1. (a) A priority placement is when a court, upon request or on its own motion, or where court approval is required, determines that a proposed priority placement of a child from one (1) state into another state is necessary because placement is with a relative, and:

   1. (1) The child is under four (4) years of age, including other siblings sought to be placed with the same proposed placement;
   2. (2) The child is in an emergency placement;
   3. (3) The court finds that the child has a substantial relationship with the proposed placement resource; and
   4. (4) An unexpected dependency due to a sudden or recent incarceration, incapacitation, or death of a parent or guardian has occurred.

2. (b)

   1. (1) The receiving state agency has thirty (30) days to complete a request for a priority placement.
   2. (2) Requests for placement shall not be expedited or given priority except as outlined below.

   3. (3) A request for a priority placement will be implemented as follows:

      1. (A) The court shall send its order to the Division of Children and Family Services within two (2) business days;
      2. (B) The order shall include:

3. (i) The child’s name, address, and phone number;

   1. (ii) The fax number of the judge and the court, if available;

      1. (iii) The sending party will send the following to the state’s ICPC Central Office via overnight mail, or fax, within three (3) business days;

         1. (iv) The signed court order (the court order must specify how the case qualifies as Regulation No. 7);
         2. (v) A completed ICPC-100A: ICPC Request; and
         3. (vi) Supporting documentation according to policy;
      2. (C) Within two (2) business days after the receipt of the ICPC priority placement request, the sending state’s ICPC office will overnight mail the priority request and its supporting documentation to the receiving state’s ICPC office with a notice that the request for placement is entitled to priority processing;

      3. (D)

         1. (i) The receiving state ICPC office shall send all the documents to the receiving state’s local office within two (2) days.
         2. (ii) The receiving state’s local office has twenty (20) working days to send a determination back to the receiving state’s ICPC office;

      4. (E)

         1. (i) The receiving ICPC office has two (2) days to overnight mail the determination to the sending state’s ICPC office.
         2. (ii) The sending state ICPC office has two (2) days, through overnight mail, to send the determination to the local office; and

      5. (F) The foregoing shall not apply if:

         1. (i) Within two (2) business days of receipt of the ICPC priority placement request, the sending state compact administrator:
4. (a) (a) Determines that the ICPC request documentation is substantially insufficient;

5. (b) (b) Specifies that additional information is needed; and

   1. (c) (c) Request the additional documentation from the FSW by fax or telephone if fax is not available; or

      1. (ii)
6. (a) (a) Within two (2) business days of receipt of the ICPC priority placement request, the receiving state Compact Administrator notifies the sending state Compact Administrator that further information is necessary.

7. (b) (b) Such notice shall specifically detail the information needed.

   1. (c) For such a case in which either of the two (2) preceding points apply, the twenty-business-day period for the receiving state Compact Administrator to complete action shall be calculated from the date of the receipt by the receiving state Compact Administrator of the additional information requested.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "08/2013"