{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-222.231","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 222.231","heading":"Licensing of treatment programs  -- Administrative regulations","body":"regarding standards -- Revocation or suspension -- Emergency  order --\nInspection by cabinet.\n(1) The  cabinet shall issue for a term of one (1) year, and may  renew for like\nterms, a license, subject to revocation by it for cause, to any persons, other\nthan a substance use disorder program that has been issued a license by the\ncabinet entitled \"Chemical Dependency  Treatment Services\" pursuant to KRS\n216B.042  or a department, agency, or institution of the federal government,\ndeemed  by it to be responsible and suitable to establish and maintain a\nprogram and to meet applicable licensure standards and requirements.\n(2) The  cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to KRS\nChapter 13A establishing requirements and standards for licensing agencies\nand approving programs. The requirements and standards shall include:\n(a) The  health and safety standards to be met by a facility housing a\nprogram;\n(b) Patient  care  standards  and  minimum  operating, training, and\nmaintenance of patient records standards;\n(c) Licensing fees, application, renewal and revocation procedures, and the\nprocedures for evaluation of the substance use disorder programs; and\n(d) Classification of substance use disorder programs according to type,\nrange of services, and level of care provided.\n(3) The  cabinet may establish different requirements and standards for different\nkinds of programs, and may  impose stricter requirements and standards in\ncontracts with agencies made pursuant to KRS 222.221.\n(4) Each agency shall be individually licensed or approved.\n(5) Each  agency shall file with the cabinet from time to time, the data, statistics,\nschedules, or information the cabinet may reasonably require for the purposes\nof this section.\n(6) (a) The  cabinet shall have authority to deny, revoke, or modify a license in\nany  case in which it finds that there has been a substantial failure to\ncomply with the provisions of this chapter or the administrative regulations\npromulgated thereunder. The denial, revocation, or modification shall be\neffected by providing to the applicant or licensee, by certified mail or other\nmethod  of delivery, which may include electronic service, a notice setting\nforth the particular reasons for the action. The denial, revocation, or\nmodification shall become final and conclusive thirty (30) days after notice\nis given, unless the applicant or licensee, within this thirty (30) day period,\nfiles a request in writing for a hearing before the cabinet.\n(b) If the cabinet has probable cause to believe that there is an immediate\nthreat to public health, safety, or welfare, the cabinet may  issue an\nemergency  order to suspend  the license. The  emergency  order to\nsuspend the license shall be provided to the licensee, by certified mail or\nother method delivery, which may  include electronic service, a notice\nsetting forth the particular reasons for the action.\n(7) Any  person required to comply with an emergency  order issued under\nsubsection (6) of this section may request an emergency hearing within five (5)\ncalendar days of receipt of the notice to determine the propriety of the order.\nThe cabinet shall conduct an emergency hearing within ten (10) working days\nof the request for a hearing. Within five (5) working days of completion of the\nhearing, the cabinet's hearing officer shall render a written decision affirming,\nmodifying, or revoking the emergency order. The emergency order shall be\naffirmed if there is substantial evidence of a violation of law that constitutes an\nimmediate danger to public health, safety, or welfare. The decision rendered by\nthe hearing officer shall be a final order of the cabinet on the matter, and any\nparty aggrieved by the decision may appeal to the Franklin Circuit Court.\n(8) If the cabinet issues an emergency  order, the cabinet shall take action to\nrevoke the facility's license if:\n(a) The  facility fails to submit a written request for an emergency hearing\nwithin five (5) calendar days of receipt of the notice; or\n(b) The  decision rendered under subsection (7) of this section affirms that\nthere is substantial evidence of an immediate danger to public health,\nsafety, or welfare.\n(9) (a) The  cabinet, after holding a hearing conducted by a hearing officer\nappointed by the secretary and conducted in accordance with KRS\nChapter 13B, may refuse to grant, suspend, revoke, limit, or restrict the\napplicability of or refuse to renew any agency license or approval of\nprograms for any failure to meet the requirements of its administrative\nregulations or standards concerning a licensed agency and its program.\n(b) Within five (5) working days of completion of a hearing on an emergency\nsuspension or within thirty (30) calendar days from the conclusion of a\nhearing on the denial, revocation or modification of a license, the findings\nand  recommendations of the hearing officer shall be transmitted to the\ncabinet, with a synopsis of the evidence contained in the record and a\nstatement of the basis of the hearing officer's findings.\n(c) A petition for judicial review shall be made to the Franklin Circuit Court in\naccordance with KRS Chapter 13B.\n(10) No  person, excepting a substance use disorder program that has been issued\na license by the cabinet entitled \"Chemical Dependency  Treatment Services\"\npursuant to KRS 216B.042 or a department, agency, or institution of the federal\ngovernment, shall operate a program without a license pursuant to this section.\n(11) Each program operated by a licensed agency shall be subject to visitation and\ninspection by the cabinet and the cabinet shall inspect each agency prior to\ngranting a license. The cabinet shall inspect each nonaccredited agency at\nleast annually thereafter. If an  agency  is fully accredited by the Joint\nCommission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, Council\non Accreditation, or other nationally recognized accrediting organization with\ncomparable standards, the cabinet shall inspect the agency at least every two\n(2) years. The cabinet may examine the books and accounts of any program if\nit deems the examination necessary for the purposes of this section.\n(12) The  director may  require agencies that contract with the Commonwealth\npursuant to KRS  222.221 to admit as an inpatient or outpatient any person to\nbe  afforded treatment pursuant to this chapter, subject to service and bed\navailability and medical necessity.\n(13) The  cabinet shall promulgate administrative regulations pursuant to KRS\nChapter 13A governing the extent to which programs may be required to treat\nany person on an inpatient or outpatient basis pursuant to this chapter, except\nthat no licensed hospital with an emergency service shall refuse any person\nsuffering from acute alcohol or other drug intoxication or severe withdrawal\nsyndrome from emergency medical care.\n(14) All narcotic treatment programs shall be licensed under this section prior to\noperation. Licensed narcotic treatment programs shall have the authority to use\nbuprenorphine products that are approved by the United States Food and Drug\nAdministration for the treatment of substance use disorder. The cabinet shall\npromulgate  administrative regulations pursuant to KRS  Chapter 13A  to\nestablish additional standards of operation for narcotic treatment programs.\nThe  administrative regulations shall include minimum  requirements in the\nfollowing areas:\n(a) Compliance with relevant local ordinances and zoning requirements;\n(b) Submission of a plan of operation;\n(c) Criminal records checks for employees of the narcotic treatment program;\n(d) Conditions under which clients are permitted to take home  doses of\nmedications;\n(e) Drug screening requirements;\n(f) Quality assurance procedures;\n(g) Program director requirements;\n(h) Qualifications for the medical director for a narcotic treatment program,\nwho  at a minimum shall:\n1. Be a board-eligible psychiatrist licensed to practice in Kentucky and\nhave  three (3) years' documented  experience in the provision of\nservices to individuals with a substance use disorder; or\n2. Be  a physician licensed to practice in Kentucky and be board\ncertified as an addiction medicine specialist;\n(i) Security and control of narcotics and medications;\n(j) Program admissions standards;\n(k) Treatment protocols;\n(l) Treatment compliance requirements for program clients;\n(m) Rights of clients;\n(n) Monitoring of narcotic treatment programs by the cabinet; and\n(o) Process  and procedures for how  a narcotic treatment program uses\nbuprenorphine products for the treatment of substance use disorder.","path":["KRS Chapter 222"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=52292","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:52:34Z","sha256":"49472a93482b11f8616e529a4563cd7d2166073ae992b66dd2f4a22b6e9dc88c","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-222.230","next":"us-ky/krs-222.232"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}