Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi: Focused Source Audit

Current rule and agency instructions

• Arkansas uses a "true" child maltreatment investigative determination. A true finding that would place the alleged offender on the Child Maltreatment Central Registry is appealable through the DHS Office of Appeals and Hearings. Rule 9 CAR §40-1003 identifies true determinations as appealable adverse decisions and requires a written hearing request within 30 calendar days after receiving the notice.
• DHS's public File an Appeal page instructs the person to request an administrative hearing within 30 calendar days of getting the notice; its general appeal summary also says 30 days from the date on the letter. The rule's express trigger is receipt. Because the public guidance uses both formulations, preserve the notice and envelope and do not assume the later date will control.
• Written requests go to the DHS Office of Appeals and Hearings, P.O. Box 1437, Slot S101, Little Rock, AR 72203-1437, or the email address identified on the current DHS appeal page. Include the CFS-232 T1 notice if available, or identifying information specified by DHS.
• Rule 9 CAR §40-1004 requires DHS to assemble the investigative file and make it available to the petitioner and representatives. The parties generally exchange additional evidence at least 10 days before the hearing. Hearings are by telephone unless a party requests an in-person hearing; video may be ordered by the ALJ.
• Final administrative action generally must be completed within 180 calendar days after the Appeals and Hearings Section receives the appeal, subject to statutory exceptions and written good-cause delays attributable to a party. Failure to finish within that period does not strip the agency or reviewing court of jurisdiction.
• Rule 9 CAR §40-1408 addresses Central Registry notice and due process. It describes due process as satisfied by an ALJ decision or by 30 days passing without a hearing request, among other specified situations. Registry placement and the underlying investigative determination should not be treated as the same event.

Important version / trigger note

The current Code of Arkansas Rules pages identify Rule 40-1004 history as Arkansas Rule 2026-74, effective July 1, 2026. The official DHS public page and the rule both state 30 days but phrase the trigger differently in some portions. The safer public-facing notice should quote the actual case notice and rule, not collapse "date of letter" and "receipt" into one universal trigger.

9 CAR §40-1003 — Appeals and hearings of unfavorable decisions · 9 CAR §40-1004 — True determination hearing procedure · 9 CAR §40-1408 — Registry notice and due process · Arkansas DHS — File an Appeal

Administrative appeal directly through DAL

• Louisiana DCFS describes investigative dispositions including justified (now referred to as substantiated), unsubstantiated, inconclusive, unable to locate, client non-cooperative and false report. An alternative-response family assessment is not an investigative finding.
• Children's Code art. 616.1.1 authorizes a formal written administrative appeal by an individual who is or was the subject of a substantiated report. The written notice must explain the determination, consequences, appeal right, specific procedure and deadline.
• Current LAC 67:V.1111 and DCFS/DAL public guidance state that the individual has 20 days from the date of the written notification to request an appeal directly from the Division of Administrative Law (DAL). The request is not filed first with the local DCFS worker.
• A person whose finding meets the rule's specified occupational criteria may request an expedited appeal within 10 days from the date of written notification; if not timely requested, the ordinary 20-day appeal period remains available. The actual rule and notice define the qualifying occupational group.
• DAL assigns an impartial administrative law judge. DCFS bears the burden to prove the substantiated finding by a preponderance of the evidence. The DCFS Protective Services Review Team may review the case after the DAL request, but that internal review is not a prerequisite that replaces filing with DAL.
• If the DAL decision upholds a qualifying Tier 1, 2 or 3 finding, registry consequences may follow after appeal rights are exhausted. If DAL changes the finding to unsubstantiated, DCFS records are to be changed accordingly. A party may seek judicial review within 30 calendar days after the mailing date on the DAL final-decision notice, or after the rehearing decision if rehearing is requested.

Historic findings

For findings before August 1, 2018, the regulation provides for notice of appeal rights when DCFS later verifies the old finding through a clearance request or other specified contact. The 20-day clock then runs from the new written notice, not from the date of the old investigation. Do not assume an old finding has no appeal path without checking the rule and DCFS clearance process.

Louisiana Children's Code art. 616.1.1 · Louisiana Administrative Code, Title 67, §V-1111 (2025 compilation) · Louisiana DCFS — Administrative Appeals · Louisiana Division of Administrative Law — Child Welfare Appeals

What is confirmed

• Mississippi distinguishes a DFCS/MDCPS investigative finding, a Youth Court adjudication and placement on the State Central Registry. These are not interchangeable outcomes.
• SB 2805 (2026), approved by the Governor and effective July 1, 2026, amended Miss. Code §43-21-257. It defines a "substantiated perpetrator" for the registry as a person who committed sexual or physical abuse that would otherwise be a felony, or child neglect that would be a threat to life. The amended registry provision says a name is added only based on a criminal conviction or adjudication by a youth court judge or court of competent jurisdiction ordering registry placement. The court judgment is to be transmitted to MDCPS.
• SB 2805 also amended §97-5-39 and authorizes a court, in a qualifying conviction involving a parent or guardian who meets the statutory definition, to order Central Registry placement in the judgment. This is a court-based registry route, not a statement that every agency substantiation is itself a registry order.
• The official Mississippi administrative-code search still surfaces older DFCS policy text describing administrative hearings for people listed on the Central Registry or with a substantiated report. The accessible policy materials are dated 2015/2016 and do not establish a verified current 2026 deadline or demonstrate how the appeal policy was revised to implement SB 2805.

Do not publish an unverified deadline

This pass could not verify a current MDCPS rule or policy stating the deadline, trigger, form and filing destination for an administrative appeal of a 2026 CPS substantiation. A 30-day period appearing in an older or unrelated Mississippi policy should not be imported into a current CPS notice. The new statutory registry criteria also require implementation review: the act changes who can be placed on the registry, but does not itself supply a complete administrative appeal timetable for every agency finding.

Next verification targets: request the current MDCPS child-protection appeal policy and all post-July 1, 2026 amendments; confirm whether an administrative challenge remains available for findings that do not qualify for registry placement; determine how pre-July 1, 2026 findings and existing registry entries are treated; and obtain the current notice template and any appeal form.

Mississippi SB 2805 — enrolled/sent-to-Governor text · Mississippi Administrative Code — legacy DFCS policy text (dated) · MDCPS Administrative Appeals policy collection (2023; does not resolve CPS substantiation appeal)