KRS 200.501: Findings of General Assembly.

The Kentucky General Assembly finds that services to children and transition -age youth

are provided by various departments and agencies at both the state and local level, often

without appropriate policy collaboration and service coordination. The General Assembly

declares that the purpose of KRS 200.501 to 200.509 is to establish a structure for

coordinated policy development, comprehensive planning, and collaborative budgeting

for services and supports to children and transition -age youth with or at risk of

developing behavioral health needs and their families. It is further the intention of the

General Assembly to build on the existing resources and to design and implement a

system of care for children and transition -age youth with or at risk of developin g

behavioral health needs that is community-based, family- and youth-driven, and culturally

and linguistically competent. Children and transition -age youth who meet criteria for a

serious emotional disability, including a co-occurring substance use disorder, and who are

placed outside their homes to address unmet behavioral health needs shall be given

priority for services and supports pursuant to KRS 200.501 to 200.509.