HB1560

House Bill 1560 amends Arkansas's Child Maltreatment Act to modify reporting requirements, penalties, and investigation procedures. The bill mandates that reports of child maltreatment can no longer be anonymous and requires reporters to provide specific contact information. It establishes a ten-year statute of limitations for the prosecution of mandated reporters who fail to report maltreatment, calculated from the time the child victim reaches age eighteen. The legislation creates exemptions for certain mandated reporters who are themselves victims of abuse by the same perpetrator. It also clarifies that the Child Abuse Hotline must refer reports concerning victims aged eighteen or older to law enforcement if the victim is still in high school or in an extended foster care program. Additionally, the bill adjusts penalties for the unlawful disclosure of child maltreatment data and updates procedures for the closure of child maltreatment investigations.