Title XVII, Economic Security and Public Welfare

The "Code Adam" safety protocol is hereby established and shall be implemented by all administrators in state buildings in the following manner: (1) When a parent, tutor, or guardian notifies any employee of a state building that his or her child is lost or missing, the employee …

-- Training -- Signs -- Drills -- Annual report. The secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, in consultation with the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet through the Department of Kentucky State Police, shall: (1) Be responsible for coordinating implementation of the "…

by children -- Expiration of exemption The secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, in consultation with the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet through the Department of Kentucky State Police, may exempt any agency or state building which, due to the nature of the serv…

other benefits -- Administrative costs. (1) The secretary may promulgate administrative regulations authorized by statute for the proper administration of the functions of the cabinet, including qualification for the receipt of federal funds and for cooperation with other state a…

records. (1) In the discharge of the duties imposed by KRS 199.420 to 199.670 the secretary or his duly authorized representative may administer oaths and affirmations, take depositions, certify official acts, and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of witnesses and producti…

The secretary may authorize the destruction of any original reports and records that have been properly recorded or summarized in the permanent records of the cabinet or are no longer considered necessary to the proper administration of the cabinet. The destruction or disposition…

workers -- Requirement of report if average in excess of specified quantity. (1) As used in this section, "social service worker" means a social worker employed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Community Based Services, to provide direct casework serv…

relative caregiver services, fictive kin placement, or adoptive home, and of applicant's adult household members -- Request for conviction information -- Form and fee for request -- Disapproval of placement on sole basis of disability of prospective caregiver prohibited -- Backgr…

abusive head trauma. (1) A foster parent who receives a child younger than the age of five (5) years for placement shall undergo a one and one-half (1.5) hour continuing education session one (1) time every five (5) years covering the prevention and recognition of pediatric abusi…

parent or legal guardian employing individual to care for minor child. (1) A parent or legal guardian employing an individual to care for his or her minor child may request the results of a background check of the child abuse and neglect records maintained by the cabinet from the…

foster care each fiscal year. Pursuant to the requirements of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, Pub. L. 96-272, the secretary for health and family services shall adopt by regulation specific goals for each fiscal year for the cabinet as to the maximum number…

Approval of secretary -- Exceptions. (1) Any person who is eighteen (18) years of age and who is a resident of this state or who has resided in this state for twelve (12) months next before filing may file a petition for leave to adopt a child in the Circuit Court of the county i…

interfaith backgrounds or sole basis of disability. Petitions for adoption of children placed for adoption by the cabinet or a licensed child- placing institution or agency shall not be denied: (1) On the basis of the religious, ethnic, racial, or interfaith background of the ado…

(1) The cabinet shall establish criteria to be followed for the adoption of children and promulgate this criteria by administrative regulations. (2) The cabinet shall file the regulations as provided for in KRS Chapter 13A with the Legislative Research Commission.

Decision to place to be made within sixty days of receipt of application -- Conditions when application refused -- Temporary custody -- Background check -- Removal -- Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children -- Application fee. (1) All persons other than a child-placing ag…

(1) As used in this section unless the context requires otherwise: (a) "Cabinet" means the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; and (b) "Home study" has the same meaning as in KRS 615.030, Article II, subsection (6). (2) The cabinet shall promulgate by administrative regulatio…

Any person who has been a resident of any United States Army post, military reservation or fort within the State of Kentucky for sixty (60) days, or a resident of this state who has resided on such United States Army post, military reservation or fort together aggregating sixty (…

ad litem. (1) The following persons shall be made parties defendant in an action for leave to adopt a child: (a) The child to be adopted; (b) The biological living parents of a child under eighteen (18), if the child is born in lawful wedlock. If the child is born out of wedlock,…

(1) The petition shall allege: (a) The name, date, place of birth, place of residence, and mailing address of each petitioner, and, if married, the date and place of their marriage; (b) The name, date, place of birth, place of residence, and mailing address, if known, of the chil…

(1) In an adoption proceeding, an attorney shall not represent both the biological parents and the prospective adoptive parents. (2) Any person who violates subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

court approval -- Penalty. (1) No adoptive parent, proposed adoptive parent, agency, or intermediary shall pay the attorney's fees of a biological parent for any purpose related to an adoption action except as approved by the court. (2) Any person who violates subsection (1) of t…

(1) An adoption shall not be granted without the voluntary and informed consent, as defined in KRS 199.011, of the living parent or parents of a child born in lawful wedlock or the mother of the child born out of wedlock, or the father of the child born out of wedlock if paternit…

living parents -- Court decision -- Representation of biological parent. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of KRS 199.500(1), an adoption may be granted without the consent of the biological living parents of a child if it is pleaded and proved as part of the adoption proceeding…

Notification of opportunity to register -- Data storage -- Certified copy of registration form -- Confidentiality -- Information on Web site. (1) The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky hereby finds and declares that the purpose of the putative father registry establ…

Affidavit and registration form provided to requesting party -- Adoption not granted unless affidavit filed with court -- Exceptions. (1) An attorney or child-placing agency that arranges a prospective adoption may at any time request that the cabinet search the putative father r…

(1) Upon filing a petition for the adoption of a minor child, the clerk of the court shall forward two (2) copies of the petition to the cabinet. The cabinet, or any person, agency or institution designated by it or the court shall, to the extent of available facilities, investig…

After the report of the guardian ad litem, if any, for the child and the report required by KRS 199.510 have been filed, the court at any time on motion of its own or that of any interested party may set a time for a hearing on the petition to be conducted in chambers in privacy,…

Health history and other nonidentifying information of biological parents and relatives to be given to adoptive parents. (1) (a) After hearing the case, the court shall enter a judgment of adoption if it finds that: 1. The facts stated in the petition were established; 2. All leg…

(1) In any pending adoption proceeding under this chapter, the court may enter a judgment of adoption after a child's death upon the motion of the petitioner or petitioners if: (a) The child dies during the time the child is placed in the home of the petitioner or petitioners; (b…

condition affecting an adopted person. (1) If the cabinet receives written information from the biological parent or adult biological sibling of an adopted person or a provider of medical services concerning a physician-verified medical or genetic condition which has affected or …

After the expiration of one (1) year from the date of the entry of judgment of adoption, the validity thereof shall not be subject to attack in any action, collateral or direct, by reason of any irregularity or failure to comply with KRS 199.470 to 199.520, either procedurally or…

If for any reason whatsoever a petition for adoption of a minor child be dismissed or the judgment of adoption annulled, the following disposition shall be made of the child: (1) If the child is, or was, prior to the filing of the petition, in the care, custody, and control of th…

(1) A "special-needs child" means: (a) A child which the state has determined cannot or should not be returned to the home of the child's parents; and (b) A child which the state has first determined: 1. That there exists a specific factor or condition the existence of which lead…

(1) For the purpose of this section, unless the context requires otherwise, "Federal Title IV-E adoption assistance" means a monthly payment to assist in the integration of the child into the adoptive family and the payment of nonrecurring adoption expenses which include reasonab…

Any party to any adoption proceeding shall have the same right of appeal to the Court of Appeals of Kentucky as in other equity actions.

Change in records. (1) (a) The files and records of the court during adoption proceedings shall not be open to inspection by persons other than parties to the proceedings, their attorneys, and representatives of the cabinet except under order of the court expressly permitting ins…

(1) (a) At the time the biological parents give up the child for adoption, they shall be asked by the cabinet whether they consent to the inspection of the adoption records by an adult person described in subsection (3) of this section, to personal contact by the child when he or…

In situations where a preadoptive brother or sister relationship existed, and one (1) or more of these siblings was then adopted, the following procedures shall be followed on an inquiry by one (1) or more of the siblings to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services seeking info…

When KRS 199.470 petition required. (1) The Commonwealth of Kentucky shall recognize a decree, judgment, or final order of adoption issued by a court or other governmental authority with appropriate jurisdiction in a foreign country when the child to be adopted has been approved …

prospective adoptive parents to be submitted to court. (1) A person, corporation, or association shall not advertise in any manner that it will receive children for the purpose of adoption. A newspaper published in the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any other publication which is pr…

(1) The General Assembly finds that: (a) Finding adoptive families for children, for whom state assistance is desirable pursuant to KRS 199.555, and assuring the protection of the interests of the children affected during the entire assistance period, require special measures whe…

(1) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is authorized to develop, participate in the development of, negotiate and enter into one (1) or more interstate compacts on behalf of this state with other states to implement one (1) or more of the purposes set forth in KRS 199.595…

A compact entered into pursuant to the authority conferred by KRS 199.595 to 199.5955 shall have the following content: (1) A provision making it available for joinder by all states; (2) A provision or provisions for withdrawal from the compact upon written notice to the parties,…

A compact entered into pursuant to the authority conferred by KRS 199.595 to 199.5955 may contain provisions in addition to those required pursuant to KRS 199.5952, as follows: (1) Provisions establishing procedures and entitlements to medical, developmental, child care or other …

(1) A child with special needs residing in this state, who is the subject of an adoption assistance agreement with another state, shall be entitled to receive medical assistance from this state upon the filing in the Department for Community Based Services, Cabinet for Health and…

Consistent with federal law, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, in connection with the administration of KRS 199.595 to 199.5955 and any compact pursuant hereto shall include in any state plan made pursuant to the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (Pub. L…