Jefferson v. Arkansas Department of Human Services

Ray Thornton, Justice.

On August 9, 2000, the Department of Human Services [DHS] received a report that D.J., the thirteen-year-old biological daughter of appellant, Pamela Jefferson, had been sexually abused by her older brother and her cousin. At the time the report was made, D.J., who lived with her grandmother, was visiting relatives in Michigan, and appellant was living in Georgia.

After Michigan Protective Services interviewed D.J., and after she returned to Arkansas where she was temporarily placed in foster care, DHS filed a petition seeking emergency custody of D.J. The petition was…