Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 15 - Children and Family Services › Rule 016.15.20-004 - Adoption Policies and Procedures Updates

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
POLICY VIII-E: DECISIONS INVOLVING CHILDREN IN DHS
				CUSTODY WHOSE PARENTS' RIGHTS HAVE BEEN TERMINATED
01/2021
The Department of Human Services (DHS or Department), Division
				of Children and Family Services (DCFS or Division), has designated the Area
				Director or designee as having the authority to give consent for major
				decisions for children under the age of eighteen (18) whose parental rights
				have been terminated. The Area Director or designee will make decisions
				regarding such consents with input from local DCFS staff who work directly with
				the child, as well as other members of the child's team such as the child's
				attorney ad litem, Court Appointed Special Advocate, and therapist, as
				applicable. Major decisions that require the Area Director's or designee's
				written consent include:
A.
			 Marriage;
B. Entry into the Armed
			 Forces;
C. Out-of-state or
			 out-of-country travel; and
D. Media
			 release that identifies the child as being in foster care (also requires
			 consultation with DHS Office of Communications, DHS Privacy Officer, and the
			 child's attorney ad litem).
For youth ages eighteen (18) to twenty-one (21), who elect to
				participate in Extended Foster Care Program, the Area Director's or designee's
				consent is not required for the decisions listed above. However, Division staff
				will hold a staffing with the youth and the youth's team to discuss the
				benefits and drawbacks associated with such decisions and to provide guidance
				to the youth as needed.
POLICY VIII-F: INFANTS RELINQUISHED FOR ADOPTION UNDER
				THE SAFE HAVEN ACT
01/2021
Any medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire
				department will take possession of a child who is thirty (30) days old or
				younger, without a court order, if the parents of the child, without expressing
				an intent to return for the child, leaves the child:
A. With or voluntarily delivers the child to
			 a medical provider, law enforcement agency, fire department; or
B. In a newborn safety device as described in
			 Arkansas Code §
								9-34-202.
A medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department
				that takes possession of a child under the Safe Haven Act will perform any act
				necessary to protect the physical health and safety of the child.
A medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department
				will keep the identity of a parent who relinquishes a child under Safe Haven
				provisions confidential and not release or otherwise make the identity of the
				parent available except to a:
A. Law
			 enforcement agency investigating abuse or neglect of the child that was
			 committed before the child was relinquished; or
B. Prosecuting attorney pursuing charges
			 against a parent for abuse or neglect of the child that was committed before
			 the child was relinquished.
Upon delivery of the child (to a medical provider, law
				enforcement agency, or fire department), an appropriate employee (of the
				medical provider, law enforcement agency, or fire department) will take the
				child into protective custody for seventy-two (72) hours under the Child
				Maltreatment Act.
The person taking the child into protective custody will
				immediately notify DCFS. DCFS will contact the Office of Chief Counsel (OCC) to
				request a petition be filed with the court for an order of emergency
				custody.
PROCEDURE VIII-F1: Voluntary Delivery of an Infant under
				the Provisions of the Safe Haven Act
01/2021
The Family Service Worker will:
A. Notify OCC immediately upon taking
			 possession of such a child in order to initiate a dependency
			 petition;
B. Utilize the Arkansas
			 Attorney General's Missing Children Services Program and any other national and
			 state resources to determine whether the child is a missing child;
C. Notify Adoption Supervisor immediately
			 upon taking possession of the child in order to obtain immediate assistance in
			 identifying appropriate pre-adoptive placement for the infant; and
D. Assign the case as secondary to the
			 Adoption Specialist Supervisor's inbox so that the Adoption Specialist
			 Supervisor may assign it to an Adoption Specialist within twenty-four (24)
			 hours.
The Adoption Specialist Supervisor will:
A. Assign an Adoption Specialist to the case
			 within twenty-four (24) hours; and
B. Ensure that an appropriate adoptive home
			 is sought to meet the needs of the infant.
The Adoption Specialist will:
A. Assist with locating appropriate placement
			 for the relinquished infant.
POLICY VIII-G: SELECTION, PREPARATION, AND FINALIZATION
				OF ADOPTIVE PLACEMENTS
01/2021
JURISDICTION AND RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
The Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS or the
				Division) will participate in the adoption of a minor who is in DHS custody or
				for whom the Court has retained jurisdiction only if either the person seeking
				to adopt the child, or the child, is currently a resident of Arkansas.
The family planning to adopt may live in Arkansas or reside
				out-of-state and have an approved adoption home study from a licensed adoption
				agency in their state. The family's home study must be on file in the Adoption
				Services Unit.
Residency to determine jurisdiction over an adoption may be
				established in accordance with one of the three following sets of
				criteria:
A. A child under the age of
			 six months is a resident of Arkansas if:
1)
			 The biological mother resided in Arkansas for more than 4 months prior to the
			 child's birth;
2) The child was
			 born in Arkansas or in any city which adjoins the state line or is separated
			 only by a navigable river from an Arkansas city which adjoins the state line;
			 and
3) The child remains in this
			 state until the interlocutory decree has been entered. Or in the case of a
			 nonresident adoptive family, upon receipt of Interstate Compact on the
			 Placement of Children (ICPC) approval, the child and the prospective adoptive
			 parents may go back to their state of residence and subsequently may return to
			 Arkansas for a hearing on the petition for adoption.