§ 9-27-306 - Jurisdiction.
9-27-306. Jurisdiction.
(a) (1) The circuit court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of and shall be the sole court for the following proceedings governed by this subchapter, including but not limited to:
(A) (i) Proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to be delinquent as defined in this subchapter, including juveniles ten (10) to eighteen (18) years of age.
(ii) The court may retain jurisdiction of a juvenile delinquent up to twenty-one (21) years of age if the juvenile committed the delinquent act prior to eighteen (18) years of age;
(B) Proceedings in which a juvenile is alleged to be dependent or dependent-neglected from birth to eighteen (18) years of age, except for the following:
(i) (a) A juvenile who has been adjudicated dependent or dependent-neglected prior to eighteen (18) years of age may request the court to continue jurisdiction until twenty-one (21) years of age so long as the juvenile is engaged in a course of instruction or treatment, or is working at least eighty (80) hours a month toward gaining self-sufficiency.
(b) The court shall retain jurisdiction only if the juvenile remains or has a viable plan to remain in instruction or treatment, or is working at least eighty (80) hours a month toward gaining self-sufficiency.
(c) The court shall dismiss jurisdiction upon request of the juvenile or when the juvenile completes or is dismissed from instruction or treatment; or
(ii) A juvenile may contact his or her attorney ad litem to petition the court to return to the court's jurisdiction to receive independent living or transitional services if the juvenile:
(a) Was adjudicated dependent or dependent-neglected;
(b) Was in foster care at eighteen (18) years of age;
(c) Left foster care but desires to submit to the jurisdiction of the court prior to twenty-one (21) years of age to benefit from independent living or transitional services; or
(d) Left foster care and decides to submit to the jurisdiction of the court and return to foster care to receive transitional services, if funding is available.
(C) Proceedings in which emergency custody or a seventy-two-hour hold has been taken on a juvenile under 9-27-313 or the Child Maltreatment Act, 12-18-101 et seq.;
(D) Proceedings in which a family is alleged to be in need of services as defined by this subchapter, which shall include juveniles from birth to eighteen (18) years of age, except for the following:
(i) A juvenile whose family has been adjudicated as a family in need of services and who is in foster care before eighteen (18) years of age may request that the court continue jurisdiction until twenty-one (21) years of age if the juvenile is engaged in a course of instruction or treatment, or is working at least eighty (80) hours a month towards self-sufficiency to receive independent living or transitional services;
(ii) The court shall retain jurisdiction only if the juvenile remains or has a viable plan to remain in instruction or treatment to receive independent living services; or
(iii) The court shall dismiss jurisdiction upon request of the juvenile or when the juvenile completes or is dismissed from the instruction or treatment to receive independent living services;
(E) Proceedings for termination of parental rights for a juvenile under this subchapter;
(F) Proceedings in which custody of a juvenile is transferred to the Department of Human Services;
(G) Proceedings for which a juvenile is alleged to be an extended juvenile jurisdiction offender pursuant to 9-27-501 et seq.;
(H) Proceedings for which a juvenile is transferred to the juvenile division from the criminal division pursuant to 9-27-318; and
(I) Custodial placement proceedings filed by the department.
(2) A juvenile shall not under any circumstance remain under the court's jurisdiction past twenty-one (21) years of age.
(3) (A) When the department exercises custody of a juvenile under the Child Maltreatment Act, 12-18-101 et seq., and a dependency-neglect petition is filed by the department concerning that juvenile, prior to or subsequent to the other legal proceeding any party to that petition may file a motion to transfer any other legal proceeding concerning the juvenile to the court hearing the dependency-neglect petition.
(B) Upon the motion's being filed, the other legal proceeding shall be transferred to the court hearing the dependency-neglect case.
(4) The court shall retain jurisdiction to issue orders of adoption, interlocutory or final, if a juvenile is placed outside the State of Arkansas.
(b) The assignment of cases to the juvenile division of circuit court shall be as described by the Supreme Court in Administrative Order Number 14, originally issued April 6, 2001.
(c) (1) The circuit court shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the district court over juvenile curfew violations.
(2) For juvenile curfew violations, the prosecutor may file a family in need of services petition in circuit court or a citation in district court.
(d) The circuit court shall have jurisdiction to hear proceedings commenced in any court of this state or court of comparable jurisdiction of another state that are transferred to it pursuant to the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, 9-19-101 et seq.