Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 825 of the Regular Session
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1964 3
4
By: Representative Brooks 5
By: Senator A. Clark 6
7
For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO MOVE THE CHILD WELFARE OMBUDSMAN DIVISION 9
FROM THE ARKANSAS CHILD ABUSE/RAPE/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 10
COMMISSION AND THE JUVENILE OMBUDSMAN DIVISION OF THE 11
ARKANSAS PUBLIC DEFENDER COMMISSION FROM THE ARKANSAS 12
PUBLIC DEFENDER COMMISSION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 13
INSPECTOR GENERAL AND RENAME AS THE DIVISION OF 14
OMBUDSMEN; TO CREATE THE OFFICE OF THE CHILD WELFARE 15
OMBUDSMAN AND THE OFFICE OF THE JUVENILE OMBUDSMAN; 16
TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 17
18
19
Subtitle 20
TO MOVE THE CHILD WELFARE OMBUDSMAN 21
DIVISION AND THE JUVENILE OMBUDSMAN 22
DIVISION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTOR 23
GENERAL; AND TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY. 24
25
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 26
27
SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 16 -87-216 is repealed. 28
16-87-216. Juvenile Ombudsman Division — Definitions. 29
(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall 30
apply: 31
(1) “Best interests of the juvenile” includes those actions and 32
courses of action which: 33
(A) Keep the juvenile safe from physical, mental, or 34
sexual abuse while in state custody; 35
(B) Are considerate of the court's recommendations and 36 HB1964
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adhere to the juvenile's treatment plan; and 1
(C) Work toward rehabilitating the juvenile; 2
(2) “Division” means the Division of Youth Services of the 3
Department of Human Services; 4
(3) “Executive director” means the Executive Director of the 5
Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 6
(4) “Juvenile” means any juvenile who has been committed to the 7
custody of the Division of Youth Services pursuant to a disposition order of 8
the juvenile division of circuit court. 9
(b)(1) It is the intent of the General Assembly to create a Juvenile 10
Ombudsman Division of the Arkansas Public Defender Commission to provide for 11
independent oversight of the Division of Youth Services' facilities and 12
programs that are unlicensed or unaccredited. 13
(2) There shall be created within the Arkansas Public Defender 14
Commission a juvenile ombudsman and assistant juvenile ombudsmen that shall 15
be appointed by the executive director. 16
(3) The minimum qualifications for an ombudsman shall be as 17
follows: 18
(A) A master's degree in: 19
(i) Social work; 20
(ii) Psychology; 21
(iii) Law; or 22
(iv) A related field; 23
(B) A bachelor's degree in: 24
(i) Social work; 25
(ii) Psychology; or 26
(iii) A related field; or 27
(C) Four (4) years' direct experience in programs serving 28
juvenile offenders and their families. 29
(4) No waiver of the minimum qualifications in subdivision 30
(b)(3) of this section shall be permitted. 31
(c) The powers and duties of the ombudsman shall be as follows: 32
(1) The ombudsman shall be given online access to all tracking 33
systems maintained by the Division of Youth Services, including but not 34
limited to the: 35
(A) Incident report tracking system and the disposition of 36 HB1964
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incidents reported therein; 1
(B) Parent helpline tracking system; and 2
(C) Juvenile tracking system; 3
(2) The ombudsman may attend scheduled meetings or reviews of 4
juvenile intake, program progress, or aftercare planning; 5
(3) The ombudsman shall be given access to any meeting or 6
document that would be accessible to the general public through the Freedom 7
of Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-101 et seq.; 8
(4) The ombudsman shall be given reasonable prior notice of all 9
major activities of the Audit and Compliance Section of the Division of Youth 10
Services and shall be permitted to accompany the monitor or monitoring team 11
of the Division of Youth Services on any monitoring visit or audit; 12
(5) The ombudsman shall be subject to the same compliance with 13
all procedures, policies, and laws regarding the confidentiality of juveniles 14
committed to the Division of Youth Services as required by Division of Youth 15
Services employees; 16
(6) The ombudsman may initiate and maintain contact with any 17
juvenile during the juvenile's custodial placement or while on aftercare 18
status; 19
(7) The ombudsman shall be given access to the juveniles and to 20
the juveniles' records and meetings of program progress and case planning at 21
all the privately contracted facilities of the Division of Youth Services; 22
(8)(A) To identify instances where necessary services are not 23
being provided with respect to the safety, health, education, and 24
rehabilitation of the juvenile as identified in a treatment plan. 25
(B) When a problem is identified, the ombudsman shall 26
notify the Director of the Division of Youth Services or his or her designee, 27
the juvenile court having jurisdiction, the juvenile's parents or guardian, 28
and the juvenile's attorney or attorneys of the problem; 29
(9) To document a juvenile's questions, complaints, and concerns 30
related to the juvenile's health, safety, education, and treatment and seek 31
answers to those questions and address the complaints and concerns in an 32
expedient manner; 33
(10) To request and review, as needed, all records on the 34
history and treatment of the juvenile while in the custody of the Division of 35
Youth Services or in aftercare, including related agency and court records; 36 HB1964
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(11) To make unannounced visits to the unlicensed or 1
unaccredited facilities of the Division of Youth Services, whether state -run 2
or privately operated, to assure the safety and well -being of the juveniles; 3
(12) Upon receipt of a complaint involving alleged child 4
maltreatment, the ombudsman shall immediately report the alleged incident to 5
the Child Abuse Hotline, the facility director, and the Director of the 6
Division of Youth Services or his or her designee, who shall be responsible 7
for ensuring the juvenile's safety; 8
(13)(A) To prepare annual reports on the overall 9
functioning of the Division of Youth Services' ability to provide for the 10
safety, health, education, and rehabilitation of juveniles committed to the 11
Division of Youth Services. 12
(B) The report shall be submitted to: 13
(i) The Secretary of the Department of Human 14
Services and the Director of the Division of Youth Services; 15
(ii) The House Committee on Aging, Children and 16
Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs; 17
(iii) The Senate Interim Committee on Children and 18
Youth; 19
(iv) The judges of the juvenile divisions of circuit 20
court; and 21
(v) The Governor; 22
(14) To prepare annual reports comparing the court's 23
recommendations, the treatment plans of the Division of Youth Services, and 24
the actual services provided; and 25
(15) The audit and compliance process of the Division of Youth 26
Services to verify that each juvenile has unhampered access to a grievance 27
process that addresses the juvenile's questions, complaints, and concerns in 28
a timely manner in accordance with policy and procedure of the Division of 29
Youth Services or applicable statute. 30
(d) The ombudsman shall have no authority to command or otherwise 31
instruct any Division of Youth Services employee or contracted agent of the 32
Division of Youth Services regarding any aspect of programming or operations, 33
nor may the ombudsman alter or countermand any instruction to, or 34
participation by, juveniles that is consistent with the policy and procedure 35
of the Division of Youth Services or otherwise part of the treatment plan, 36 HB1964
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program, or operations associated with the agency. 1
2
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 20 -82-211 is repealed. 3
20-82-211. Child Welfare Ombudsman Division — Creation — Powers and 4
duties. 5
(a)(1) There is created within the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic 6
Violence Commission the Child Welfare Ombudsman Division. 7
(2) The Executive Director of the Arkansas Child 8
Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission shall: 9
(A) Hire a Child Welfare Ombudsman; and 10
(B) Supervise the Child Welfare Ombudsman. 11
(3) The Child Welfare Ombudsman shall not be supervised by the 12
members of the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission. 13
(4) The minimum qualifications for the Child Welfare Ombudsman 14
shall include: 15
(A) A master's degree in: 16
(i) Social work; 17
(ii) Psychology; or 18
(iii) A related field; or 19
(B) Comparable experience in one (1) or more programs that 20
serve juveniles and families who are involved in dependency -neglect 21
proceedings. 22
(5) The Child Welfare Ombudsman shall have the following powers 23
and duties: 24
(A) The duty to work independently of the: 25
(i) Department of Human Services; 26
(ii) Administrative Office of the Courts; 27
(iii) Commission for Parent Counsel; 28
(iv) Attorney Ad Litem Program; 29
(v) Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 30
(vi) Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates 31
program; 32
(B) The duty to communicate with a: 33
(i) Juvenile after the approval of, and subject to 34
the conditions set by, the: 35
(a) Dependency-neglect attorney ad litem 36 HB1964
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appointed to the juvenile; or 1
(b) Attorney for the juvenile if the juvenile 2
has an attorney other than a dependency -neglect attorney ad litem; and 3
(ii) Parent of a juvenile after the approval of, and 4
subject to the conditions set by, the attorney for the parent if the parent 5
has an attorney; 6
(C) The authority to access a record as allowed by law; 7
(D) The duty to review and recommend necessary changes to 8
procedures under the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9 -27-301 et seq., the 9
Child Maltreatment Act, § 12 -18-101 et seq., and other laws relevant to the 10
operation of the child welfare system that are applicable to the: 11
(i) Department of Human Services; 12
(ii) Division of Arkansas State Police; 13
(iii) Administrative Office of the Courts; 14
(iv) Attorney Ad Litem Program; 15
(v) Commission for Parent Counsel; 16
(vi) Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 17
(vii) Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates 18
program; 19
(E) The duty to review an issue or concern related to a 20
court case or investigation of a juvenile if it appears that the juvenile, 21
parent of the juvenile, foster parent of the juvenile, relative of the 22
juvenile, or fictive kin of the juvenile may need assistance from the child 23
welfare ombudsman; 24
(F) The duty to provide training and technical assistance 25
if a request is received from: 26
(i) A member of the child welfare system; 27
(ii) The General Assembly; or 28
(iii) The office of the Governor; 29
(G) The duty to make the public aware of the Child Welfare 30
Ombudsman Division and the contact information for the Child Welfare 31
Ombudsman Division; and 32
(H)(i) The duty to prepare an annual report concerning 33
the work of the Child Welfare Ombudsman Division, the operation of the child 34
welfare system, and any recommendations related to the operation of the child 35
welfare system. 36 HB1964
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(ii) The Child Welfare Ombudsman Division shall 1
submit the annual report to the: 2
(a) Governor; 3
(b) Secretary of the Department of Human 4
Services; 5
(c) Director of the Division of Arkansas State 6
Police; 7
(d) Director of the Division of Children and 8
Family Services; 9
(e) Director of the Administrative Office of 10
the Courts; 11
(f) Commission for Parent Counsel; 12
(g) House Committee on Aging, Children and 13
Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs; and 14
(h) Senate Interim Committee on Children and 15
Youth. 16
(iii) The annual report shall not contain 17
information that would identify a juvenile or the family of a juvenile. 18
(b) As used in this section, “juvenile” means a juvenile as defined in 19
§ 9-27-303 who is: 20
(1) A respondent in a dependency -neglect proceeding held under 21
the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9 -27-301 et seq.; or 22
(2) The subject of a child maltreatment investigation under the 23
Child Maltreatment Act, § 12 -18-101 et seq. 24
(c) A record maintained by the Child Welfare Ombudsman Division that 25
pertains to a court case or investigation of a juvenile who is the subject of 26
work performed by the Child Welfare Ombudsman Division is confidential and 27
shall not be disclosed except as permitted under § 9 -28-407. 28
29
SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 25, Chapter 43, Subchapter 10, is 30
amended to add additional sections to read as follows: 31
25-43-1006. Division of Ombudsmen — Office of the Child Welfare 32
Ombudsman — Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman — Creation. 33
(a) There is created within the Department of Inspector General the 34
Division of Ombudsmen. 35
(b) There is created within the division the: 36 HB1964
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(1) Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman; and 1
(2) Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman. 2
(c)(1) There is created within the Office of the Child Welfare 3
Ombudsman the position of the Child Welfare Ombudsman. 4
(2) There is created within the Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman 5
the position of the Juvenile Ombudsman. 6
(d)(1) The Child Welfare Ombudsman and Juvenile Ombudsman shall report 7
to the Secretary of the Department of Inspector General. 8
(2) The Secretary of the Department of Inspector General shall 9
supervise the Child Welfare Ombudsman and the Juvenile Ombudsman. 10
11
25-43-1007. Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman — Powers and duties. 12
(a) The Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman shall: 13
(1) Work independently of the: 14
(A) Department of Human Services; 15
(B) Division of Arkansas State Police; 16
(C) Administrative Office of the Courts; 17
(D) Attorney Ad Litem Program; 18
(E) Commission for Parent Counsel; 19
(F) Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 20
(G) Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates program; 21
(2) Review and recommend necessary changes to procedures under 22
the Arkansas Juvenile Code of 1989, § 9 -27-301 et seq., the Child 23
Maltreatment Act, § 12 -18-101 et seq., and other laws relevant to the 24
operation of the child welfare system that are applicable to the: 25
(A) Department of Human Services; 26
(B) Division of Arkansas State Police; 27
(C) Administrative Office of the Courts; 28
(D) Attorney Ad Litem Program; 29
(E) Commission for Parent Counsel; 30
(F) Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 31
(G) Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates program; 32
(3) Review an issue or concern related to a court case or 33
investigation related to a juvenile if it appears that the juvenile, parent 34
of the juvenile, foster parent of the juvenile, relative of the juvenile, or 35
fictive kin of the juvenile may need assistance from the Child Welfare 36 HB1964
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Ombudsman; 1
(4) Inform the public of the Office of the Child Welfare 2
Ombudsman and the contact information for the Office of the Child Welfare 3
Ombudsman; and 4
(5)(A) Prepare one (1) annual report per year concerning the 5
work of the Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman, the operation of the child 6
welfare system, and any recommendations related to the operation of the child 7
welfare system. 8
(B) The Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman shall submit 9
the annual report under subdivision (a)(5)(A) of this section to the: 10
(i) Governor; 11
(ii) House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, 12
Legislative and Military Affairs; 13
(iii) Senate Interim Committee on Children and 14
Youth; 15
(iv) Secretary of the Department of Human Services; 16
(v) Director of the Division of Children and Family 17
Services; 18
(vi) Director of the Division of Arkansas State 19
Police; 20
(vii) Director of the Administrative Office of the 21
Courts; 22
(viii) Attorney Ad Litem Program; 23
(ix) Commission for Parent Counsel; 24
(x) Arkansas Public Defender Commission; and 25
(xi) Arkansas Court Appointed Special Advocates 26
program. 27
(C) The annual report under subdivision (a)(5)(A) of this 28
section shall not contain information that would identify a juvenile or the 29
family of a juvenile. 30
(b) The Office of the Child Welfare Ombudsman may: 31
(1) Communicate with a: 32
(A) Juvenile after the approval of, and subject to the 33
conditions set by, the: 34
(i) Dependency-neglect attorney ad litem appointed 35
to represent the juvenile; or 36 HB1964
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(ii) Attorney for the juvenile if the juvenile has 1
an attorney other than a dependency -neglect attorney ad litem; and 2
(B) Parent of a juvenile after the approval of, and 3
subject to the conditions set by, the parent's attorney if the parent has an 4
attorney; and 5
(2) Access juvenile cases within the court system database of 6
the Administrative Office of the Courts to directly view all court -related 7
documents related to matters under review by the Child Welfare Ombudsman. 8
9
25-43-1008. Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman — Powers and duties. 10
(a) The Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman shall: 11
(1) Be subject to the same compliance with all procedures, 12
policies, and laws regarding the confidentiality of juveniles committed to 13
the Division of Youth Services as required by Division of Youth Services 14
employees; 15
(2)(A) Identify instances where necessary services are not being 16
provided with respect to the safety, health, education, and rehabilitation of 17
the juvenile as identified in a treatment plan. 18
(B) When a necessary service that is not provided is 19
identified under subdivision (a)(2)(A) of this section, the Juvenile 20
Ombudsman shall notify the Director of the Division of Youth Services or his 21
or her designee, the juvenile court having jurisdiction, the juvenile's 22
parents or guardian, and the juvenile's attorney or attorneys of the problem; 23
(3) Upon receipt of a complaint involving alleged child 24
maltreatment, immediately report the alleged incident to the Child Abuse 25
Hotline, the facility director, and the Director of the Division of Youth 26
Services or his or her designee, who shall be responsible for ensuring the 27
juvenile's safety; 28
(4)(A) Prepare one (1) annual report on the overall functioning 29
of the Division of Youth Services' ability to provide for the safety, health, 30
education, and rehabilitation of juveniles committed to the Division of Youth 31
Services and comparing the court's recommendations, the treatment plans of 32
the Division of Youth Services, and the actual services provided. 33
(B) The report shall be submitted to: 34
(i) The Governor; 35
(ii) The House Committee on Aging, Children and 36 HB1964
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Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs; 1
(iii) The Senate Interim Committee on Children and 2
Youth; 3
(iv) The Secretary of the Department of Human 4
Services; 5
(v) The Director of the Division of Youth Services; 6
and 7
(vi) The judges of the juvenile divisions of circuit 8
court. 9
(5) The annual report under subdivision (a)(4)(A) of this 10
section shall not contain information that would identify a juvenile or the 11
family of a juvenile; and 12
(6) Ensure that the juvenile has unhampered access to a 13
grievance process that addresses the juvenile's questions, complaints, and 14
concerns in a timely manner in accordance with policy and procedure of the 15
Division of Youth Services or an applicable statute. 16
(b) The Office of the Juvenile Ombudsman may: 17
(1) Access: 18
(A) All tracking systems maintained by the Division of 19
Youth Services, including without limitation the: 20
(i) Incident report tracking system and the 21
disposition of incidents reported in the incident report tracking system; 22
(ii) Parent helpline tracking system; and 23
(iii) Juvenile tracking system; 24
(B) Any meeting or document that would be accessible to 25
the general public through the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, § 25-19-26
101 et seq.; 27
(C) The juvenile's records and meetings of program 28
progress and case planning at all the privately contracted facilities of the 29
Division of Youth Services; and 30
(D) All records on the history and treatment of the 31
juvenile while in the custody of the Division of Youth Services or in 32
aftercare, including related agency and court records; 33
(2) Attend scheduled meetings or reviews of juvenile intake, 34
program progress, or aftercare planning; 35
(3) Accompany the monitor or monitoring team of the Division of 36 HB1964
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Youth Services on any monitoring visit or audit of the Audit and Compliance 1
Section of the Division of Youth Services; 2
(4) Make unannounced visits to the unlicensed or unaccredited 3
facilities of the Division of Youth Services, whether state -run or privately 4
operated, to assure the safety and well -being of the juvenile; 5
(5) Initiate and maintain contact with a juvenile during the 6
juvenile's custodial placement or while on aftercare status; 7
(6) Access a juvenile for meetings of program progress and case 8
planning at all the privately contracted facilities of the Division of Youth 9
Services; and 10
(7) Document a juvenile's questions, complaints, and concerns 11
related to the juvenile's health, safety, education, and treatment and seek 12
answers to those questions and address any complaints and concerns in an 13
expedient manner. 14
(c) The Juvenile Ombudsman shall not have authority to: 15
(1) Command or otherwise instruct any Division of Youth Services 16
employee or contracted agent of the Division of Youth Services regarding any 17
aspect of programming or operations; or 18
(2) Alter or countermand any instruction to, or participation 19
by, juveniles that is consistent with the policy and procedure of the 20
Division of Youth Services or otherwise part of the treatment plan, program, 21
or operations associated with the agency. 22
23
SECTION 4. DO NOT CODIFY. Temporary language. 24
(a)(1) The Child Welfare Ombudsman Division previously located within 25
the Arkansas Child Abuse/Rape/Domestic Violence Commission and its authority, 26
duties, functions, records, contracts, personnel, property, and unexpected 27
balances of appropriations, funding, allocations, and other funds, including 28
without limitation the functions of budgeting or purchasing, are transferred 29
to the Department of Inspector General. 30
(2) The Child Welfare Ombudsman Division's statutory powers, 31
duties, and functions, including without limitation the functions of 32
budgeting or purchasing, records, contracts, personnel, property, and 33
unexpended balances of appropriations, funding, allocations, and other funds 34
are transferred to the Department of Inspector General. 35
(b)(1) The Juvenile Ombudsman Division previously located within the 36 HB1964
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Arkansas Public Defender Commission and its authority, duties, functions, 1
records, contracts, personnel, property, and unexpected balances of 2
appropriations, funding, allocations, and other funds, including without 3
limitation the functions of budgeting or purchasing, are transferred to the 4
Department of Inspector General. 5
(2) The Juvenile Ombudsman Division's statutory powers, duties, 6
and functions, including without limitation the functions of budgeting or 7
purchasing, records, contracts, personnel, property, and unexpended balances 8
of appropriations, funding, allocations, and other funds are transferred to 9
the Department of Inspector General. 10
11
SECTION 5. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. It is found and determined by the 12
General Assembly of the State of Arkansas that the Child Welfare Ombudsman 13
and Juvenile Ombudsman preserve the public peace, health, and safety by 14
protecting the rights of juveniles and the integrity of the child welfare and 15
juvenile justice systems of Arkansas; that this act provides for the transfer 16
of the Child Welfare Ombudsman Division and the Juvenile Ombudsman Division 17
to the Department of Inspector General; and that this act should become 18
effective on July 1, 2025, to coincide with the appropriation bills of the 19
Department of Inspector General and to ensure that the Child Welfare 20
Ombudsman and the Juvenile Ombudsman continue to provide their respective 21
vital services as the transfer is implemented and to not experience any 22
issues with funding under the transfer. Therefore, an emergency is declared 23
to exist, and this act being necessary for the preservation of the public 24
peace, health, and safety shall become effective on July 1, 2025. 25
26
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APPROVED: 4/17/25 28
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