1. (a) The child’s Adoption Specialist will:

   1. (1) Forward the following to the Adoption Supervisor when submitting the recommendation to finalize the adoption:

      1. (A) “CFS-432: Checklist for Recommendation for Finalization”;
      2. (B) Initial home study of the adoptive family and all updates;
      3. (C) “CFS-418: Adoption Summary” of the child and all updates;
      4. (D) “CFS-471: Signed Disclosure for Adoption”;
      5. (E) Report of adoption (accessible at http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/images/uploads/pdf/resource);;
      6. (F) Court order terminating parental rights;
      7. (G) Certified birth certificate of child;
      8. (H) Federal Bureau of Investigation, state criminal record checks, and child maltreatment checks as applicable;
      9. (I) “CFS-428: Adoption Assistance” (if applicable); and
      10. (J) Adoption information sheet;
   2. (2) In the Division of Children and Family Services’ information management system, complete the adoption characteristics and medical section of the child’s characteristics screen;
   3. (3) Inform the family of postadoption services utilizing “Pub 31: Post Adoptive Services”;

   4. (4)

      1. (A) Document in the division’s information management system narrative the plan of action to resolve barriers to finalizing the adoption (if the Adoption Supervisor does not agree with the recommendation).
      2. (B) Inform the family of the recommendation;
   5. (5) Monitor and document the implementation of the plan of action and progress toward achieving the plan;
   6. (6) Assist Office of Chief Counsel attorney in completing the report of adoption;
   7. (7) Provide detailed instructions for obtaining a new birth certificate to the adoptive family upon adoption finalization;

   8. (8) Forward within five (5) working days of Supervisor approval a packet of information to the Office of Chief Counsel attorney or private agency attorney which includes:

      1. (A) Signed CFS-471: Adoption Disclosure;
      2. (B) Certified birth certificate of child;
      3. (C) Termination of parental rights court order;
      4. (D) Home study of the adoptive family;
      5. (E) Child’s CFS-418: Adoption Summary and updates;
      6. (F) CFS-428: Adoption Assistance, if applicable;
      7. (G) Federal Bureau of Investigations, state criminal and child maltreatment record checks as applicable;
      8. (H) Adoption information sheet; and
      9. (I) Report of adoption;
   9. (9) Obtain a certified copy of the final decree of adoption and supplemental adoption order and place them in the child’s case file;

   10. (10) In the division’s information management system:

       1. (A) Child protective service case:

2. (i) Ensure preadoptive parent has been added as a collateral in the collateral information screen;

   1. (ii) Enter a contact in the contacts screen, addressing the court hearing and documenting, as appropriate, case closure staffing, adoption contact, and legal services;

      1. (iii) Complete affidavit screen, including the postadoptive services tab;

         1. (iv) Complete a discharge CANS and update service status for all children to be adopted;
         2. (v) Exit child out of current preadoptive placement by selecting adoption as exit reason and entering the finalized adoption date as exit date;
         3. (vi) Ensure completion of the termination of parental rights screen, for each of the child’s parents, in the division’s information management system;
         4. (vii) Complete the court hearing screen for the hearing that finalized the adoption;
         5. (viii) Complete necessary steps under “Adoption Case” below;
         6. (ix) Close child protective service case in case summary screen if all children are adopted and no other child protective services are being offered to birth family or siblings; and
         7. (x) End-date all children to be adopted in the client screen, if protective services case is to remain open; and

      2. (B) Adoption case:

         1. (i) Open new adoption case with adoptive parents and adoptive child as clients or locate previous adoption case and reopen, as appropriate;
         2. (ii) Complete client general information screens on all clients, including relationship screens (retrieve the adoptive child’s characteristics, eligibility, and affidavit of disclosure screens from old child protective service case);
         3. (iii) Complete adoption screens;
         4. (iv) Complete adoption subsidy screens, as applicable, and click approval button to submit subsidy for supervisor approval;
         5. (v)
3. (a) (a) Associate the adoptive case with the child’s protective service case by entering other and then make association.

4. (b) (b) Enter the case number for the protective service case to create an association; and

   1. (vi) Document contacts with adoptive family in contacts screen;

   2. (11) Scan and email the following to Eligibility Unit Analyst and Subsidy Coordinator:

      1. (A) CFS-494: Notification of Adoption for Medicaid;
      2. (B) Decree of adoption; and
      3. (C) Approved adoption subsidy; and
   3. (12) By interoffice mail, deliver to the Subsidy Coordinator the decree of adoption, petition for adoption, and original signed adoption subsidy.

5. (b) The Adoption Supervisor will:

   1. (1) Assess the legal packet, information, and recommendation which has been forwarded by the Adoption Specialist, within five (5) working days;
   2. (2) Prepare and sign a consent for adoption if it is agreed that procedures to finalize the adoption should be initiated;
   3. (3) Notify the Adoption Specialist in writing to explain if there is disagreement to initiating the procedures to finalize the adoption;
   4. (4) Formulate with the Adoption Specialist a plan of action to resolve the barriers to finalizing the adoption; and
   5. (5) Assign the finalized adoption case as primary to the Adoption Manager.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "01/2021"