Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 325 3
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By: Senator A. Clark 5
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS JUVENILE CODE OF 1989; 9
TO AMEND THE CHILD MALTREATMENT ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW 10
REGARDING REINSTATEMENT OF PARENTAL RIGHTS; TO AMEND 11
THE LAW REGARDING THE CHILD MALTREATMENT CENTRAL 12
REGISTRY; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 13
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Subtitle 16
TO AMEND THE ARKANSAS JUVENILE CODE OF 17
1989; TO AMEND THE CHILD MALTREATMENT 18
ACT; TO AMEND THE LAW REGARDING 19
REINSTATEMENT OF PARENTAL RIGHTS; AND TO 20
AMEND THE LAW REGARDING THE CHILD 21
MALTREATMENT CENTRAL REGISTRY. 22
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 24
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 9 -27-369(a) and (b), concerning the filing 26
of a motion to resume services for a parent whose parental rights were 27
previously terminated, are amended to read as follows: 28
(a) The Department of Human Services , or an attorney ad litem , or a 29
parent whose parental rights were previously terminated may file a motion to 30
resume services for a parent whose parental rights were previously terminated 31
under this subchapter if: 32
(1) The child: 33
(A) Is currently in the custody of the department; 34
(B) Is not in an adoptive placement, a pre -adoptive 35
placement, or under another permanent placement and there is some evidence 36 SB325
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that the juvenile is not likely to achieve permanency within a reasonable 1
period of time as viewed from the child's perspective; or 2
(C) Was previously adopted, appointed a permanent 3
guardian, or placed in the permanent custody of another individual and the 4
adoption, guardianship, or custodial placement was disrupted or otherwise 5
dissolved; and 6
(2)(A) The order terminating the parental rights of the parent 7
who is the subject of a motion filed under this section was entered at least 8
three (3) two (2) years before the date on which the motion to resume 9
services was filed. 10
(B) The three-year two-year waiting period may be waived 11
if it the waiver is in the best interest of the child. 12
(b)(1) A motion filed under this section shall identify and name as a 13
party the parent for whom services would resume. 14
(2) A parent shall not be named as a party to a motion filed 15
under this section. 16
(3) The petitioner shall serve the parent who is the subject of 17
a motion filed under this section with the motion. 18
(4) A parent who is the subject of a motion filed under this 19
section shall have the right to be heard at a hearing on the motion. 20
21
SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 9 -27-369(d)(2), regarding permissive orders 22
by a court when a motion for resumption of services for a parent whose 23
parental rights were terminated is granted, is amended to read as follows: 24
(2) If the court grants a motion filed under this section, the 25
court: 26
(A)(i) May order family services for the purposes of 27
assisting reunification between the child and a fit parent who is the subject 28
of the motion. 29
(ii) The court may order the parent to pay for some 30
or all of the costs associated with court -ordered family services; 31
(B)(i) May order studies, evaluations, home studies, or 32
post-disposition reports. 33
(ii) A written home study on the parent who is the 34
subject of the motion shall be submitted to the court before the court may 35
order unsupervised visitation or placement of the juvenile with the parent 36 SB325
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The court may order unsupervised visitation or placement of the juvenile with 1
the parent without a written home study on the parent . 2
(iii) If a study, evaluation, or home study is 3
performed before a hearing on a motion filed under subsection (a) of this 4
section, the results of the study, evaluation, or home study shall be served 5
on the parent, attorney ad litem, court -appointed special advocate, and any 6
other party to the motion at least two (2) business days before the hearing; 7
and 8
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code § 9 -27-370 is amended to read as follows: 10
9-27-370. Reinstatement of parental rights. 11
(a) The Department of Human Services , or an attorney ad litem , or a 12
parent whose parental rights were previously terminated may file a petition 13
to reinstate the parental rights of a parent whose parental rights have been 14
terminated under this subchapter if the: 15
(1) Court has granted a motion to resume services under § 9 -27-16
369; 17
(2) Services have continued for at least one hundred eighty 18
(180) ninety (90) days following the date on which the court entered the 19
order granting a motion to resume services under § 9 -27-369; and 20
(3) Parent for whom reinstatement of parental rights is sought 21
has substantially complied with the orders of the court and with the case 22
plan developed under § 9 -27-369. 23
(b) A petition to reinstate parental rights shall be filed in the 24
circuit court that had jurisdiction over the petition to terminate the 25
parental rights of the parent who is the subject of the petition to reinstate 26
parental rights. 27
(c) A petition filed under this section shall be served on the: 28
(1) Attorney ad litem; 29
(2) Department; 30
(3) Parent who is the subject of the petition; 31
(4) Court Appointed Special Advocate Program Director, if 32
applicable; and 33
(5) Child's tribe, if applicable. 34
(d) At least seven (7) business days before a hearing on a petition 35
filed under this section, the department shall provide the parent, parent's 36 SB325
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counsel, attorney ad litem, court -appointed special advocate, and any other 1
party to the petition with a written report that includes information on: 2
(1) The efforts made by the department to achieve adoption or 3
another permanent placement for the child, including without limitation any 4
barriers to the adoption or permanent placement of the child; 5
(2) The extent to which the parent who is the subject of the 6
petition has complied with the case plan and orders of the court as of the 7
date on which services were ordered to be resumed under § 9 -27-369; 8
(3) The impact of the resumed services on the parent and on the 9
health, safety, and well -being of the child; and 10
(4) Any recommendations of the department. 11
(e)(1) The court may grant custody of the child to the parent whose 12
parental rights were terminated if the court finds an award of custody to be 13
in the best interest of the child, regardless of whether a home study was 14
conducted on the parent whose parental rights were terminated or whether the 15
court: 16
(A) Finds that the parent shall continue services; or 17
(B) Has not yet reinstated the parental rights of the 18
parent whose parental rights were terminated. 19
(2) If a court grants custody under subdivision (e)(1) of this 20
section, a home evaluation shall be conducted on the parent whose parental 21
rights were previously terminated in lieu of a traditional home study. 22
(e)(f) Parental rights may be reinstated under this section if the 23
court finds by clear and convincing evidence that: 24
(1)(A) Reinstatement of parental rights is in the best 25
interest of the child; and 26
(2)(B) There has been a material change in circumstances 27
as to the parent who is the subject of the petition since the date on which 28
the order terminating the parental rights of the parent was entered ; or 29
(2) The child of the parent whose parental rights were 30
terminated: 31
(A) Was in foster care at the time he or she reached 32
eighteen (18) years of age; 33
(B) Is between the age of eighteen (18) years of age and 34
twenty-one (21) years of age; and 35
(C) Is currently in foster care and is under the court's 36 SB325
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jurisdiction under § 9 -27-306. 1
(f)(g) The court shall consider the following factors when determining 2
whether a reinstatement of parental rights is in the best interest of the 3
child: 4
(1) The likelihood of the child achieving permanency through 5
adoption or another permanent placement; 6
(2) The age, maturity, and preference of the child concerning 7
the reinstatement of parental rights; 8
(3) The parent's fitness and whether the parent has remedied the 9
conditions that existed at the time of the termination of his or her parental 10
rights; and 11
(4) The effect that the reinstatement of parental rights would 12
have on the health, safety, and well -being of the child. 13
(g)(h) A court may deny a petition filed under this section if the 14
court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the parent engaged in 15
conduct that interfered with the child's ability to achieve permanency. 16
(h)(i) An order reinstating the parental rights of the parent who is 17
the subject of a petition filed under this section restores all rights, 18
powers, privileges, immunities, duties, and obligations of the parent as to 19
the child, including without limitation custody, control, and support of the 20
child. 21
(i)(j) If the child is placed with a parent whose parental rights are 22
reinstated under this section, the court shall not close the case until the 23
child has resided with the parent for no less than six (6) months. 24
(j)(k) A written order shall be filed by the court, a party, or the 25
attorney of a party as designated by the court within thirty (30) days of the 26
date of the hearing on the motion to reinstate parental rights or before the 27
next hearing, whichever is sooner. 28
(k)(l) An order reinstating parental rights under this section does 29
not: 30
(1) Vacate or affect the validity of a previous order 31
terminating the parental rights of the parent who is the subject of the 32
petition; and 33
(2) Restore or impact the rights of a parent who is not the 34
subject of a petition filed under this section. 35
(l)(m) This section is retroactive and applies to a child who is under 36 SB325
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the jurisdiction of a court at the time of a hearing on a petition to 1
terminate parental rights, regardless of the date on which parental rights 2
were terminated by court order. 3
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SECTION 4. Arkansas Code § 12 -18-902 is amended to read as follows: 5
12-18-902. Contents. 6
(a) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry shall contain records of 7
cases on all true investigative determinations of child maltreatment abuse, 8
sexual abuse, and sexual exploitation . 9
(b) The Child Maltreatment Central Registry shall not contain records 10
of cases on investigative determinations of neglect or abandonment. 11
12
SECTION 5. Arkansas Code § 12 -18-903(b), concerning criteria for 13
placement of an offender's name on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry, 14
is amended to read as follows: 15
(b)(1) In addition to the requirements of subsection (a) of this 16
section, the name of an offender shall be placed on the Child Maltreatment 17
Central Registry only if the Department of Human Services determines under § 18
12-18-702 that the offender may pose a risk of maltreatment to a vulnerable 19
population that includes without limitation children, the elderly, persons 20
with a disability, and persons with a mental health illness. 21
(2)(A) If more than five (5) years have passed between the 22
investigative determination of true and when the offender receives notice of 23
the true determination, the offender may request that the Director of the 24
Division of Children and Family Services review the investigation and 25
determination if the individual still poses a risk to a vulnerable population 26
or if the division will decline to move forward defending the investigative 27
determination. 28
(B) If the investigative determination of true is upheld 29
by the administrative law judge after going through the process outlined in 30
subdivision (b)(2)(A), the offender's name shall be placed on the registry. 31
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