{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-210.053","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 210.053","heading":"Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program.","body":"(1) The Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall establish and administer the\nKentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program or a similar program to train\nprofessionals and other members of the public to identify and assist individuals who\nmay have or m ay be developing a mental health disorder, a substance use disorder,\nor who may be experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. The program\nshall promote access to certified trainers who have obtained certification in mental\nhealth first aid train ing by successfully completing an instructor training program\napproved by the cabinet.\n(2) The Kentucky Mental Health First Aid Training Program or a similar program shall\npromote training that is appropriate in content and vocabulary for the language,\neducational level, and literacy of the trainees and individuals to be served and that\naccomplishes the following objectives:\n(a) Build mental health and substance use literacy that is designed to help the\npublic identify, understand, and respond to the signs of mental health\ndisorders, substance use disorders, and mental health or substance use crises;\nand\n(b) Enable the trainee to assist an individual who may have or may be developing\na mental health disorder, a substance use disorder, or who may be\nexperiencing a mental health or substance use crisis. The ability to assist an\nindividual includes knowledge of how to:\n1. Recognize the symptoms of a mental health disorder, a substance use\ndisorder, and a mental health or substance use crisis;\n2. Provide initial help;\n3. Refer individuals requiring assistance toward appropriate professional\nhelp including help for individuals who may be in crisis;\n4. Prevent a mental health disorder, a substance use disorder, or a mental\nhealth or substance use crisis from deterio rating into a more serious\ncondition that may lead to more costly interventions or treatments or\nharm to an individual; and\n5. Promote healing, recovery, and good mental health.\n(3) Subject to appropriations provided by the General Assembly, available fund s in the\nKentucky mental health first aid training fund created in KRS 210.054, or other\navailable funding, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall award training\ngrants for mental health first aid training provided by certified trainers. The trai ning\ngrants may support training courses or provide hardship subsidies for training fees.\n(4) The cabinet shall make awards equitably among geographical regions and meet the\ntraining needs of rural areas, areas with underserved populations, and areas with\nhealth care provider shortages. The recipients of awards may include but are not\nlimited to law enforcement, corrections, education, retail establishments, military,\nolder adults, and youth-focused agencies.\n(5) The cabinet shall ensure that evaluation cri teria are established and utilized to\nmeasure the distribution of the training grants and the fidelity of the training process\nin achieving the main objectives of the program.\n(6) The cabinet shall include information on training programs that are available on the\ncabinet's Web site.\n(7) The cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations to implement this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 210"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50275","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:10Z","sha256":"5889a2d078d82a150f0771859c7bbedf057e3b1ee728fe420a9153fd2da06136","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-210.052","next":"us-ky/krs-210.054"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}