Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
I.
AUTHORITY:
The authority to promulgate this rule is vested in Act 187 of
2021, Regular Session [A.C.A. §
9-28-217(a)] .
II.
PURPOSE:
To establish criteria for the Department of Corrections (DOC)
to access confidential records for the purpose of creating risk assessments,
treatment plans, classification plans, or supervision plans for each juvenile
who has been sentenced pursuant to Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction (EJJ) and
comes under the supervision or enters the custody of the Department of
Corrections as an adult from the Division of Youth Services.
III.
APPLICABILITY:
Employees of the Divisions of Correction and Community
Correction.
IV.
DEFINITIONS:
A.
Custody:
immediate charge and physical control of an individual committed by an order of
a circuit or juvenile court of the State of Arkansas to the Department of
Corrections.
B.
Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction (EJJ) Offender: a
juvenile designated to be subject to juvenile disposition and an adult sentence
imposed by the court pursuant to A.C.A. §
9-27-303.
C.
Juvenile Records:
reports, correspondence, memoranda, case histories, or other material that
personally identifies a juvenile, including protected health information,
compiled, or received by a juvenile detention facility, a community-based
provider for the Division of Youth Services, or the Division of Youth Services
(DYS). Records include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. psychological evaluations,
2. psychiatric evaluations,
3. education records,
4. medication records,
5. program treatment notes,
6. disciplinary records,
7. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) related
records, and
8. conviction records
for sexual or violent crimes committed as a juvenile.
V.
POLICY:
A. It shall be the policy of the Board of
Corrections to safeguard any Juvenile Records from disclosure to unauthorized
individuals while developing appropriate risk assessment, treatment,
classification, and supervision plans for an offender.
B. Upon notification by DYS that a juvenile
offender who has been sentenced pursuant to EJJ will be transferred into the
custody of or come under the supervision of the DOC as an adult, the Department
is authorized to utilize Juvenile Records to establish appropriate risk level,
or treatment, custody and supervision plans for the offender.
VI.
PROCEDURES:
A. DYS shall notify the DOC in writing of the
impending transfer of any EJJ Offender being transferred into the custody of or
under the supervision of the Department as an adult.
B. The DOC Chief Counsel shall serve as the
Secretary of Corrections' designated contact for notification by DYS.
C. Upon receipt of written notification of
impending transfer, the DOC Chief Counsel will coordinate with DYS to
facilitate a transfer of Juvenile Records pertaining to the offender.
D. The DOC Chief Counsel shall notify the
Secretary of Corrections and appropriate Division Director of the impending
transfer of an EJJ Offender.
E. The
DOC Chief Counsel or designee shall serve as the custodian of any Juvenile
Records received pursuant to this Rule and is responsible for ensuring that
Juvenile Records are accessed only by those who require access in order to
develop appropriate risk assessment, treatment, classification, or supervision
plans for offenders.
VII.
IMPLEMENTATION:
A. The Secretary of Corrections may issue
directives to implement the guidance contained within this Rule. Directives
issued pursuant to this rule must be reviewed by the Board of Corrections prior
to issuance.
B. Implementation of
this rule may be delayed by the Secretary of Corrections until any necessary
directives are issued and any required programming changes to the electronic
Offender Management Information System (eOMIS) have been completed.
