{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-605.090","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 605.090","heading":"Alternative treatment  for committed  children -- Notice  of","body":"inappropriate behavior of child -- Procedures  for removal  of child\ncommitted  as dependent, neglected, or abused  -- Reports -- Written\ntransfer summary  -- Placement of public offenders.\n(1) Unless precluded by law, any child committed to the Department of Juvenile\nJustice or the cabinet may  by the decision of the Department of Juvenile\nJustice or the cabinet or its designee, at any time during the period of his or her\ncommitment, be:\n(a) Upon  fourteen (14) days' prior written notice to the court, discharged from\ncommitment. Written notice of discharge shall be given to the committing\ncourt and to any other parties as may be required by law;\n(b) Placed in the home  of the child's parents, in the home  of a relative or a\nfictive kin, a  suitable foster home,  or boarding home,  upon  such\nconditions as the Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet may\nprescribe and subject to visitation and supervision by a social service\nworker or juvenile probation and parole officer.\n1. At the time a committed child is placed in the home  of his or her\nparents by the Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet, the\nparents shall be  informed in writing of the conditions of the\nplacement and the criteria that will be used to determine whether\nremoval is necessary.\n2. At the time a committed child is placed anywhere other than the\nhome  of the child's parents, the cabinet or the Department of\nJuvenile Justice shall inform the foster home, the relative, the fictive\nkin, or the governing authority of any private facility or agency in\nwhich the child has been placed whether the minor placed is a\njuvenile sexual offender as defined in KRS  635.505(2) or of any\ninappropriate sexual acts or sexual behavior by the child specifically\nknown  to the cabinet or Department of Juvenile Justice, and any\nbehaviors of the child specifically known  to the cabinet or\nDepartment of Juvenile Justice that indicate a safety risk for the\nplacement. Information received by any private facility or agency\nunder this paragraph shall be disclosed immediately and directly to\nthe individual or individuals who have physical custody of the child.\n3. If, after a placement is made, additional information is obtained by\nthe  cabinet or  the  Department  of  Juvenile Justice about\ninappropriate sexual behavior or other behavior of the committed\nchild that may indicate a safety risk for the placement, the cabinet or\nthe Department of Juvenile Justice shall as soon as practicable, but\nno later than seventy-two (72) hours after the additional information\nis received, inform the foster parent, relative, fictive kin, or private\nfacility or agency. Additional information received by any private\nfacility or agency shall be disclosed immediately and directly to the\nindividual or individuals who have physical custody of the child.\n4. Information disclosed under this paragraph shall be limited to the\nacts or behaviors of the committed child and shall not constitute a\nviolation of confidentiality under KRS  Chapter 610 or 620. No foster\nparent, relative, fictive kin, or other person caring for a committed\nchild shall divulge the information received under this paragraph to\npersons who  do not have a legitimate interest or responsibility\nrelating to the case. Nothing in this subparagraph shall prohibit the\ndisclosure or sharing of information between  a  foster parent,\nrelative, fictive kin, custodian, private facility, or governmental entity\nfor the protection of any child. A violation of this subparagraph is a\nClass B misdemeanor;\n(c) Placed in one (1) of the facilities or programs operated by the Department\nof Juvenile Justice or the cabinet, except that no child committed under\nthe provisions of KRS  610.010(2)(a), (b), or (c) shall be placed in a facility\noperated by the Department of Juvenile Justice for children adjudicated\nas a public offender unless the cabinet and the department agree, and the\ncourt consents, that the placement is in the best interest of the child and\nthat the placement does not exceed a group home level;\n(d) Placed in a child-caring facility operated by a local governmental unit or\nby a private organization willing to receive the child, upon such conditions\nas the cabinet may prescribe;\n(e) However,  under no circumstances shall a child committed under KRS\nChapter 620 be placed in a home, facility, or other shelter with a child who\nhas been committed to the Department of Juvenile Justice for commission\nof a sex crime, as that term is defined in KRS  17.500, unless the child\ncommitted for the commission of a sex crime is kept segregated from\nother children in the home, facility, or other shelter that have not been\ncommitted for the commission of a sex crime;\n(f) Treated as provided in KRS Chapter 645;\n(g) Following the transfer or placement of a child pursuant to paragraphs (b),\n(c), (d), (e), or (f) of this subsection, the Department of Juvenile Justice or\nthe cabinet shall, within fourteen (14) days, excluding weekends  and\nholidays, give written notice to the court of the transfer, the placement,\nand the reasons therefor.\n(2) No  child ten (10) years of age or under shall be placed in a facility operated by\nthe Department of Juvenile Justice for children adjudicated as public offenders,\nexcept that a child charged with the commission of a capital offense or with an\noffense designated as a Class A or Class B felony may  be detained in a\nstate-operated detention facility when  there is no available less restrictive\nalternative.\n(3) If a child committed to the cabinet as dependent, neglected, or abused is\nplaced in the home of the child's parents, the child shall not be removed except\nin accordance with the following standards and procedures:\n(a) If the social service worker believes that the committed child continues to\nbe  dependent, neglected, or abused,  but immediate  removal  is\nunnecessary to protect the child from imminent death or serious physical\ninjury, the casework situation and evidence shall be reviewed with his\nsupervisor to determine whether to continue work with the family intact or\nto remove the child. There shall be documentation that the social service\nworker, prior to the court hearing, made an effort to contact the parents to\ninform them of the specific problems that could lead to removal so they\nhave  an  opportunity to take corrective action. If the parents are\nunavailable or do not respond to attempts to communicate, the specific\ncircumstances shall be documented;\n(b) If it appears that the child's health or welfare or physical, mental, or\nemotional condition is subjected to or threatened with real and substantial\nharm and there is not reasonably available an alternative less drastic than\nremoval of the child from the home, the cabinet shall petition the District\nCourt to review the commitment pursuant to KRS  610.120 in relation to\nthe cabinet's intention to remove the child from the parent's home. The\npetition shall set forth the facts which constitute the need for removal of\nthe child. The court shall serve notice of the petition and the time and\nplace of the hearing on the parents; however, the social service worker\nshall also contact the parents to ensure that they received the notice and\nare aware of the right to be represented by counsel. If the parents'\nwhereabouts  are unknown, notice may  be mailed to the last known\naddress of an adult who is a near relative. If the court fails to find that the\nchild's health or welfare or physical, mental, or emotional condition is\nsubjected to or threatened with real and substantial harm, or recommends\na less drastic alternative that is reasonably available, the child shall not be\nremoved from the parents' home;\n(c) If a social service worker finds a committed, unattended child who is too\nyoung  to take care of himself, the social service worker shall make\nreasonable efforts to arrange for an emergency caretaker in the child's\nhome  until the parents return or fail to return within a reasonable time. If\nno in-home caretaker is available for the child, the social service worker\nshall request any appropriate law enforcement officer to take the child into\nprotective custody. If, after a reasonable time, it appears the child has\nbeen abandoned, the cabinet shall petition the District Court to review the\ncase; or\n(d) If there exist reasonable grounds to believe that the child is in danger of\nimminent death or serious physical injury or is being sexually abused and\nthat the parents are unable or unwilling to protect the child, the social\nservice worker shall, with the assistance of a law enforcement officer,\nimmediately remove the child prior to filing a petition for review. Within\nseventy-two (72) hours after the removal, the cabinet shall file a petition\nfor review in District Court pursuant to KRS  610.120 with a request for an\nexpeditious hearing. If the court fails to find that the child's health or\nwelfare or physical, mental, or emotional condition is subjected to or\nthreatened with real and substantial harm, or recommends  a less drastic\nalternative that is reasonably available, the child shall be returned to the\nparents' home.\n(4) The cabinet or the Department of Juvenile Justice, as appropriate, shall notify\nthe juvenile court of the county of placement with the conditions of supervised\nplacement of each child placed in that county from one (1) of the residential\ntreatment facilities operated by the Department of Juvenile Justice or the\ncabinet. Notice of the conditions of such placement may be made available by\nthe court to any law enforcement agency.\n(5) The  person in charge of any home  to which a child is probated, and the\ngoverning authority of any private facility or agency to which a child is\ncommitted, shall make such reports to the court as the court may require, and\nsuch reports as the Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet may require\nin the performance of its functions under the law. The Department of Juvenile\nJustice or the cabinet shall have the power to make  such visitations and\ninspections of the homes, facilities, and agencies in which children who have\ncommitted public offenses have been placed as it deems  necessary to carry\nout its functions under the law.\n(6) The  Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet shall provide a written\ntransfer summary  to the person in charge of any foster home or any governing\nauthority of any private facility or agency in which the Department of Juvenile\nJustice or the cabinet has placed a child. The written summary shall include, at\na minimum, demographic information about the child, a narrative statement\ndetailing the child's prior placements, the length of time the child has been\ncommitted, a description of the services and assistance provided to the child or\nthe child's family since the most current case plan, a copy of the current case\nplan for the child and the child's family, and a copy of the child's medical and\neducational passport, if available, provided that no  information shall be\nprovided that violates any statutory confidentiality requirements. The transfer\nsummary  shall state whether the child placed is a juvenile sexual offender as\ndefined in KRS  635.505(2), and include information required under subsection\n(1) of this section. The transfer summary  shall be provided by the Department\nof Juvenile Justice if it is responsible for the child, or the cabinet if it is\nresponsible for the child, within seven (7) days of the placement of the child\nwith the person, agency, or facility providing care to the child.\n(7) The  Department of Juvenile Justice may assist the courts in placing children\nwho  have  committed public offenses in boarding homes,  and, under\nagreements with the individual courts, may assume  responsibility for making\nsuch placements. Counties may  pay or contribute towards the expenses of\nmaintaining such children and, to the extent authorized by the fiscal court, the\nDepartment of Juvenile Justice may incur obligations chargeable to the county\nfor such expenses.","path":["KRS Chapter 605"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=45705","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:06Z","sha256":"e5efa555a7df64287d81eb5a587a158a325cf4da87beb5843a52bc5434aa2fbe","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-605.080","next":"us-ky/krs-605.093"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}