{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-199.555","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 199.555","heading":"State-funded adoption assistance payments -- Conditions.","body":"(1) A \"special-needs child\" means:\n(a) A child which the state has determined cannot or should not be returned to the\nhome of the child's parents; and\n(b) A child which the state has first determined:\n1. That there exists a specific factor or condition the exi stence of which\nleads to the reasonable conclusion that the child cannot be placed with\nadoptive parents without providing adoption assistance under this\nsection or medical assistance under Title XIX; and\n2. That except where it would be against the best i nterests of the child\nbecause of such factors as the existence of significant emotional ties\nwith prospective adoptive parents while in the care of these parents as a\nfoster child, a reasonable, but unsuccessful, effort has been made to\nplace the child wit h appropriate adoptive parents without providing\nadoption assistance under this section or medical assistance under Title\nXIX.\n(2) \"State-funded adoption assistance\" means a monthly payment to assist in meeting\nthe special needs of a child which was placed  by the Cabinet for Health and Family\nServices. The state -funded adoption assistance shall also include payment of\nnonrecurring adoption expenses, and may include reimbursement of extraordinary\nmedical expenses.\n(3) \"Nonrecurring adoption expenses\" means t hose expenses which are incurred in the\nlegal adoption of a special -needs child for which parents are ultimately responsible\nwhich include reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees,\nand other expenses which are directly related to the special -needs adoption and\nwhich are not incurred in violation of state or federal law.\n(4) \"Extraordinary medical expenses\" means those expenses which are related to the\nchild's special needs which existed prior to the adoption and are not reimbursed by\nprivate insurance, Medicaid, or other third-party payors or government programs.\n(5) If the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services or his designated\nrepresentative finds that a child may benefit from being adopted and that a monthly\nassistance payment to adoptive parents after the adoption will increase the\nlikelihood of adoption, state funds may be paid to the adoptive parents after\ncompletion of the adoption of the child if the following conditions exist:\n(a) The child was considered a special-needs child prior to the adoption;\n(b) The child is committed to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the\ncabinet has authority to consent to the child's adoption; and\n(c) The adoptive parents can give suitable care to the child if a mon thly adoption\nassistance is paid.\n(6) Agreements for the payments of state funds under this section shall be made prior to\nthe adoption of the child. However, if the secretary for health and fam ily services or\nhis designated representative finds that the adoption is likely to disrupt, state-funded\nextraordinary medical expenses may be reimbursed contingent upon availability of\nresources, if the following conditions exist:\n(a) The child was placed  for adoption by the Cabinet for Health and Family\nServices;\n(b) The child was considered a special-needs child prior to the adoption;\n(c) The parents have made a reasonable effort under the circumstances to meet\nthe needs of the child without reimbursemen t for extraordinary medical\nexpenses.\nThis subsection shall apply to any child meeting the conditions of this subsection\nwho at the time of application for the state -funded post -adoption extraordinary\nmedical expenses is under the age of eighteen (18). Th is subsection shall have\nretroactive as well as prospective effect.\n(7) The payments shall be out of funds appropriated to the cabinet and those funds\ncollected pursuant to KRS 199.473(13), which shall be deposited in a restricted\naccount for the purpose o f assisting special -needs adoptions, and shall be in\naccordance with regulations promulgated by the secretary. The payments shall not\nexceed the amount which would be paid for foster care for the child. Monthly state -\nfunded assistance payments shall not ex ceed the amount which would be paid for\nfoster care for the child and may include reimbursement for extraordinary medical\nexpenses. Payment of nonrecurring adoption expenses shall only be reimbursed up\nto the limit established by the secretary for health and family services in accord with\n42 U.S.C. sec. 673. However, payments under agreements entered into under\nsubsection (6) of this section shall be limited to reimbursement of authorized\nextraordinary medical expenses related to problems or conditions that  existed prior\nto the adoption.\n(8) State-funded adoption assistance payments shall not be made to parents if:\n(a) The child has attained the age of eighteen (18), except that if the child is\nenrolled in a state or federal educational program, the payments  may continue\nthrough age twenty-one (21);\n(b) The cabinet determines the parents are no longer legally responsible for the\nsupport of the child; or\n(c) The cabinet determines that the child is no longer receiving any support from\nthe parents.\n(9) Parents who have been receiving state -funded adoption assistance payments under\nthis section shall keep the cabinet informed of circumstances which would, pursuant\nto subsection (8) of this section, make them ineligible for assistance, or eligible for\nassistance in a different amount.\n(10) The cabinet shall establish criteria to be followed for the adoption of children under\nprovisions of this section and shall promulgate the criteria by administrative\nregulations.","path":["KRS Chapter 199"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=7188","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:54Z","sha256":"a7ac4c0407ecc48983da3f504c5319000d9f1450d573730efa900fc28a475a2e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-199.550","next":"us-ky/krs-199.557"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}