considered screened-out for the purposes of releasing information under § 12-18-910.
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
12-18-304. Qualifying reports of certain types of child maltreatment.
(a)(1) The Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report of child maltreatment if any of the following intentional or knowing acts are alleged to occur:
(A) Throwing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child;
(B) Striking a child with a closed fist;
(C) Shaking a child four (4) years of age or older; or
(D) Striking a child seven (7) years of age or older on the face or on the head.
(2) A report under this subsection shall not be determined to be true unless the child suffered an injury as the result of the act.
(b) The Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report of child maltreatment if any of the following intentional or knowing acts are alleged to occur:
(1) Shaking a child three (3) years of age or younger;
(2) Striking a child six (6) years of age or younger on the face or on the head;
(3) Interfering with a child's breathing; or
(4) Pinching, biting, or striking a child in the genital area.
(c)(1) The Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report of child maltreatment if a child suffers an injury as the result of a restraint.
(2) The report shall be determined not to be true if the injury is a minor temporary mark or causes transient pain and was an acceptable restraint as provided under this chapter.
(d)(1) The Child Abuse Hotline shall accept a report of child maltreatment involving a bruise to a child even if at the time of the report the bruise is not visible if the bruising occurred:
(A) Within the past fourteen (14) days; and
(B) As a result of child maltreatment as described under subsections (a)-(c) of this section.
(2) However, the report under this subsection shall not be determined to be true unless the existence of the bruise is corroborated.
(e) The Chi
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 12-18-304
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 12-18-304. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
12-18-310. Referrals on children born with and affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder or prenatal drug exposure to an illegal drug or a legal substance.
(a) All healthcare providers involved in the delivery or care of infants shall:
(1) Contact the Department of Human Services regarding an infant born with and affected by:
(A) A fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
(B) Maternal substance abuse resulting in prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance; or
(C) Withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance; and
(2) Share all pertinent information, including health information, with the department regarding an infant born with and affected by:
(A) A fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
(B) Maternal substance abuse resulting in prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance; or
(C) Withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance.
(b) The department shall accept referrals, calls, and other communications from healthcare providers involved in the delivery or care of infants born with and affected by:
(1) A fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
(2) Maternal substance abuse resulting in prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance; or
(3) Withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance.
(c)(1) A plan of safe care shall be developed for infants affected by:
(A) A fetal alcohol spectrum disorder;
(B) Maternal substance abuse resulting in prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance; or
(C) Withdrawal symptoms resulting from prenatal drug exposure to an illegal or a legal substance.
(2)(A) The plan of safe care shall be designed to ensure the safety and well-being of an
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 12-18-310
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 12-18-310. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
12-18-502. Release and disclosure of data generally.
(a)(1) The Department of Human Services and the Department of Arkansas State Police shall not release data that would identify the person who made the report to the Child Abuse Hotline unless a court of competent jurisdiction orders release of the information after the court has reviewed in camera the record related to the report and has found it has reason to believe that the reporter knowingly made a false report.
(2) However, upon request the information shall be disclosed to the prosecuting attorney or law enforcement.
(b)(1) A person or agency to whom disclosure is made shall not disclose to any other person a report or other information obtained pursuant to this section.
(2) However, the person or agency is permitted to consult his or her own attorney regarding the information in any notice provided by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Arkansas State Police.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 12-18-502
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 12-18-502. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
20-15-502. Reports required.
(a) Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, city police officer, state police officer, member of the staff of any public or private hospital, or attending physician with knowledge of the sudden death of a child between the ages of one (1) week and one (1) year who appeared in apparent good health shall immediately report the death to the county coroner or the county sheriff if the county coroner is unavailable, within twenty-four (24) hours after the discovery of the death.
(b) The report shall include facts concerning the time, place, manner, and circumstances surrounding the death.
(c) Upon receipt of the report, the county coroner, or the county sheriff if the county coroner is unavailable, shall report the death to the Department of Health and the Child Abuse Hotline.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 20-15-502
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 20-15-502. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.