§ 12-18-801 — Time to complete administrative hearing

(a) (1) (A) The administrative hearing under this chapter shall begin within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of the receipt of the request for a hearing. (B) However, delays in completing the administrative hearing that are attributable to either party shall not count against the limit of one hundred eighty (180) days if the administrative law judge determines that good cause for the delay is shown by the party requesting the delay and the request for delay is made in writing and delivered to the Office of Appeals and Hearings of the Department of Human Services and all other parties. (2) (A) The Department of Human Services shall report any failures to comply with this subsection for each quarter to the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth. (B) The quarterly report to the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs and the Senate Interim Committee on Children and Youth shall include a written explanation of the failure of the Department of Human Services. (b) (1) The limit of one hundred eighty (180) days for an administrative hearing under this chapter shall not apply if upon request of any party a stay is granted as permitted under this section. (2) The administrative law judge may stay the case upon a showing by any party that there is an ongoing criminal or delinquency investigation regarding the occurrence that is the subject of the child maltreatment report. (3) (A) If a criminal or delinquency proceeding is filed regarding the occurrence that is the subject of the child maltreatment report and a request for a stay is accompanied by the written notification of the date the criminal or delinquency proceeding was filed by a party, the administrative hearing shall be stayed for a period of not more than one (1) year from the date the criminal or delinquency proceeding is filed. (B) The stay shall be lifted and the case set for a hearing upon the earlier of: (i) A petition and showing by any party that there is good cause to conduct the administrative hearing before the conclusion of the criminal or delinquency proceeding; (ii) The final disposition of the criminal or delinquency proceeding; or (iii) The expiration of one (1) year from the date the criminal or delinquency proceeding was filed. (C) A stay granted under this section may be extended after the one-year expiration upon a written notice from the requesting party that the criminal or delinquency investigation or proceeding is still ongoing. (D) (i) It is the duty of the petitioner to report the final disposition of the criminal or delinquency proceeding to the office for a stay granted under this subdivision (b)(3). (ii) The case shall be dismissed and the petitioner's name placed on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry if the petitioner fails to provide a file-marked copy of the final disposition of the criminal or delinquency proceeding within thirty (30) days of the entry of the final disposition. (4) The administrative law judge shall stay the case upon a request by the Department of Human Services or the Department of Arkansas State Police when there is an ongoing criminal or delinquency investigation or pending criminal charges regarding the occurrence that is the subject of the child maltreatment report.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2015, No. 1026,§ 13, eff. 7/22/2015. Amended by Act 2013, No. 1006,§ 22, eff. 8/16/2013. Acts 2009, No. 749, § 1; 2011, No. 1143, § 19.