KRS 199.473: Placement of children by private person -- Home study required --

Decision to place to be made within sixty days of receipt of application --

Conditions when application refused -- Temporary custody -- Background

check -- Removal -- Interstate Co mpact on the Placement of Children --

Application fee.

(1) All persons other than a child -placing agency or institution, the department, or

persons excepted by KRS 199.470(4) who wish to place or receive a child shall

make written application to the secretary for permission to place or receive a child.

(2) Prior to the approval of an application to place or receive a child, the fee required

pursuant to subsection (13) of this section shall be paid and a home study shall be

completed. The purpose of the home study shall be to review the background of the

applicant and determine the suitability of the applicant to receive a child, taking into

account at all times the best interest of the child for whom application to receive has

been made.

(3) (a) The home study shall be made in accordance with administrative regulations

promulgated by the cabinet in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A.

(b) The cabinet shall conduct the home study for an applicant whose total gross

income is equal to or less than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal

poverty level guidelines issued each year by the federal government, unless

the applicant submits a written request for the home study to be conducted by

a licensed child-placing agency or institution. Upon request, the cabinet shall

make information available to an applicant who does not meet the

requirements of this paragraph to assist the applicant in obtaining a home

study from a licensed child -placing agency approved to provide adoption

services.

(c) A licensed child -placing agency approved to provide adoption services shall

conduct the home study for an applicant whose gross total income is more

than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty level guidelines

issued each year by the federal government.

(d) Calculation of family size for this subsection shall include each child

requested to be adopted.

(e) The portion of the home study pertaining to the home and family background

shall be valid for one (1) year following the date of its completion by an

adoption worker.

(4) The adoption worker making the home study shall make a finding in writing

recommending either that the application be granted or that the application be

denied. The recommendation of the adoption worker shall then be reviewed by the

secretary.

(5) Based on the report and recommendation of the adoption worke r making the home

study, the secretary shall grant or refuse permission for the applicant to place or

receive a child as early as practicable, but, in any case, the decision shall be made

within sixty (60) days after the receipt of the application. In reac hing a decision, the

secretary shall be guided by the ability of the persons wishing to receive the child to

give the child a suitable home, and shall at all times consider the best interest of the

child from a financial, medical, psychological, and psychiatric standpoint.

(6) (a) If the application is refused, the secretary shall in general terms furnish in

writing the reasons for his or her refusal.

(b) If the application is refused based upon any disability of the applicant, the

secretary shall confirm t hat an individual assessment was conducted, and that

targeted adaptive or supportive services and modifications were reviewed and

considered prior to the refusal.

(c) The cabinet shall maintain all information and supporting documentation

related to the assessment, considered targeted adaptive or supportive services,

and available modifications for a period of two (2) years or as otherwise

ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(7) (a) Any person who seeks temporary custody of a child prior to the se cretary's

ruling on an application for adoption shall file a petition seeking temporary

custody, with a notice of intent to adopt, with the Circuit Court that will have

jurisdiction of the adoption proceedings.

(b) The clerk of the court shall send a notic e of the filing of the petition to the

cabinet. A hearing on the petition shall occur no later than seventy -two (72)

hours after the filing of the petition, excluding weekends and holidays.

Proceedings under this subsection shall be incorporated into the c ourt's

adoption file.

(c) If the adoption is not finalized within six (6) months of the filing of the

petition and notice of intent, the court shall conduct a hearing on the status

and custody of the child.

(8) (a) Upon a finding by the Circuit Court that the child should be placed prior to

the secretary's ruling on the application, the Circuit Court may grant the

applicant temporary custody of the child pending the decision of the secretary.

(b) Temporary custody shall not be granted to an applicant unless a background

check, including but not limited to a criminal records check by the Justice and

Public Safety Cabinet or the Administrative Office of the Courts and a

background check of child abuse and neglect records maintained by the

cabinet, has been sub mitted to and reviewed by the court. The background

check required for temporary custody shall be part of the home study required

under subsection (2) of this section.

(c) If the application is denied by the secretary, the temporary custody order shall

be set aside and, upon motion of the cabinet or of the child's parent or parents,

the Circuit Court may order the child returned to the biological parent or

parents or the child's custody may be awarded to the cabinet, another licensed

child-placing agency, or other individuals deemed appropriate by the court.

(d) This section shall not be deemed to permit the completion of any adoption

proceeding without the approval of the secretary and compliance with KRS

615.030, if required.

(9) (a) In any case where the cabinet refuses to approve the placement of a child for

adoption when requested by the parent or parents of the child, or refuses the

request of any person or persons that a child be placed with that person or

those persons for adoption, the decision of the secretary in so refusing shall be

final unless within ten (10) days after notice of refusal, the biological or

proposed adopting parent or parents shall appeal to the Circuit Court of the

county in which the adoption is proposed.

(b) No placement shall be disapproved:

1. On the basis of the religious, ethnic, racial, or interfaith background of

the adoptive applicant, if the placement is made with the consent of the

parent; or

2. On the sole basis of a disability of the adoptive applicant without

considering whether targeted adaptive or supportive services could

enable the applicant to provide essential care and protection for the

child.

(10) (a) The cabinet may refuse to approve the placement of a child for adoption if the

child's custodial parent is unwi lling for the child to be placed for adoption

with the proposed adoptive family. The cabinet may approve or deny the

placement, in spite of the fact that the custodial parent or parents are unwilling

to be interviewed by the cabinet or other approving enti ty, or if, after diligent

efforts have been made, the adoption worker is unable to locate or interview

the custodial parent or parents.

(b) The cabinet shall be made a party defendant to any appeal taken under

subsection (9) of this section. In the hearing of an appeal, the court shall

review the findings of the secretary and shall determine if the secretary has

acted arbitrarily, unlawfully, or in a manner that constitutes an abuse of

discretion.

(11) If a child who does not fall within the exception provi ded for in KRS 199.470(4) is

placed or received in a home without the court's review of the background check

required under this section or the permission of the secretary for health and family

services, or if permission to receive a child has been denied, a representative of the

cabinet shall notify in writing or may petition the juvenile session of District Court

of the county in which the child is found setting out the facts concerning the child.

When the petition has been filed, the court shall take jur isdiction of the child and

shall provide for it as it would provide for a dependent, neglected, or abused child

under KRS Chapter 620, except that the child may not be placed in the home of the

applicants who are to receive the child unless permission to d o so is granted by the

secretary or the action is ordered by a Kentucky court of competent jurisdiction.

(12) When either the custodial parent or parents of the child to be placed or the persons

wishing to receive the child reside out -of-state, the require ment of KRS 615.030,

Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children, shall be met before the cabinet

gives approval for the child's placement.

(13) The secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall be paid a

nonrefundable fee of two hundre d dollars ($200) upon the filing of the written

application for permission to place or receive a child. Payment shall be made by

certified or cashier's check only. All funds collected under this section shall be

deposited in a restricted account, which is hereby created, for the purpose of

subsidizing an adoptive parent for suitable care of a special -needs child as

authorized in KRS 199.555.

(14) Nothing in this statute shall be construed to limit the authority of the cabinet or a

child-placing institution or agency to determine the proper disposition of a child

committed to it by the juvenile session of District Court or the Circuit Court, prior

to the filing of an application to place or receive a child.