1. (a) Removal criteria.

   1. (1) Pursuant to Arkansas Code § 12-18-908, the name of an offender who was a juvenile at the time of the offense shall not be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry if:

      1. (A) The offender is convicted of a felony as an adult for an act or omission that is the same act or omission for which the offender is named in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry regardless of any subsequent expungement of the felony from the offender’s criminal record;
      2. (B) The offender’s conviction for the felony described in subdivision (a)(1)(A) in this section, above, has not been reversed or vacated; and
      3. (C) The offender’s name is placed in the Child Maltreatment Central Registry for severe maltreatment.

   2. (2) However, the name of an offender who was a juvenile at the time of the offense shall be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, as provided by Arkansas Code § 12-18-908, when:

      1. (A) The juvenile has reached the age of eighteen (18) or more than one (1) year has passed from the date of the act or omission that caused the true finding of child maltreatment and there have been no subsequent acts or omissions resulting in a true finding of child maltreatment; and
      2. (B) The juvenile offender can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he or she has been rehabilitated.

2. (b) Application format for a juvenile offender.

   1. (1) An application for name removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry shall conform to the following.

   2. (2) The juvenile offender will submit his or her request to the Director of the Division of Children and Family Services via the CFS-328-B: Request for Name Removal from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry by Juvenile Offender and shall also submit:

      1. (A) Child Maltreatment Central Registry results free from a true finding of the same maltreatment type for the preceding year;
      2. (B) Child Maltreatment Registry results from the offender’s current state of residence and/or any state in which the offender has resided in the preceding year free from a true finding of the same maltreatment type for the preceding year;
      3. (C) Arkansas Crime Information Center background check results free from child maltreatment-related offense for the preceding one (1) year;
      4. (D) State background check results from the offender’s current state of residence and any state in which the offender has resided in the preceding year free from child maltreatment-related offense for the preceding one (1) year; and
      5. (E) Evidence of the offender’s rehabilitation, which may include, but is not limited to:

3. (i) A personal letter from the offender describing his or her rehabilitation;

   1. (ii) Documents proving participation in treatment, remediation, or rehabilitation programs; and

      1. (iii) One (1) to three (3) letters of reference from professionals (not to include Division of Children and Family Services employees), employers, spiritual counselors, friends, or family describing the offender’s rehabilitation.

         1. (c) Determination of name removal request by a juvenile offender.

   2. (1)

      1. (A) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry review team will consider requests for removal of names from the Child Maltreatment Registry.

      2. (B) In determining whether or not to remove a juvenile offender’s name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the review team shall consider the following:

         1. (i) Whether the criminal history reveals any convictions as an adult for the same act for which the offender is named in the registry;
         2. (ii) Whether the juvenile offender has reached eighteen (18) years of age, or one (1) year has passed from the date of the act or omission that caused the true finding of child maltreatment;
         3. (iii) There have been no subsequent acts or omissions resulting in a true finding of child maltreatment; and
         4. (iv) The information submitted proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the juvenile offender has been rehabilitated.

   3. (2)

      1. (A) If the review team denies the request-for-removal of the name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the review team shall send a denial letter to the juvenile offender explaining the reason for denial.
      2. (B) The juvenile offender shall wait one (1) year from the date of the request for removal before filing a new petition with the division requesting the offender’s name be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.
      3. (C) If the review team denies the request-for-removal of the name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the juvenile offender may request an administrative hearing within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the division’s decision.

   4. (3)

      1. (A) However, if the review team needs additional information from the juvenile offender in order to make the determination as to whether to remove his or her name from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, the review team may request that the juvenile offender provide the additional information without requiring the juvenile offender to wait an additional year to file a new petition.
      2. (B) The review team shall inform the juvenile offender in writing of the specific additional information requested.
      3. (C) The juvenile offender shall have ten (10) calendar days from the date of the request to submit the requested additional information.
      4. (D) If the request is sent via email, the juvenile offender shall be given an additional three (3) calendar days to submit the information.
      5. (E) If the requested information is not submitted within the specified timeframe, then the juvenile offender shall wait one (1) year from the date of the request to file a new petition requesting his or her name be removed from the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "05/2022"