Arkansas Administrative Code › Agency 016 - DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES › Division 22 - Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education › Rule 016.22.16-001 - Minimum Licensing Standards for Child Welfare Agencies- Residential and Placement

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 6, June, 2024
INTRODUCTION
"The Child Welfare Licensing Act," Ark. Code Ann.
9-28-401
et. seq., (the Act) is the legal authority under which
				the Child Welfare Agency Review Board establishes minimum licensing standards
				for child welfare agencies, as defined under the statute.
Child Welfare Agency Review Board
The Child Welfare Agency Review Board (Board) shall promulgate
				and publish rules and regulations setting minimum standards governing the
				granting, revocation, refusal, conversion, and suspension of licenses for a
				child welfare agency and the operation of a child welfare agency.
The Board may consult with such other agencies, organizations,
				or individuals as it shall deem proper.
The Board may amend the rules and regulations promulgated
				pursuant to this section from time to time, in accordance with the rule
				promulgation procedures in the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act,
§
									25-15-201
et seq.
The Board shall promulgate rules and regulations that:
1. Promote the health, safety, and welfare of
			 children in the care of a child welfare agency;
2. Promote safe and healthy physical
			 facilities;
3. Ensure adequate
			 supervision of the children by capable, qualified, and healthy
			 individuals;
4. Ensure appropriate
			 educational programs and activities for children in the care of a child welfare
			 agency;
5. Ensure adequate and
			 healthy food service;
6. Include
			 procedures for the receipt, recordation, and disposition of complaints
			 regarding allegations of violations of this subchapter, of the rules
			 promulgated under the Child Welfare Agency Licensing Act, or of child
			 maltreatment laws;
7. Include
			 procedures for the assessment of child and family needs and for the delivery of
			 services designed to enable each child to grow and develop in a permanent
			 family setting;
8. Ensure that
			 criminal record checks and central registry checks are completed on owners,
			 operators, employees, volunteers, foster parents, adoptive parents, and other
			 persons in the homes as set forth in this subchapter;
9. Require the compilation of reports and
			 making those reports available to the division when the board determines it is
			 necessary for compliance determination or data compilation;
10. Establish rules governing retention of
			 licensing records maintained by the division.
A licensed Child Welfare Agency may adopt and apply internal
				operating procedures that meet or exceed the minimum standards required by the
				board.
The Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Ark. Code Ann.
25-15-201
et seq., shall apply to all proceedings brought to the
				Board under this subchapter, except that the following provisions shall control
				during adverse action hearings to the extent that they conflict with the
				Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act:
1. All parties to an adverse action shall be
			 entitled to engage in and use formal discovery as provided for in Rules 26, 28,
			 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, and 36 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure
			 including:
a. Requests for
			 admission;
b. Request for
			 production of documents and things;
c. Written interrogatories;
d. Oral and written depositions.