As used in this part:

1. (1) “Abandoned infant” means a juvenile less than nine (9) months of age and whose parent, guardian, or custodian left the child alone or in the possession of another person without identifying information or with an expression of intent by words, actions, or omissions not to return for the infant;

2. (2)

   1. (A) “Abandonment” means a failure of the parent to provide reasonable support for a juvenile and to maintain regular contact with the juvenile through statement or contact when:

      1. (i) This failure is accompanied by an intention on the part of the parent to permit the condition to continue for an indefinite period in the future;
      2. (ii) The failure of a parent to support or maintain regular contact with the juvenile is without just cause; or
      3. (iii) There is an articulated intent to forego parental responsibility.
   2. (B) “Abandonment” does not include acts or omissions of a parent toward a married minor;

3. (3) “Abuse” means any of the following acts or omissions by a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, person eighteen (18) years of age or older living in the home with a child whether related or unrelated to the child, or any person who is entrusted with the juvenile’s care by a parent, guardian, custodian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, childcare facility, public or private school, a significant other of the child’s parent, or any person legally responsible for the juvenile’s welfare, but excluding the spouse of a minor:

   1. (A) Extreme or repeated cruelty to a juvenile;

   2. (B) Engaging in conduct creating a realistic and serious threat of:

      1. (i) Death;
      2. (ii) Permanent or temporary disfigurement; or
      3. (iii) Impairment of any bodily organ;
   3. (C) Injury to a juvenile’s intellectual, emotional, or psychological development as evidenced by observable and substantial impairment of the juvenile’s ability to function within the juvenile’s normal range of performance and behavior;
   4. (D) Any history that is at variance with the history given;
   5. (E) Any nonaccidental physical injury;

   6. (F) Any of the following intentional or knowing acts, with physical injury and without justifiable cause:

      1. (i) Throwing, kicking, burning, biting, or cutting a child;
      2. (ii) Striking a child with a closed fist;
      3. (iii) Shaking a child; and
      4. (iv) Striking a child on the face or head;

   7. (G) Any of the following intentional or knowing acts, with or without injury:

      1. (i) Striking a child six (6) years of age or younger on the face or head;
      2. (ii) Shaking a child three (3) years of age or younger;
      3. (iii) Interfering with a child’s breathing; and
      4. (iv) Pinching or striking a child’s genital area;
   8. (H) Note. The prior list of unreasonable actions is considered illustrative and not exclusive;
   9. (I) No unreasonable action shall be construed to permit a finding of abuse without having established the elements of abuse;

   10. (J)

       1. (i) Abuse shall not include physical discipline of a child when it is reasonable and moderate and is inflicted by a parent or guardian for purposes or restraining or correcting the child.
       2. (ii) The person exercising the restraint is an employee of an agency licensed or exempted from licensure under the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act, Arkansas Code § 9-28-401 et seq.
       3. (iii) The agency has policy and procedures regarding restraints.
       4. (iv) No other alternative exists to control the child except for a restraint.
       5. (v) The child is in danger of hurting himself or herself or others.
       6. (vi) The person exercising the restraint has been trained in properly restraining children, deescalation, and conflict resolution techniques.
       7. (vii) The restraint is for a reasonable period of time;
   11. (K) Reasonable and moderate physical discipline inflicted by a parent or guardian shall not include any act that is likely to cause, and which does cause injury more serious than transient pain or minor temporary marks; and
   12. (L) The age, size, and condition of the child and the location of the injury and the frequency of recurrence of injuries shall be considered when determining whether the physical discipline is reasonable or moderate;

4. (4) “Aggravated circumstances” means circumstances that exist when:

   1. (A) A child has been abandoned, chronically abused, subjected to extreme or repeated cruelty, sexually abused, sexually exploited, or a determination has been or is made by a judge that there is little likelihood that services to the family will result in successful reunification;
   2. (B) A child has been removed from the custody of the parent or guardian and placed in foster care or in the custody of another person three (3) or more times in the last fifteen (15) months; or
   3. (C) A child or a sibling has been neglected or abused such that the abuse could endanger the life of the child;

5. (5)

   1. (A) “Alternative compliance” means a request for approval from the Child Welfare Agency Review Board to allow a licensee to deviate from the letter of a regulation.
   2. (B) The licensee must demonstrate substantial compliance with the intent of the regulation.
   3. (C) This includes, but is not limited to, regulations that govern background checks and convictions for prohibited offenses;

6. (6)

   1. (A) “Another planned permanent living arrangement (APPLA)” means permanency planning hearing disposition (more specifically, “authorizing a plan for another planned permanent living arrangement”) for the juvenile who will not be reunited with his or her family and because another permanency plan is not in the juvenile’s best interest.
   2. (B) Any authorization of a plan for APPLA must include a permanent planned living arrangement and address the quality of services, including, but not limited to, independent living services and a plan for supervision and nurturing the juvenile will receive.

   3. (C) APPLA may only be selected if:

      1. (i) The Department of Human Services has documented to the circuit court a compelling reason for determining that it would not be in the best interest of the child to follow another permanency plan;
      2. (ii) The child is sixteen (16) years of age or older; and

      3. (iii) The court makes a judicial determination explaining why, as of the date of the hearing, APPLA is the best permanency plan for the juvenile and the court finds compelling reasons why it continues to not be in the best interest of the juvenile to:

         1. (a) (a) Return home;
         2. (b) (b) Be placed for adoption;
      4. (c) (c) Be placed with a legal guardian; or
      5. (d) (d) Be placed with a fit and willing relative;
7. (7) “Caretaker” means parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person fourteen (14) years of age or older who is entrusted with a child’s care by a parent, guardian, custodian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, childcare facility, public or private school, or any person legally responsible for a child’s welfare;
8. (8) “Child” means a person who is from birth to eighteen (18) years of age;

9. (9) “Child” (for Title IV-E purposes) means:

   1. (A) For the purposes of the Title IV-E foster care program, an individual:

      1. (i) Who is in foster care under the responsibility of the Department of Human Services; and

      2. (ii) Who meets the following age parameters:

         1. (a) (a) Has not attained eighteen (18) years of age; or
         2. (b) (b) Has attained eighteen (18) years of age but who has not attained twenty-one (21) years of age and meets any of the following conditions:
10. (1) (1) Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential;
11. (2) (2) Is enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or vocational education;
12. (3) (3) Is participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment;
13. (4) (4) Is employed for at least eighty (80) hours per month; or

14. (5) (5) Is incapable of doing any of the above described activities due to a medical condition, which incapability is supported by regularly updated information in the case plan; and

    1. (B) For the purposes of the Title IV-E adoption or guardianship assistance program, an individual:

       1. (i) Who is under eighteen (18) years of age and is the subject of an adoption or guardianship assistance agreement entered into prior to sixteen (16) years of age; or

       2. (ii) Who is under the age of twenty-one (21) and is the subject of an adoption or guardianship assistance agreement entered into after the individual attained sixteen (16) years of age and meets any of the following conditions:

          1. (a) (a) Is completing secondary education or a program leading to an equivalent credential;
          2. (b) (b) Is enrolled in an institution which provides postsecondary or vocational education;
       3. (c) (c) Is participating in a program or activity designed to promote, or remove barriers to, employment;

       4. (d) (d) Is employed for at least eighty (80) hours per month; or

          1. (e) (e) Is incapable of doing any of the above described activities due to a medical condition;

15. (10)

    1. (A) “Child Abuse Hotline” means the unit maintained by the Crimes Against Children Division, for the purpose of receiving and recording notification made pursuant to the Child Maltreatment Reporting Act.

    2. (B) The Child Abuse Hotline:

       1. (i) Is staffed twenty-four (24) hours per day; and
       2. (ii) Has statewide accessibility through a toll-free telephone number;

16. (11)

    1. (A) “Childcare institution” means a private childcare institution, or a public childcare institution which accommodates no more than twenty-five (25) children, and is licensed by the state in which it is situated or has been approved by the agency of such state or tribal licensing authority (with respect to childcare institutions on or near Indian reservations) responsible for licensing or approval of institutions of this type as meeting the standards established for such licensing, except, in the case of a child who has attained eighteen (18) years of age, the term includes a supervised transitional living setting in which the individual is living independently.
    2. (B) This definition must not include detention facilities, forestry camps, training schools, or any other facility operated primarily for the detention of children who are determined to be delinquent;
17. (12) “Child maltreatment” means physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation or abandonment of a child;

18. (13)

    1. (A) “Child maltreatment investigation” means a fact finding assessment that occurs when an allegation of child maltreatment is received.
    2. (B) Completion is reached when a determination is made concerning the allegations;
19. (14) “Court-appointed special advocate (CASA)” means a volunteer appointed by the court to advocate for the best interest of juveniles in dependency-neglect proceedings;
20. (15) “Custodian” means a person (not a parent or legal guardian) who stands in loco parentis to the child or an agency or institution given custody of a child through a court order;

21. (16) “Delinquent juvenile” means any juvenile:

    1. (A) Ten (10) years of age or older who has committed an act other than a traffic offense or game and fish violation, which, if the act had been committed by an adult, would subject the adult to prosecution for a felony, misdemeanor, or violation under the applicable criminal laws of this state or who has violated Arkansas Code § 5-73-119; or
    2. (B) Any juvenile charged with capital murder or murder in the first degree, subject to extended juvenile jurisdiction;

22. (17) “Dependent juveniles” includes a child:

    1. (A) Whose parent is in the custody of the Department of Human Services;
    2. (B) Whose parent or guardian is incarcerated for a reason unrelated to the health, safety, or welfare of the child and the parent or guardian has no appropriate relative or friend willing or able to provide care for the child;
    3. (C) Whose parent or guardian is incapacitated, whether temporarily or permanently, such that the parent or guardian cannot provide care for the juvenile and the parent or guardian has no appropriate relative or friend willing or able to provide care for the child;
    4. (D) Whose custodial parent dies and no stand-by guardian exists;
    5. (E) Who is an infant relinquished to the custody of the Department of Human Services for the sole purpose of adoption;
    6. (F) Who is a safe haven baby (Safe Haven Act – 2001, Arkansas Code § 9-34-201 et seq.);
    7. (G) Who has disrupted his or her adoption, and the adoptive parents have exhausted resources available to them; or
    8. (H) Who has been a victim of human trafficking as a result of threats, coercion, or fraud without the knowledge of the parent;

23. (18) “Dependent-neglected juvenile” means any juvenile who is at substantial risk of harm as a result of the following acts or omissions to the juvenile, a sibling, or another juvenile:

    1. (A) Abandonment;
    2. (B) Abuse;
    3. (C) Sexual abuse;
    4. (D) Sexual exploitation;

    5. (E) Neglect or parental unfitness or being present in a dwelling or structure during the manufacture of methamphetamine with the knowledge of his or her:

       1. (i) Parent;
       2. (ii) Guardian; or
       3. (iii) Custodian; or

    6. (F) Human trafficking if the parent knew or should have known the child was a victim of human trafficking as a result of:

       1. (i) Threats;
       2. (ii) Coercion; or
       3. (iii) Fraud;

24. (19) “Deviate sexual activity” means any act of sexual gratification involving:

    1. (A) The penetration, however slight, of the anus or mouth of one person by the penis of another person; or
    2. (B) The penetration, however slight, of the labia majora or anus of one person by any body, member, or foreign instrument manipulated by another person;

25. (20)

    1. (A) “Domestic abuse” means:

       1. (i) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household members; or
       2. (ii) Any sexual conduct between family or household members, whether minors or adults, which constitutes a crime under the laws of this state.

    2. (B) “Family or household member” means:

       1. (i) Spouses;
       2. (ii) Former spouses;
       3. (iii) Parents and children;
       4. (iv) Persons related by blood within the fourth degree of consanguinity;
       5. (v) Any child residing in the household;
       6. (vi) Persons who are presently or in the past resided or cohabited together; and
       7. (vii) Persons who have or have had a child in common;

26. (21)

    1. (A) “Exempted from true due to religious exemption” means a determination that will be entered when the parent’s decision to withhold medical treatment is based solely upon a religious belief, and the child is furnished with treatment by spiritual means alone, through prayer, in accordance with a recognized religious method of healing by an accredited practitioner.
    2. (B) Such prohibition shall not limit the administrative or judicial authority of the state to ensure that medical services are provided to the child when the child’s health requires it;
27. (22) “Family” means a spouse, parent, child, sibling, or a person related by consanguinity to another person;

28. (23) “Family in need of services” means family whose juvenile evidences behavior which includes, but is not limited to, the following:

    1. (A) Being habitually and without justification absent from school while subject to compulsory school attendance;
    2. (B) Being habitually disobedient to the reasonable and lawful commands of his or her parent, guardian, or custodian; or
    3. (C) Having absented himself or herself from the juvenile’s home without sufficient cause, permission, or justification;
29. (24) “Fast track” implies that reunification services will not be provided or will be terminated before twelve (12) months of services;
30. (25) “Federal adoption subsidy IV-E” means payments for a child who is categorized as IV-E (TEA/TANF, SSI-AB, or SSI-AD) at the time of placement for adoption by the Division of Children and Family Services and who meets other defined special needs characteristics if it has been documented that a reasonable effort has been made to place the child without the benefit of subsidy;

31. (26) “Fictive kin” means persons not related by blood, marriage, or adoption but who have a strong, positive emotional tie to the child and have a positive role in the child’s life such as:

    1. (A) Godparents;
    2. (B) Neighbors; or
    3. (C) Family friends;

32. (27)

    1. (A) “Forcible compulsion” means any act of physical force or intimidation, or any threat, express or implied, of death, physical injury, rape, sexual abuse, or kidnapping of anyone committed against that person’s will.
    2. (B) The age, developmental stage and stature of the victim and the relationship of the victim to the assailant, as well as the threat of deprivation of affection, rights, and privileges from the victim by the assailant, shall be considered in weighing the sufficiency of the evidence to prove compulsion;

33. (28)

    1. (A) “Grooming” means to knowingly disseminate to a child thirteen (13) years of age or younger with or without consideration a visual or print medium depicting sexually explicit content with the purpose to entice, induce, or groom the child to engage in the following with another person:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse;
       2. (ii) Sexually explicit conduct; or
       3. (iii) Deviate sexual activity.
    2. (B) Under this definition of grooming, “disseminate” means to allow to view, expose, furnish, present, sell, or otherwise distribute, including on an electronic device or virtual platform, and is not limited to an act that takes place in the physical presence of a child;
34. (29) “Guardian” means any person, agency, or institution so appointed by a court;

35. (30)

    1. (A) “Holistic” means a view of the family and accompanying circumstances that take into consideration the entire family.
    2. (B) This view includes the psychological, sociological, physical, and environmental factors which influence the functioning of the family;
36. (31) “Home assessment” means the mutual selection process that involves several components including, but not limited to, an in-home consultation visit, background checks, preservice training, a home study, and ongoing consultation with the prospective foster/adoptive parents to ensure that applicants meet all appropriate criteria related to both compliance and quality;

37. (32)

    1. (A) “Home study” means the specific interviewing and reporting tool used to determine if a family is ready, willing, and able to become a suitable and safe placement resource for a child.

    2. (B) The home study must evaluate a family’s dynamics in areas including, but not limited to:

       1. (i) Motivation for wanting to foster;
       2. (ii) Health;
       3. (iii) Education;
       4. (iv) Lifestyle;
       5. (v) Daily schedules;
       6. (vi) Parenting practices;
       7. (vii) Support systems; and
       8. (viii) Personal histories.
    3. (C) It shall include a vehicle safety check on all applicable household members, a Child Maltreatment Central Registry check on all members of the household fourteen (14) years of age or older, excluding children in foster care, and a Division of Arkansas State Police criminal record check and a fingerprint-based Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal background check on all members of the household age eighteen and one-half (18 1/2) years of age or older, excluding children in foster care;

38. (33)

    1. (A) “Household member” means a resident of the home who:

       1. (i) Owns or is legally responsible for paying rent on the home (household head);
       2. (ii) Is in a close personal relationship with a household head; or
       3. (iii) Is related to a household head or to a person in a close personal relationship with a household head.

    2. (B) Any household member who resides in the home for more than three (3) cumulative months in a calendar year (e.g., an adult biological child of the foster parents who is home for the summer and holiday breaks or a relative who visits for six (6) weeks twice a year) must clear the following background checks:

       1. (i) Child Maltreatment Central Registry;
       2. (ii) Adult Maltreatment Central Registry;
       3. (iii) Division of Arkansas State Police Criminal Record Check; and
       4. (iv) Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal background check;
39. (34) “Immediate safety plan” means a written plan developed by the Division of Children and Family Services in conjunction with the family and support network to protect the juvenile from harm and which allows the juvenile to remain safely in the home;
40. (35) “Inactive” means an investigation determination that may be considered when the child maltreatment assessment cannot be completed because at any time before or during the investigation the Department of Human Services and the Division of Arkansas State Police are unable to locate or identify the alleged offender or alleged victim and a true or unsubstantiated determination cannot be established without interviewing the alleged offender or alleged victim;
41. (36) “Indecent exposure” means exposure by a person of the person’s sexual organs for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the person, or of any other person under circumstances in which the person knows the conduct is likely to cause affront or alarm;

42. (37)

    1. (A) “Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, Arkansas Code § 9-29-201 et seq.,” is a legislative-enacted agreement currently entered into by all fifty (50) states.
    2. (B) It is used to move children in need of placement, treatment, or adoption across state lines;
43. (38) “Juvenile” means a person who is between birth and eighteen (18) years of age;
44. (39) “Law enforcement agency” means any police force or organization whose primary responsibility as established by law or ordinance is the enforcement of laws of this state and is staffed twenty-four (24) hours a day;

45. (40)

    1. (A) “Maintenance subsidy” means an established monthly payment to cover the costs of maintaining and providing for the basic needs of the child in an adoptive placement on a regular basis.
    2. (B) The payment is not to exceed the child’s foster care board rate which is in effect at the time the adoption subsidy is approved.
    3. (C) The amount may increase in subsequent approvals depending on the child’s age;

46. (41)

    1. (A) “Mandated reporter” means individuals identified in the Child Maltreatment Reporting Act who must immediately notify the Child Abuse Hotline or law enforcement if they:

       1. (i) Have reasonable cause to suspect that a child has been subjected to or died from child maltreatment; or
       2. (ii) Observe the child being subjected to conditions or circumstances which would reasonably result in child maltreatment.

    2. (B) These individuals include:

       1. (i) Crimes Against Children Division employee;
       2. (ii) Attorney ad litem in the course of his or her duties as attorney ad litem;
       3. (iii) Child abuse advocate or volunteer;
       4. (iv) Child advocacy center employee;
       5. (v) Childcare center worker;
       6. (vi) Childcare worker;
       7. (vii) Child safety center employee;
       8. (viii) Child welfare ombudsman;

       9. (ix)

          1. (a) (a) Clergy member.
          2. (b) (b) Clergy member includes a minister, a 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 he or she has acquired knowledge of suspected maltreatment through communications required to be kept confidential pursuant to the religious discipline of the relevant denomination or faith, or he or she received knowledge of the suspected maltreatment from the offender in the context of a statement of admission;
       10. (x) Coroner;
       11. (xi) Court-appointed special advocate (CASA) program staff or volunteer;
       12. (xii) Dental hygienist;
       13. (xiii) Dentist;
       14. (xiv) Department of Human Services employee;
       15. (xv) Department of Human Services contractor when acting within the scope of his or her employment;
       16. (xvi) Domestic abuse advocate;
       17. (xvii) Domestic violence shelter employee; (xviii) Domestic violence volunteer;
       18. (xix) Employee of a reproductive healthcare facility;
       19. (xx) Employee working under contract for the Division of Youth Services;
       20. (xxi) Foster care worker;

       21. (xxii) Foster parent; (xxiii) Full-time or part-time employee of a public school or private school, including without limitation:

           1. (a) (a) A school counselor;
           2. (b) (b) A school official;
       22. (c) (c) A teacher;

       23. (d) (d) A coach or director of a public or private athletic organization, team, or club;

           1. (e) (e) A coach or director of a public or private nonathletic organization, team, or club;
           2. (f) (f) A person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age and volunteers in a public school or private school:
47. (1) (1) As a coach or director of a public or private athletics organization, team, or club; or

48. (2) (2) As a coach or director of a public or private nonathletic organization, team, or club; and

    1. (g) (g) A person employed as a school official in an institution of higher education;

       1. (xxiv) Judge;
       2. (xxv) Juvenile intake or probation officer;
       3. (xxvi) Law enforcement official; (xxvii) Licensed massage therapist; (xxviii) Licensed nurse;
       4. (xxix) Medical personnel who may be engaged in admission, examination, care, or treatment of persons;
       5. (xxx) Mental health paraprofessional;
       6. (xxxi) Mental health professional; (xxxii) Osteopath; (xxxiii) Peace officer; (xxxiv) Person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and observes abuse, sexual abuse, or sexual exploitation of a child;
       7. (xxxv) Physician; (xxxvi) Prosecuting attorney; (xxxvii) Rape crisis advocate or volunteer; (xxxviii) Resident intern; (xxxix) Sexual abuse advocate or volunteer;
       8. (xl) Social worker;
       9. (xli) Surgeon;
       10. (xlii) Victim assistance professional or volunteer; (xliii) Victim/witness coordinator;
       11. (xliv) Volunteer at a reproductive healthcare facility; and
       12. (xlv) Individual not otherwise identified in this list who is engaged in performing his or her employment duties with a nonprofit charitable organization other than a nonprofit hospital;
49. (42) “Medical provider” means any emergency department of a hospital licensed under Arkansas Code § 20-9-214;

50. (43) “Neglect” means acts or omissions of a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person who is entrusted with the juvenile’s care by a parent, custodian, guardian, or foster parent, including, but not limited to, an agent or employee of a public or private residential home, childcare facility, public or private school, or any person legally responsible under state law for the juvenile’s welfare, but excluding the spouse of a minor and the parents of a married minor, which constitute:

    1. (A) Failure or refusal to prevent the abuse of the child when the person knows or has reasonable cause to know the child is or has been abused;
    2. (B) Failure or refusal to provide the necessary food, clothing, or shelter, or medical treatment necessary for the child’s well-being, except when the failure or refusal is caused primarily by the financial inability of the person legally responsible and no services for relief have been offered;
    3. (C) Failure to take reasonable action to protect the child from abandonment, abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or neglect where the existence of such condition was known or should have been known and, if for abuse and neglect, the failure to take reasonable action to protect the juvenile causes the juvenile serious bodily injury;
    4. (D) Failure or irremediable inability to provide for the essential and necessary physical, mental, or emotional needs of the child, including the failure to provide a shelter that does not pose a risk to the health or safety of the child;
    5. (E) Failure to provide for the child’s care and maintenance, proper or necessary support, or medical, surgical, or other necessary care;
    6. (F) Failure, although able, to assume responsibility for the care and custody of the child or participate in a plan to assume such responsibility;
    7. (G) Failure to appropriately supervise the child that results in the child being left alone at an inappropriate age creating a dangerous situation or a situation that puts the child at risk of harm, or, in inappropriate circumstances creating a dangerous situation;
    8. (H) Failure, regardless of whether the parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person who is entrusted with the child’s care, etc., is present, to appropriately supervise the child that results in the child being placed in inappropriate circumstances creating a dangerous situation; and
    9. (I) Failure to ensure a child between six (6) and seventeen (17) years of age is enrolled in school or is legally being home schooled or as a result of an act or omission by the child’s parent or guardian, the child is habitually and without justification absent from school;
51. (44) “Newborn” means an infant who is thirty (30) days of age or younger (Garrett’s Law, Arkansas Code § 9-9-702);

52. (45) “Nonaccidental or abusive head trauma” means a form of inflicted head trauma that can be caused by:

    1. (A) Direct blows to the head;
    2. (B) Dropping or throwing a child; or

    3. (C)

       1. (i) Shaking a child.
       2. (ii) Shaken baby syndrome may be a component of nonaccidental or accidental head trauma;

53. (46)

    1. (A) “Nonrecurring adoption expense subsidy” means payment for nonrecurring adoption expenses incurred in the adoption of a child with special needs and is limited to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) per child.
    2. (B) Payment will be made to or on behalf of parents who have adopted or have accepted placement for the purpose of adoption;
54. (47) “Order of less than custody” means a court order that the Division of Children and Family Services may seek when there are protection issues regarding a child whose health or physical well-being is in immediate danger, but the division does not want to seek custody;

55. (48) “Out-of-home placement” means a placement in:

    1. (A) A home or facility other than placement in a youth services center, a detention facility, or the home of a parent or guardian of the juvenile; or
    2. (B) The home of an individual other than a parent or guardian, not including any placement where the court has ordered that the placement be made permanent and ordered that no further reunification services or six-month reviews are required;
56. (49) “Outpatient mental health emergency” is defined by the Community Mental Health Center’s actions and protocol, including, but not limited to, facilitation of admission to a hospital or other appropriate twenty-four-hour treatment facility;
57. (50) “Parent” means a biological mother, an adoptive parent, or a man to whom the biological mother was married at the time of conception or birth or has been found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be the biological father of the juvenile;
58. (51) “Permanent custody” means custody that is transferred to a person as a permanent disposition in a juvenile case and the case is closed;

59. (52)

    1. (A) “Policy waiver” means a request to deviate from the Division of Children and Family Services policy, procedures, or standards.
    2. (B) The Director of the Division of Children and Family Services approves all policy waiver requests;

60. (53)

    1. (A) “Pornography” means obscene or licentious material, including pictures, movies, and videos.
    2. (B) Applying contemporary community standards, the material will be considered pornographic if an average person would find that the material taken as a whole appeals to the prurient interest or if the material depicts in a patently offensive way sexual conduct.
    3. (C) The material must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value to be considered pornographic;
61. (54) “Preponderance of the evidence” means evidence which is of greater weight or more convincing than the evidence which is offered in opposition to it, that is, evidence which as a whole shows that the fact to be proved is more probable than not;

62. (55) “Psychiatric crisis” means:

    1. (A) Any condition requiring greater than routine services but requiring less than hospitalization; and
    2. (B) A condition that is not homicidal or suicidal, or if it is, one that can be handled with a no-harm contract and/or a viable plan for safety;
63. (56) “Putative father” means a man who claims or is alleged to be the biological father of a juvenile but has not been so deemed or adjudicated by a United States court;

64. (57)

    1. (A) “Reasonable efforts” means efforts to:

       1. (i) Maintain the family unit and prevent the unnecessary removal of a child from his or her home, as long as the child’s safety is ensured;
       2. (ii) Effect the safe reunification of the child and family (if temporary out-of-home placement is necessary to ensure the immediate safety of the child); and
       3. (iii) Make and finalize alternate permanency plans in a timely manner when reunification is not appropriate or possible.
    2. (B) If continuation of reasonable efforts as listed above is determined to be inconsistent with the permanency plan for the child, reasonable efforts are made to place the child in a timely manner in accordance with the permanency plan including, if appropriate, through an interstate placement, and to complete whatever steps are necessary to finalize the permanent placement of the child.
    3. (C) They also include efforts made to obtain permanency for a child who has been in an out-of-home placement for more than twelve (12) months or for fifteen (15) of the last twenty-two (22) months;
65. (58) “Receiving party” means the local agency, office, facility, or individual who will be supervising a child placed into a state under the provisions of the ICPC;
66. (59) “Receiving state” means the state to which a child is sent for supervision under the provisions of the ICPC;

67. (60)

    1. (A) “Relative” (for provisional resource homes) means a person within the fifth degree of kinship by virtue of blood, marriage, or adoption (Arkansas Code § 9-28-402(18) and the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act, Arkansas Code § 9-28-401 et seq.).
    2. (B) The fifth degree is calculated according to the child;
68. (61) “Relative” (for notification purposes only) means a person within the third degree of kinship by virtue of blood or adoption;

69. (62)

    1. (A) “Resource home safety plan” means if, at any time during the resource family application or reevaluation process, a Resource Worker determines that any aspect of the home may pose a safety risk to children placed in the home, the prospective or current resource family, as applicable, may be asked to implement a resource home safety plan to ensure the home is safe and in compliance with policy and licensing standards and otherwise adequately planning for the safety of children.
    2. (B) Examples may include swimming pool safety plans, four-wheeler or any other all-terrain vehicle safety plan, and trampoline safety plans.
    3. (C) The resource home safety plan must be implemented, as applicable, before the family can be approved as a resource home and will be documented via CFS-454: Resource Home Safety Plan;
70. (63) “Roomer/boarder” means a person to whom a household furnishes lodging, meals, or both for a reasonable monthly payment, and is not a household member;
71. (64) “Safety plan” means a court-ordered plan developed for a moderate or high-risk adjudicated delinquent sex offender, not to be confused with a plan put in place as part of a child maltreatment investigation to protect the child;

72. (65) “School” means any:

    1. (A) Elementary school, junior high school, or high school;
    2. (B) Technical institute or postsecondary vocational-technical school; or
    3. (C) Two-year or four-year college or university;
73. (66) “Sending party” means a local agency, office, facility, court, or individual who has custody/jurisdiction of a child and has requested or arranged for an out-of-state placement the provisions of ICPC;

74. (67) “Sexual abuse” means any of the following acts committed:

    1. (A) By a person fourteen (14) years of age or older to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
       2. (ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
       3. (iii) Indecent exposure; or
       4. (iv) Forcing the watching of pornography or live sexual activity;

    2. (B) By a person eighteen (18) years of age or older to a person not his or her spouse who is younger than fifteen (15) years of age:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
       2. (ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact; or
       3. (iii) Solicitation of sexual intercourse, deviate sexual contact, or sexual contact;

    3. (C) By a person twenty (20) years of age or older to a person not his or her spouse who is younger than sixteen (16) years of age:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
       2. (ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact; or
       3. (iii) Solicitation of sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;

    4. (D) By a caretaker to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
       2. (ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;
       3. (iii) Forcing or encouraging the watching of pornography;
       4. (iv) Forcing, permitting, or encouraging the watching of live sexual activity;
       5. (v) Forcing listening to a phone sex line;
       6. (vi) Committing an act of voyeurism; or
       7. (vii) Solicitation of sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact;

    5. (E) By a person younger than fourteen (14) years of age to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age:

       1. (i) Sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion; or
       2. (ii) Attempted sexual intercourse, deviate sexual activity, or sexual contact by forcible compulsion;
    6. (F) By a person eighteen (18) years of age or older to a person younger than eighteen (18) years of age, the recruiting, harboring, transporting, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a child for the purpose of a commercial sex act; or

    7. (G) Grooming by a:

       1. (i) Person eighteen (18) years of age or older to a person not his or her spouse who is younger than fourteen (14) years of age; or
       2. (ii) Caretaker to a person younger than fourteen (14) years of age;
75. (68) “Sexual exploitation” means allowing, permitting, or encouraging participation or depiction of the juvenile in prostitution, obscene photographing, filming, or obscenely depicting a juvenile for any use or purpose;
76. (69) “Significant other” means a person with whom the parent shares a household or who has a relationship with the parent that results in the person acting in place of the parent with respect to the parent’s child or children, regardless of living arrangements;

77. (70)

    1. (A) “Special needs child” means a child who is free for adoption and belongs to a group of children for whom the Division of Children and Family Services does not have an adequate resource of approved applicants to provide a pool of available waiting adoptive families.
    2. (B) Other children may be eligible for adoption assistance under this category if they have severe medical or psychological needs that require ongoing rehabilitation or treatment.

    3. (C) These children include:

       1. (i) Caucasian child nine (9) years of age or older;
       2. (ii) Healthy child of color who is two (2) years of age or older; or

       3. (iii) Member of any sibling group being placed together who share at least one (1) biological parent and who have either lived together or otherwise developed a bond prior to adoptive placement, and the child is:

          1. (a) (a) Legally free for adoption with parental rights terminated;
          2. (b) (b) Under eighteen (18) years of age and whose adoption has not been finalized prior to approval of the subsidy;
       4. (c) (c) For the purposes of a state subsidy only, in Department of Human Services custody;

       5. (d) (d) A member of a noncustody/out-of-home placement services case; or

          1. (e) (e) For the purposes of private and independent adoptions only, who is Supplemental Security Income eligible at the time the adoption petition is filed;

78. (71)

    1. (A) “Special subsidy” means a payment to provide for the costs of special services related to the child’s needs which cannot be met by the adoptive parent.
    2. (B) It may include, but not be limited to, legal/medical/psychological/therapy services and corrective appliances, not to include orthodontic corrective appliances;

79. (72)

    1. (A) “State adoption subsidy” means payments for a child who is not categorized as Title IV-E or Supplemental Security Income eligible at the time of placement for adoption by the Division of Children and Family Services.
    2. (B) Such a child, who meets other defined special needs characteristics, may be eligible for subsidized adoption from state moneys if it has been documented that a reasonable effort has been made to place the child without the benefit of an adoption subsidy.
    3. (C) A child must be in Department of Human Services custody to be eligible for a state-funded subsidy;

80. (73)

    1. (A) “State legal subsidy” means Office of Chief Counsel legal services provided for children in Department of Human Services custody and noncustody/out-of-home placement in order to finalize an adoption.
    2. (B) A legal subsidy does not include the use of a private attorney.

    3. (C) The children are eligible for a legal subsidy whether or not they meet the criteria for special needs and without regard to eligibility to:

       1. (i) Title IV-E;
       2. (ii) State maintenance subsidy; or
       3. (iii) Nonrecurring subsidy;
81. (74) “Subject of the report” means the alleged offender, the custodial and noncustodial parent, guardian, and legal custodians of the child who are subject to suspected maltreatment, and the child who is the subject of suspected maltreatment;

82. (75)

    1. (A) “Supervision” involves periodic visitation to the home, school, or other places to monitor or observe a child’s situation or condition.
    2. (B) This service also may include arrangement and observation of visitation;
83. (76) “Temporary custody” means custody that is transferred to a person during the pendency of the juvenile court case when services are being provided to achieve the goal of the case plan;
84. (77) “Temporary placement” means placement intended to be temporary (e.g., emergency shelter) until a stable placement can be located for the child in accordance with Division of Children and Family Services policy;
85. (78) “Trial placement” means the custody of the child remains with the Department of Human Services but the child is returned to the home of a parent or the person from whom custody was removed for a period not to exceed sixty (60) days;
86. (79) “True” means a determination when the allegation of child maltreatment is supported by a preponderance of the evidence;
87. (80) “Underage juvenile offender” means any child younger than fourteen (14) years of age for whom a report of sexual abuse has been determined to be true for sexual abuse to another child;
88. (81) “Unsubstantiated” means a determination when the allegation of child maltreatment is not supported by a preponderance of the evidence; and
89. (82) “Voyeurism” means looking, for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification, into a private location or place in which a child may reasonably be expected to be nude or partially nude.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "02/2025"