Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 20 - PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (§§ 20-2-101 — 20-86-113) › Subtitle 2 - HEALTH AND SAFETY (§§ 20-6-101 — 20-38-113) › Chapter 8 - STATE HEALTH AGENCIES AND PROGRAMS (§§ 20-8-101 — 20-8-1104) › Subchapter 10 - THE LIFE CHOICES LIFELINE PROGRAM (§§ 20-8-1001 — 20-8-1003) › Section 20-8-1002 - Administration

(a)
(1)
The Department of Human Services may contract with one (1) or more organizations to deliver one (1) or more of the services described in §
20-8-1001
but may not contract with an organization that:
(A)
Is an abortion provider;
(B)
Assists women in obtaining an abortion, refers women to an abortion provider, recommends abortion, or promotes abortion;
(C)
Owns or operates an abortion provider or an entity that assists women in obtaining an abortion, refers women to an abortion provider, recommends abortion, or promotes abortion;
(D)
Employs a person who has performed an abortion in the last two (2) years; or
(E)
Has as a director, board member, officer, or employee a person who serves in any of these roles for an entity described in subdivisions (a)(1)(A)-(E) of this section.
(2)
(A)
The procurement of one (1) or more vendors to serve as organizations shall be done through the Arkansas Procurement Law, §
19-11-201
et seq., by the Office of State Procurement.
(B)
If by July 1, 2024, the department has not contracted with one (1) or more organizations to deliver one (1) or more of the services described in §
20-8-1001
, the department shall submit a written report to the Legislative Council documenting the reasons why no contract has been procured and the status of the provision of the services required by §
20-8-1001
.
(b)
An organization contracting with the department shall report to the department on no more frequent than a monthly basis the following information:
(1)
The number of unique individuals who contacted the Life Choices Lifeline Program;
(2)
The number of individuals who obtained care plan coordination services;
(3)
The number of individuals who obtained healthy pregnancy program services;
(4)
The number of pregnant women who indicated a need for assistance as victims of assault, sexual assault, abuse, neglect, or human trafficking;
(5)
The number of individuals receiving services who identified a need for support in one (1) or more of the following areas:
(A)
Abuse, assault, sexual assault, coercion, or neglect;
(B)
Education or training for a professional certification;
(C)
Housing assistance;
(D)
Employment assistance;
(E)
Resume development;
(F)
Childcare;
(G)
Adoption services;
(H)
Financial assistance;
(I)
Substance abuse treatment and alcohol abuse treatment;
(J)
Mental health care;
(K)
Medical care;
(L)
Human trafficking; or
(M)
Health benefit plan coverage; and
(6)
The resources, services, and referrals provided by the organization.
(c)
The department shall not:
(1)
Require any contracted organization, or its employees, to refer a woman for any social or medical service to which the employee or agency has a conscience objection;
(2)
Prohibit a contracted organization or its employees from discussing abortion or related topics;
(3)
Prevent a contracted organization from recording information voluntarily disclosed by the participant for the purposes of supporting the participant or providing the participant ongoing support;
(4)
Require the contract organization to report data on a basis more frequent than monthly; or
(5)
Require the vendor to maintain an answer rate greater than eighty percent (80%) of calls within twenty (20) seconds.
Added by Act 2023, No. 703,§ 3, eff. 8/1/2023.