{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-199.896","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 199.896","heading":"License requirement -- Application -- Fee -- Emergency action -- Use of","body":"information -- Hearing -- Disposition of receipts -- Advertisement --\nUnannounced inspections -- Orientation and training requirements --\nProhibition against use of corporal physical discipline -- Partial and full\nexemption from regulation -- Criminal record check -- Probationary\nemployment status -- Alleged violation of an administrative regulation by a\nchild-care center, procedures -- Preliminary license -- Permissive action s --\nCabinet's powers during state of emergency.\n(1) A person, association, or organization shall not conduct, operate, maintain, or\nadvertise any child -care center without obtaining a license as provided in KRS\n199.892 to 199.896.\n(2) The cabinet may promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS\nChapter 13A relating to license fees and may, in the administrative regulations,\nestablish standards of care and service for a child -care center, criteria for the denial\nof a license if criminal records indicate convictions that may impact the safety and\nsecurity of children in care, and procedures for enforcement of penalties which are\nnot in contravention of this section.\n(3) Each initial application for a license shall be made to the cabinet an d shall be\naccompanied by a fee that shall not exceed administrative costs of the program to\nthe cabinet and shall be renewable annually upon expiration and reapplication when\naccompanied by a renewal fee that shall not exceed administrative costs of the\nprogram to the cabinet. Regular licenses and renewals thereof shall expire one (1)\nyear from their effective date.\n(4) A child -care center shall not be refused a license or have its license revoked for\nfailure to meet standards set by the secretary until af ter the expiration of a period\nnot to exceed six (6) months from the date of the first official notice that the\nstandards have not been met. If the cabinet has probable cause to believe that an\nimmediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare exis ts, the cabinet may take\nemergency action pursuant to KRS 13B.125. All administrative hearings conducted\nunder authority of KRS 199.892 to 199.896 shall be conducted in accordance with\nKRS Chapter 13B.\n(5) If, upon inspection or investigation, the inspecto r general finds that a child -care\ncenter licensed under this section has violated the administrative regulations\npromulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A by the cabinet, the inspector\ngeneral shall issue a statement of deficiency to the center containing:\n(a) A statement of fact;\n(b) A statement of how an administrative regulation was violated; and\n(c) The timeframe, negotiated with the child-care center, within which a violation\nis to be corrected, except that a violation that poses an immediate thre at to the\nhealth, safety, or welfare of children in the center shall be corrected in no\nevent later than five (5) working days from the date of the statement of\ndeficiency.\n(6) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services, in consultation with the Office of the\nInspector General, shall establish by administrative regulations promulgated in\naccordance with KRS Chapter 13A an informal dispute resolution process through\nwhich a child-care provider may dispute licensure deficiencies that have an adverse\neffect on the child-care provider's license.\n(7) A child -care center shall have the right to appeal to the Cabinet for Health and\nFamily Services under KRS Chapter 13B any action adverse to its license or the\nassessment of a civil penalty issued by the inspector ge neral as the result of a\nviolation contained in a statement of deficiency within twenty (20) days of the\nissuance of the action or assessment of the civil penalty. An appeal shall not act to\nstay the correction of a violation.\n(8) In assessing the civil penalty to be levied against a child -care center for a violation\ncontained in a statement of deficiency issued under this section, the inspector\ngeneral or the inspector general's designee shall take into consideration the\nfollowing factors:\n(a) The gravity of the threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children posed by\nthe violation;\n(b) The number and type of previous violations of the child-care center;\n(c) The reasonable diligence exercised by the child -care center and effort s to\ncorrect the violation; and\n(d) The amount of assessment necessary to assure immediate and continued\ncompliance.\n(9) Upon a child-care center's failure to take action to correct a violation contained in a\nstatement of deficiency, or at any time when th e operation of a child -care center\nposes an immediate threat to the health, safety, or welfare of children in the center,\nand the child-care center continues to operate after the cabinet has taken emergency\naction to deny, suspend, or revoke its license, t he cabinet or the cabinet's designee\nshall take at least one (1) of the following actions against the center:\n(a) Institute proceedings to obtain an order compelling compliance with the\nadministrative regulations promulgated by the cabinet in accordance wi th\nKRS Chapter 13A;\n(b) Institute injunctive proceedings in Circuit Court to terminate the operation of\nthe center;\n(c) Institute action to discontinue payment of child-care subsidies; or\n(d) Suspend or revoke the license or impose other penalties provided by law.\n(10) Upon request of any person, the cabinet shall provide information regarding the\ndenial, revocation, suspension, or violation of any type of child -care center license\nof the operator. Identifying information regarding children and their famili es shall\nremain confidential.\n(11) The cabinet shall provide, upon request, public information regarding the\ninspections of and the plans of correction for the child -care center within the past\nyear. All information distributed by the cabinet under this subsection shall include a\nstatement indicating that the reports as provided under this subsection from the past\nfive (5) years are available from the child -care center upon the parent's, custodian's,\nguardian's, or other interested person's request.\n(12) All fees collected under the provisions of KRS 199.892 to 199.896 for license and\ncertification applications shall be paid into the State Treasury and credited to a\nspecial fund for the purpose of administering KRS 199.892 to 199.896 including the\npayment of expenses of and to the participants in child -care workshops. The funds\ncollected are hereby appropriated for the use of the cabinet. The balance of the\nspecial fund shall lapse to the general fund at the end of each biennium.\n(13) Any advertisement for ch ild-care services shall include the address of where the\nservice is being provided.\n(14) All inspections of licensed and unlicensed child -care centers by the Cabinet for\nHealth and Family Services shall be unannounced.\n(15) All employees and owners of a ch ild-care center who provide care to children shall\ndemonstrate within the first three (3) months of employment completion of at least\na total of six (6) hours of orientation in the following areas:\n(a) Basic health, safety, and sanitation;\n(b) Recognizing and reporting child abuse; and\n(c) Developmentally appropriate child-care practice.\n(16) All employees and owners of a child -care center who provide care to children shall\nannually demonstrate to the department completion of at least six (6) hours of\ntraining in child development. These hours shall include but are not limited to:\n(a) One and one -half (1.5) hours one (1) time every five (5) years of continuing\neducation in the recognition and prevention of pediatric abusive head trauma,\nas defined in KRS 620 .020. Training in recognizing pediatric abusive head\ntrauma may be designed in collaboration with organizations and agencies that\nspecialize in the prevention and recognition of pediatric head trauma approved\nby the secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services; and\n(b) One (1) hour one (1) time every three (3) years of continuing education in the\nrecognition and prevention of pediatric ingestion or inhalation of controlled\nsubstances.\nThe continuing education required under this subsection shall  be included in the\ncurrent number of required continuing education hours.\n(17) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall make available either through the\ndevelopment or approval of a model training curriculum and training materials,\nincluding vide o instructional materials, to cover the areas specified in subsection\n(15) of this section. The cabinet shall develop or approve the model training\ncurriculum and training materials to cover the areas specified in subsection (15) of\nthis section.\n(18) Child-care centers licensed pursuant to this section and family child -care homes\ncertified pursuant to KRS 199.8982 shall not use corporal physical discipline,\nincluding the use of spanking, shaking, or paddling, as a means of punishment,\ndiscipline, behavior modification, or for any other reason. For the purposes of this\nsection, \"corporal physical discipline\" means the deliberate infliction of physical\npain and does not include spontaneous physical contact that is intended to protect a\nchild from immediate danger.\n(19) Child-care centers that provide instructional and educational programs for\npreschool-aged children that operate for a maximum of twenty (20) hours per week\nand that a child attends for no more than fifteen (15) hours per week shall:\n(a) Notify the cabinet in writing that the center is operating;\n(b) Meet all child -care center licensure requirements and administrative\nregulations related to employee background checks;\n(c) Meet all child -care center licensure requirements and administrative\nregulations related to tuberculosis screenings; and\n(d) Be exempt from all other child -care center licensure requirements and\nadministrative regulations.\n(20) Child-care centers that prov ide instructional and educational programs for\npreschool-aged children that operate for a maximum of twenty (20) hours per week\nand that a child attends for no more than ten (10) hours per week shall be exempt\nfrom all child-care licensure requirements and administrative regulations.\n(21) Instructional programs for school -age children that offer, whether free or for a fee,\nrecreational, educational, sports training, or vacation programs that include but are\nnot limited to martial arts and dance programs to children under eighteen (18) years\nof age, that a child attends outside the presence of his or her parent or legal\nguardian, shall be exempt from all child -care licensure administrative regulations if\nthe following criteria are met:\n(a) The program provide s primary instruction in a skill, talent, ability, expertise,\nor proficiency;\n(b) The program operates outside the time period when school is in session,\nincluding before or after school hours, holidays, school breaks, teaching\nplanning days, or summer vacation;\n(c) The program does not advertise or otherwise represent that the program is a\nlicensed child-care center or that the program offers child-care services;\n(d) The program informs the parent or guardian:\n1. That the program is not licensed by the cabinet; and\n2. About the physical risks a child may face while participating in the\nprogram; and\n(e) The program conducts the following background checks for all program\nemployees and volunteers who work with children:\n1. Check of the child abuse and neglect  records maintained by the cabinet;\nand\n2. In-state criminal background information check from the Justice and\nPublic Safety Cabinet or Administrative Office of the Courts.\n(22) Directors and employees of child -care centers in a position that involves\nsupervisory or disciplinary power over a minor, or direct contact with a minor, shall\nsubmit to a criminal record check in accordance with KRS 199.8965.\n(23) A director or employee of a child -care center may be employed on a probationary\nstatus pending receipt  of the criminal background check. Application for the\ncriminal record of a probationary employee shall be made no later than the date\nprobationary employment begins.\n(24) In determining whether to issue a plan of correction, directed plan of correction, o r\nsuspension or revocation of a child -care center license in response to any alleged\nviolation of an administrative regulation by a child -care center, in addition to any\nother required considerations under this section the cabinet shall consider the\nfollowing factors:\n(a) If the child -care center self -reported the incident in question and if the child -\ncare center had a history of self-reporting incidents;\n(b) If the incident was the result of the child-care center failing in any way related\nto policy, training, enforcement, or supervision;\n(c) If the incident was the result of an independent act or failure to follow\nadministrative regulations or center policy on the part of a child -care center\napplicant for licensure, a child-care center director, or any staff person;\n(d) Actions taken by the child -care center in addition to those required by\nadministrative regulation, including but not limited to installing cameras,\nproviding extra training for staff, implementing facility improvements,\nenacting safety polic ies stricter than those required by administrative\nregulation, and improving staff-to-child ratios; and\n(e) If the child-care center appropriately responded to the violation by holding the\nparty responsible accountable for the violation and correcting or i nitiating\ncorrection of any condition that contributed to the violation.\n(25) A violation of a directed plan of correction shall not result in a suspension or\nrevocation of a child -care center's license unless the violation is solely determined\nby the cabinet to be serious enough to justify the suspension or revocation.\n(26) A child -care center shall be permitted to provide requested documentation to the\ncabinet up to five (5) business days following a request when any routine review or\naudit related to an alleged violation of administrative regulation occurs.\n(27) (a) A child-care center that has been granted a preliminary license with a six (6)\nmonth probationary period by the cabinet shall receive a minimum of two (2)\nweekly support contacts a week by the  cabinet or the cabinet's designee, with\nat least one (1) contact being in person for each week of a six (6) month\nprobationary period in order to assist the center owner, supervisors, and staff\nin understanding, implementing, and practicing administrative  regulations\nproperly.\n(b) During the six (6) month probationary period, the cabinet shall not issue a\nviolation against a child -care center unless the cabinet determines that a\nviolation was knowingly committed after the cabinet had provided clear\ninstructions, or the violation created an immediate threat to the health, safety,\nor welfare of the children in the child-care center.\n(28) The cabinet may allow but shall not require the inspector general, the inspector\ngeneral's designee, or other cabinet representative to:\n(a) Take emergency action in accordance with subsection (4) of this section by\nissuing an emergency order that suspends a child-care center's license;\n(b) Revoke a child -care center's license if an emergency order has been issued\nand the:\n1. Child-care center has not requested a hearing within the timeframes\nrequired in subsection (7) of this section; or\n2. Condition that resulted in the emergency order is not corrected within\nthirty (30) calendar days of service of an emergency order;\n(c) Revoke a child-care center's license if:\n1. A representative of the child -care center interferes with a cabinet or\nother agency representative's ability to perform an official duty;\n2. A cabinet representative, a representative from another agency with\nregulatory authority, or a parent is denied access during operating hours\nto a child, the child-care center, or child-care center staff;\n3. The child-care center is discontinued or disqualified from participation\nin Kentucky's child -care subsidy program or another governmental\nassistance program as a result of fraud, abuse, or criminal conviction\nrelated to the center;\n4. The child -care cente r fails to meet a condition of, or violates a\nrequirement of, a directed plan of correction;\n5. The child-care center applicant or licensee knowingly misrepresents or\nsubmits false information on a form required by the cabinet;\n6. The child-care center is the subject of more than two (2) directed plans\nof correction during a three (3) year period; or\n7. The child -care center has failed to comply with required payment\nprovisions; and\n(d) Suspend a child-care center's license if:\n1. A violation of an administ rative regulation is found to pose an\nimmediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the children in\ncare, as permitted in subsection (4) of this section; or\n2. The child -care center fails to comply with the approved plan of\ncorrection.\n(29) The ca binet shall promulgate administrative regulations in accordance with KRS\nChapter 13A to identify emergency care providers who provide essential child -care\nservices during an identified state of emergency.","path":["KRS Chapter 199"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57466","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:51:55Z","sha256":"747af4bc596aed8335555dc8d14129af21d7780711b22247427c3fbeaa45ef4c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-199.8951","next":"us-ky/krs-199.8962"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}