KRS 199.640: Licensing of child -caring and child-placing agencies or facilities -- License

fees -- Standards -- Recordkeeping and reporting -- Use of corporal

punishment -- Prohibition against hiring convicted sex offender --

Confidentiality of records.

(1) Any facility or agency seeking to conduct, operate, or maintain any child -caring

facility or child -placing agency shall first obtain a license to conduct, operate, or

maintain the facility or agency from the cabinet.

(2) The cabinet shall:

(a) Develop standards, as provided in subsection (5) of this section, which must

be met by any facility or agency seeking to be licensed to conduct, operate, or

maintain a child-caring facility or child-placing agency;

(b) Issue licenses to any facility or agency found to meet established standards

and revoke or suspend a license after a hearing in any case that a facility or

agency holding a license is determined to have substantially failed to conform

to the requirements of the standards;

(c) Establish and follow procedures designed to ensure that any facility or agency

licensed to conduct, operate, or maintain a child -caring facility or child -

placing agency complies with the requirements of the standards on an ongoing

basis.

(3) Licenses shall be issued for a period o f one (1) year from date of issue unless

revoked by the cabinet. Each licensed facility or agency shall be visited and

inspected at least one (1) time each year by a person authorized by the cabinet and

meeting specific qualifications established by the se cretary of the cabinet in an

administrative regulation. A complete report of the visit and inspection shall be

filed with the cabinet.

(4) Each license issued shall specify the type of care or service the licensee is

authorized to perform. The cabinet may promulgate administrative regulations to

establish fees that shall not exceed costs of the program to the cabinet, for the

proper administration of licensure. The fees collected by the secretary shall be

deposited in the State Treasury and credited to a re volving fund account for the

purpose of carrying out the provisions of this section. The balance of said account

shall lapse to the general fund at the end of each biennium.

(5) (a) The secretary shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing bas ic

standards of care and service for child -caring facilities and child -placing

agencies relating to the health and safety of all children in the care of the

facility or agency, the basic components for a quality program, as referenced

below, and any other factors as may be necessary to promote the welfare of

children cared for or placed by the agencies and facilities. Standards

established may vary depending on the capacity of the agency or facility

seeking licensure. These administrative regulations shall establish standards

that ensure that:

1. The treatment program offered by the facility or agency is directed

toward child safety, improved child functioning, improved family

functioning, and continuity and permanence for the child;

2. The facility or agenc y has on staff, or has contracted with, individuals

who are qualified to meet the treatment needs of the children being

served, including their psychological and psychiatric needs;

3. The facility or agency has procedures in place to ensure that its staff

receives ongoing training and that all staff members who are required to

do so meet all regional and national standards;

4. The facility or agency develops an integrated, outcomes -based treatment

plan that meets the health, mental health, education, safety, and security

needs of each child in its care;

5. The facility or agency has procedures in place to include parents, family,

and other caregivers in a child's treatment program;

6. The facility or agency has procedures in place whereby it evaluates its

programs on a quarterly basis and documents changes in the program if

the results of the review indicate a change is needed;

7. The facility or agency makes available quality programs for substance

abuse prevention and treatment with providers licensed under KRS

Chapter 222 as part of its treatment services;

8. The facility or agency initiates discharge planning at admission and

provides sufficient aftercare; and

9. The facility or agency has written policies and procedures in place that

outline the structure and objectives of cooperative relationships with the

community within which it is located and the local school district,

including outreach activities to be undertaken by the facility or agency to

both develop and maintain those cooperative relationships.

(b) The secretary shall promulgate administrative regulations establishing

recordkeeping and reporting requirements and sta ndards for licensed agencies

and facilities that recognize the electronic storage and retrieval of information

for those facilities that possess the necessary technology and that include, at a

minimum, the following information relating to children in the care of the

agency or facility:

1. The name, age, social security number, county of origin, and all former

residences of the child;

2. The names, residences, and occupations, if available, of the child's

parents;

3. The date on which the child was received by the agency or facility; the

date on which the child was placed in a foster home or made available

for adoption; and the name, occupation, and residence of any person

with whom a child is placed; and

4. A brief and continuing written narrative history o f each child covering

the period during which the child is in the care of the agency or facility.

(c) The secretary may promulgate administrative regulations creating separate

licensure standards for different types of facilities.

(d) The secretary shall p romulgate administrative regulations to establish

practices and procedures for the inspection of child -caring facilities and child-

placing agencies. These administrative regulations shall establish a uniform

reporting mechanism that includes guidelines for enforcement.

(6) Any administrative regulations promulgated pursuant to KRS Chapter 13A to

govern services provided by church-related privately operated child-caring agencies

or facilities shall not prohibit the use of reasonable corporal physical discipl ine

which complies with the provisions of KRS 503.110(1), including the use of

spanking or paddling, as a means of punishment, discipline, or behavior

modification and shall prohibit the employment of persons convicted of any sexual

offense with any child-caring facility or child-placing agency.

(7) All records regarding children or facts learned about children and their parents and

relatives by any licensed agency or facility shall be deemed confidential in the same

manner and subject to the same provision s as similar records of the cabinet. The

information thus obtained shall not be published or be open for public inspection,

except to authorized employees of:

(a) The cabinet or of such licensed agency or facility in performance of their

duties; and

(b) A school or local school district in which a child is enrolling or currently

enrolled, in order to identify and serve the educational needs of the child, in

accordance with KRS 199.802.