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Ark. Code Ann. § 12-18-702

Investigative determination

Known as the Child Maltreatment Act

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

Applied in 1 court decision — leading case Hal Stanley v. Asa Hutchinson (2021)

Most recently applied in Hal Stanley v. Asa Hutchinson (September 2021)

Acts 2009, No. 749, § 1; 2011, No. 1143, § 14; 2013, No. 1006, § 16; 2015, No. 1004, § 19; 2019, No. 802, § 5.

(1) Upon completion of an investigation under this chapter, the Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police shall determine whether the allegations of child maltreatment are: Unsubstantiated.

(2) An unsubstantiated determination shall be entered when the allegation is not supported by a preponderance of the evidence;

(3) True.

(4) A true determination shall be entered when the allegation is supported by a preponderance of the evidence;

(5) True but exempted.

(6) A determination of true but exempted is a true determination where the offender's name shall not be placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, shall be entered if: A parent practicing his or her religious beliefs does not, for that reason alone, provide medical treatment for a child, but in lieu of treatment the child is being furnished with treatment by spiritual means alone, through prayer, in accordance with a recognized religious method of healing by an accredited practitioner;

(7) The offender is an underaged juvenile offender;

(8) The report was true for neglect as defined under § 12-18-103(14)(B); or

(9) The offender is a juvenile less than fourteen (14) years of age at the time of the offense; or

(10) Inactive.

(11) If the investigation cannot be completed, the investigation shall be determined incomplete and placed in inactive status.

(12) An investigation of a report of child maltreatment that is closed under § 12-18-601 shall be documented as administratively closed without a determination of whether the allegation is unsubstantiated, true, true but exempt, or inactive.

(13) If the Department of Human Services or the Division of Arkansas State Police determines that a report of child maltreatment is true, the Department of Human Services shall determine whether the offender may pose a risk of maltreatment to a vulnerable population, including without limitation children, the elderly, persons with a disability, and persons with a mental health illness.

(14) The Department of Human Services shall establish procedures to determine the risk level of the offender and any vulnerable population to which the offender may pose a risk of maltreatment.

(15) The procedures of the Department of Human Services shall require the following factors to be considered in the determination of whether an offender may pose a risk of maltreatment to a vulnerable population: The severity of the child maltreatment;

(16) The nature and severity of an injury or other adverse impact caused by the child maltreatment;

(17) The access the offender has to a vulnerable population;

(18) Any previous substantiated child maltreatment findings against the offender;

(19) A subsequent report of child maltreatment alleged against the offender; and

(20) The criminal history of the offender.

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.