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Ark. Code Ann. § 12-18-402

Mandated reporters

Known as the Child Maltreatment Act

The act spans §§ 12–12 (121 sections).

Applied in 4 court decisions — leading case United States v. Dawn (2012)

Most recently applied in Hopkins v. Jegley (July 2017)

Acts 2009, No. 749, § 1; 2009, No. 1409, § 1; 2011, No. 1143, § 8; 2013, No. 725, § 7; 2013, No. 1086, §§ 7, 8; 2015, No. 1056, § 1; 2015, No. 1211, § 3; 2017, No. 250, § 12; 20…

How often courts cite this section

2012201720
citing decisions per year

Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.

(1) An individual listed as a mandated reporter under subsection (b) of this section shall immediately notify the Child Abuse Hotline if he or she: Has reasonable cause to suspect that a child has: Been subjected to child maltreatment;

(2) Died as a result of child maltreatment; or

(3) Died suddenly and unexpectedly; or

(4) Observes a child being subjected to conditions or circumstances that would reasonably result in child maltreatment.

(5) The following individuals are mandated reporters under this chapter: A child care worker or foster care worker;

(6) A coroner;

(7) A day care center worker;

(8) A dentist;

(9) A dental hygienist;

(10) A domestic abuse advocate;

(11) A domestic violence shelter employee;

(12) A domestic violence shelter volunteer;

(13) An employee of the Department of Human Services;

(14) An employee working under contract for, or a contractor of, the Department of Human Services when acting within the scope of his or her contract or employment;

(15) A foster parent;

(16) A judge;

(17) A law enforcement official;

(18) A licensed nurse;

(19) Medical personnel who may be engaged in the admission, examination, care, or treatment of persons;

(20) A mental health professional or paraprofessional;

(21) An osteopath;

(22) A peace officer;

(23) A physician;

(24) A prosecuting attorney;

(25) A resident intern;

(26) A public or private school counselor;

(27) A school official, including without limitation institutions of higher education;

(28) A social worker;

(29) A surgeon;

(30) A teacher;

(31) A court-appointed special advocate program staff member or volunteer;

(32) A juvenile intake or probation officer;

(33) A clergy member, which includes a minister, priest, rabbi, accredited Christian Science practitioner, or other similar functionary of a religious organization, or an individual reasonably believed to be so by the person consulting him or her, except to the extent the clergy member: Has acquired knowledge of suspected child maltreatment through communications required to be kept confidential pursuant to the religious discipline of the relevant denomination or faith; or

(34) Received the knowledge of the suspected child maltreatment from the alleged offender in the context of a statement of admission;

(35) An employee of a child advocacy center or a child safety center;

(36) An attorney ad litem in the course of his or her duties as an attorney ad litem;

(37) A sexual abuse advocate or sexual abuse volunteer who works with a victim of sexual abuse as an employee of a community-based victim service or mental health agency such as Safe Places, United Family Services, Inc., or Centers for Youth and Families.

(38) A sexual abuse advocate or sexual abuse volunteer includes a paid or volunteer sexual abuse advocate who is based with a local law enforcement agency;

(39) A rape crisis advocate or rape crisis volunteer;

(40) A child abuse advocate or child abuse volunteer who works with a child victim of abuse or maltreatment as an employee of a community-based victim service or a mental health agency such as Safe Places, United Family Services, Inc., or Centers for Youth and Families.

(41) A child abuse advocate or child abuse volunteer includes a paid or volunteer sexual abuse advocate who is based with a local law enforcement agency;

(42) A victim/witness coordinator;

(43) A victim assistance professional or victim assistance volunteer;

(44) An employee of the Crimes Against Children Division of the Division of Arkansas State Police;

(45) An employee of a reproductive healthcare facility;

(46) A volunteer at a reproductive healthcare facility;

(47) An individual not otherwise identified in this subsection who is engaged in performing his or her employment duties with a nonprofit charitable organization other than a nonprofit hospital; and

(48) A Child Welfare Ombudsman.

(49) A privilege or contract shall not prevent a person from reporting child maltreatment when he or she is a mandated reporter and required to report under this section.

(50) An employer or supervisor of an employee identified as a mandated reporter shall not prohibit an employee or a volunteer from directly reporting child maltreatment to the Child Abuse Hotline.

(51) An employer or supervisor of an employee identified as a mandated reporter shall not require an employee or a volunteer to obtain permission or notify any person, including an employee or a supervisor, before reporting child maltreatment to the Child Abuse Hotline.

(52) A mandated reporter who in good faith notifies the Child Abuse Hotline in accordance with subsection (a) of this section is immune from civil and criminal liability.

Current official text: Arkansas General Assembly. Digitized from the UniCourt Code Improvement Commission public-domain capture. Reproduced from public-domain Arkansas statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.