{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-610.010","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 610.010","heading":"District Court jurisdiction of juvenile matters.","body":"(1) Unless otherwise exempted by KRS Chapters 600 to 645, the juvenile session of the\nDistrict Court of each county shall have exclusive jurisdiction in proceedings\nconcerning any child living or found within the county who has not reached his or\nher eighteent h birthday or of any person who at the time of committing a public\noffense was under the age of eighteen (18) years, who allegedly has committed a\npublic offense prior to his or her eighteenth birthday, except a motor vehicle offense\ninvolving a child fifteen (15) years of age or older. A child fifteen (15) years of age\nor older taken into custody upon the allegation that the child has committed a motor\nvehicle offense shall be treated as an adult and shall have the same conditions of\nrelease applied to him  or her as an adult. A child taken into custody upon the\nallegation that he or she has committed a motor vehicle offense who is not released\nunder conditions of release applicable to adults shall be held, pending his or her\nappearance before the District C ourt, in a facility as defined in KRS 15A.067.\nChildren fifteen (15) years of age or older who are convicted of, or plead guilty to, a\nmotor vehicle offense shall, if sentenced to a term of confinement, be placed in a\nfacility for that period of confinemen t preceding their eighteenth birthday and an\nadult detention facility for that period of confinement subsequent to their eighteenth\nbirthday. The term \"motor vehicle offense\" shall not be deemed to include the\noffense of stealing or converting a motor vehicle nor operating the same without the\nowner's consent nor any offense which constitutes a felony;\n(2) Unless otherwise exempted by KRS Chapters 600 to 645, the juvenile session of the\nDistrict Court of each county or the family division of the Circuit Cou rt shall have\nexclusive jurisdiction in proceedings concerning any child living or found within\nthe county who has not reached his or her eighteenth birthday and who allegedly:\n(a) Is beyond the control of the school or beyond the control of parents as def ined\nin KRS 600.020;\n(b) Is an habitual truant from school;\n(c) Is an habitual runaway from his or her parent or other person exercising\ncustodial control or supervision of the child;\n(d) Is dependent, neglected, or abused;\n(e) Has committed an alcohol offense in violation of KRS 244.085; or\n(f) Is mentally ill.\n(3) Actions brought under subsection (1) of this section shall be considered to be public\noffense actions.\n(4) Actions brought under subsection (2)(a), (b), (c), and (e) of this section shall be\nconsidered to be status offense actions.\n(5) Actions brought under subsection (2)(d) of this section shall be considered to be\nnonoffender actions.\n(6) Actions brought under subsection (2)(f) of this section shall be considered to be\nmental health actions.\n(7) Nothing in this chapter shall deprive other courts of the jurisdiction to determine the\ncustody or guardianship of children upon writs of habeas co rpus or to determine the\ncustody or guardianship of children when such custody or guardianship is incidental\nto the determination of other causes pending in such other courts; nor shall anything\nin this chapter affect the jurisdiction of Circuit Courts ove r adoptions and\nproceedings for termination of parental rights.\n(8) The court shall have no jurisdiction to make permanent awards of custody of a child\nexcept as provided by KRS 620.027.\n(9) If the court finds an emergency to exist affecting the welfare of  a child, or if the\nchild is eligible for the relative or fictive kin caregiver assistance as established in\nKRS 620.142, it may make temporary orders for the child's custody; however, if the\ncase involves allegations of dependency, neglect, or abuse, no e mergency removal\nor temporary custody orders shall be effective unless the provisions of KRS Chapter\n620 are followed. Such orders shall be entirely without prejudice to the proceedings\nfor permanent custody of the child and shall remain in effect until mo dified or set\naside by the court. Upon the entry of a temporary or final judgment in the Circuit\nCourt awarding custody of such child, all prior orders of the juvenile session of the\nDistrict Court in conflict therewith shall be deemed canceled. This secti on shall not\nwork to deprive the Circuit Court of jurisdiction over cases filed in Circuit Court.\n(10) The court of each county wherein a public offense, as defined in subsection (1) of\nthis section, is committed by a child who is a resident of another county of this state\nshall have concurrent jurisdiction over such child with the court of the county\nwherein the child resides or the court of the county where the child is found.\nWhichever court first acquires jurisdiction of such child may proceed to final\ndisposition of the case, or in its discretion may make an order transferring the case\nto the court of the county of the child's residence or the county wherein the offense\nwas committed, as the case may be.\n(11) Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the co urt from holding a child in contempt of\ncourt to enforce valid court orders previously issued by the court, subject to the\nrequirements contained in KRS 610.265 and 630.080.\n(12) Except as provided in KRS 630.120(5), 635.060(4), or 635.090, nothing in this\nchapter shall confer upon the District Court or the family division of the Circuit\nCourt, as appropriate, jurisdiction over the actions of the Department of Juvenile\nJustice or the cabinet in the placement, care, or treatment of a child committed to\nthe Department of Juvenile Justice or committed to or in the custody of the cabinet;\nor to require the department or the cabinet to perform, or to refrain from\nperforming, any specific act in the placement, care, or treatment of any child\ncommitted to the department or committed to or in the custody of the cabinet.\n(13) Unless precluded by KRS Chapter 635 or 640, in addition to informal adjustment,\nthe court shall have the discretion to amend the petition to reflect jurisdiction\npursuant to the proper chapter of the Kentucky Unified Juvenile Code.\n(14) The court shall have continuing jurisdiction over a child pursuant to subsection (1)\nof this section, to review dispositional orders, and to conduct permanency hearings\nunder 42 U.S.C. sec. 675(5)(c) until the chil d is placed for adoption, returned home\nto his or her parents with all the court imposed conditions terminated, completes a\ndisposition pursuant to KRS 635.060, or reaches the age of eighteen (18) years.","path":["KRS Chapter 610"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=56079","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:07Z","sha256":"8d2804c167bc7545f4af73240de28434591977ae0e8580f9d79aa6e83a9a582f","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-61.992","next":"us-ky/krs-610.012"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}