{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-15a.305","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 15A.305","heading":"Statewide detention program -- Alternatives to secure detention --","body":"Notification system -- Per diem charge to lodge juveniles in state -owned or\ncontracted preadjudication facilities -- Fiscal court approval before state\ntakeover, purchase, or cont rol -- Provision of mental health services to\ndetained youth.\n(1) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall develop and administer a statewide\ndetention program and, as each regional facility is constructed and ready for\noccupancy, shall provide for:\n(a) The operation of preadjudication detention facilities for children charged with\npublic offenses; and\n(b) The operation of postadjudication detention facilities for children adjudicated\ndelinquent or found guilty of public offenses.\n(2) In each region in which the Department of Juvenile Justice operates or contracts for\nthe operation of a detention facility, the department shall develop and administer a\nprogram for alternatives to secure detention that shall provide for:\n(a) The operation of or contracting for  the operation of preadjudication\nalternatives to secure detention and follow -up programs for juveniles who are\nbefore the court or who enter pretrial diversion or informal adjustment\nprograms; and\n(b) The operation of or contracting for the operation of p ostadjudication\nalternatives to secure detention and follow -up programs, including but not\nlimited to community -based programs, mentoring, counseling, and other\nprograms designed to limit the unnecessary use of secure detention and ensure\npublic safety.\n(3) The department shall develop and implement a system to immediately notify the\nCabinet for Health and Family Services when a status offender or child alleged to\nbe a status offender has been detained for the alleged violation of a valid court\norder.\n(4) The department may, except as provided in KRS 635.060, charge counties,\nconsolidated local governments, and urban -county governments a per diem not to\nexceed ninety-four dollars ($94) for lodging juveniles in state -owned or contracted\nfacilities.\n(5) Detention rates charged by contracting detention facilities shall not exceed the rate\nin effect on July 1, 1997, subject to increases approved by the department.\n(6) No juvenile detention facility, as defined in KRS 15A.200, shall be taken over,\npurchased, or le ased by the Commonwealth without prior approval of the fiscal\ncourt upon consultation with the jailer in the county where the facility is located.\nThe county, upon consultation with the jailer, may enter into contracts with the\nCommonwealth for the holding, detention, and transportation of juveniles.\n(7) The Department of Juvenile Justice shall enter into sufficient contracts to ensure the\navailability of institutional treatment for children with severe emotional disturbance\nor mental illness as soon as practicable.\n(8) The Department of Juvenile Justice s hall, for any facility operated pursuant to\nsubsection (1) of this section, require that the facility:\n(a) Provide children in crisis who are residing in a juvenile detention facility\naccess to a mental health professional whose communications with the chi ld\nare privileged under the Kentucky Rules of Evidence;\n(b) Conduct monthly documented training related to emergency response;\n(c) Ensure that appropriate staff working with detained youth have controlled\naccess to, and are properly trained in the use of, appropriate defensive\nequipment comparable to that utilized by the Department of Corrections,\nincluding tasers, pepper spray, and shields;\n(d) Establish a specially trained emergency response team within each juvenile\ndetention center and youth development  center which shall be trained in\ntactics related to detention facilities and engage in monthly drills as part of\nemergency response training;\n(e) Enter into a memorandum of understanding with local law enforcement for\nemergency response and include these agencies in emergency response\ntrainings;\n(f) Be equipped with an alarm that directly communicates an emergency situation\nto the local dispatch center; and\n(g) Promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A\nto implement this subsection.","path":["KRS Chapter 15A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=53539","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:35Z","sha256":"b253444f06593b789ea04f3ecd753cabaf156d70e5181a7976cf105a34d0cf55","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-15a.300","next":"us-ky/krs-15a.310"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}