{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-610.030","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 610.030","heading":"Preliminary intake inquiry procedures -- Resulting actions -- Formal","body":"conference -- Family screening tool -- Diversion agreement and family\ndiversion agreement.\nExcept as otherwise provided in KRS Chapters 600 to 645:\n(1) If any person  files a complaint alleging that a child, except a child alleged to be\nneglected, abused, dependent, or mentally ill who is subject to the jurisdiction of the\ncourt, may be within the purview of KRS Chapters 600 to 645, the court -designated\nworker shall ma ke a preliminary determination as to whether the complaint is\ncomplete. In any case where the court-designated worker finds that the complaint is\nincomplete, the court-designated worker shall return the complaint without delay to\nthe person or agency originating the complaint or having knowledge of the facts, or\nto the appropriate law enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction of the\noffense, and request additional information in order to complete the complaint. The\ncomplainant shall promptly furnish the additional information requested;\n(2) (a) Upon receipt of a complaint which appears to be complete and which alleges\nthat a child has committed a public offense, the court -designated worker shall\nrefer the complaint to the county attorney for revie w pursuant to KRS\n635.010.\n(b) If after review the county attorney elects to proceed, the court -designated\nworker shall conduct a preliminary intake inquiry to recommend whether the\ninterests of the child or the public require that further action be taken or\nwhether, in the interest of justice, the complaint can be resolved informally\nwithout the filing of a petition;\n(3) Upon receipt of a truancy intervention precomplaint form required in KRS\n159.152(2), the court -designated worker shall proceed in accorda nce with KRS\n610.035;\n(4) Upon receipt of a complaint that appears to be complete and that alleges that the\nchild has committed a status offense, the court -designated worker shall conduct a\npreliminary intake inquiry to determine whether the interests of t he child or the\npublic require that further action be taken;\n(5) Prior to conducting a preliminary intake inquiry, the court -designated worker shall\nnotify the child and the child's parent, guardian, or other person exercising custodial\ncontrol or supervision of the child in writing:\n(a) Of their opportunity to be present at the preliminary intake inquiry;\n(b) That they may have counsel present during the preliminary intake inquiry and\nthe formal conference;\n(c) 1. That all information supplied by the child to a court -designated worker\nduring any process prior to the filing of the petition shall be deemed\nconfidential and shall not be subject to subpoena or to disclosure\nwithout the written consent of the child.\n2. That information may be shared between treatment providers, the court -\ndesignated worker, and if applicable, the RISE team to enable the court -\ndesignated worker to facilitate services and facilitate compliance with\nthe diversion agreement; and\n(d) That the child has the right to deny the allegation and demand a formal court\nhearing;\n(6) The preliminary intake inquiry shall include the administration of a n evidence -\nbased screening tool and, if appropriate and available, a validated risk and needs\nassessment, in order to identify whether the child and his or her family are in need\nof services and the level of intervention needed;\n(7) (a) Upon the completion  of the preliminary intake inquiry for a minor who is\nalleged to be a status offender and has been reported to the county attorney as\nrequired under KRS 159.140(3)(b), the court -designated worker shall, if the\ncounty attorney elects not to refer the compla int for formal court action,\nproceed under subsection (9) of this section.\n(b) Upon the completion of the preliminary intake inquiry for all other\nallegations, the court-designated worker may:\n1. If the complaint alleges a status offense, and is filed agai nst a student\nfrom a school:\na. Without a SOAR Program, determine that no further action be\ntaken; or\nb. With a SOAR Program, determine that no further action be taken\nsubject to review by the RISE team;\n2. If the complaint alleges a public offense, refer the complaint to the\ncounty attorney;\n3. Refer a public offense complaint for informal adjustment; or\n4. Based upon the results of the preliminary intake inquiry, other\ninformation obtained, and a determination that the interests of the child\nand the publi c would be better served, and with the written approval of\nthe county attorney for a public offense complaint, if necessary, conduct\na formal conference and enter into a diversion agreement;\n(8) Upon receiving written approval of the county attorney, if ne cessary, to divert a\npublic offense complaint, and prior to conducting a formal conference, the court -\ndesignated worker shall advise in writing the complainant, the victim if any, and the\nlaw enforcement agency having investigative jurisdiction of the offense:\n(a) Of the recommendation and the reasons therefor and that the complainant,\nvictim, or law enforcement agency may submit within ten (10) days from\nreceipt of such notice a complaint to the county attorney for special review; or\n(b) In the case of a misdemeanor diverted pursuant to KRS 635.010(4), of the fact\nthat the child was statutorily entitled to divert the case;\n(9) A formal conference shall include the child and his or her parent, guardian, or other\nperson exercising custodial control or supervi sion and may, upon agreement of the\ncourt-designated worker, the child, and his or her parent, guardian, or other person\nexercising custodial control or supervision, include other adult support persons who\nare a significant presence in the child's life. The formal conference shall be used to:\n(a) Present information obtained at the preliminary intake inquiry; and\n(b) Administer an evidence -based family screening tool to identify family\nstrengths, needs, and risks. Results from the family screening shall be used to\ndevelop a family diversion agreement that shall not exceed twelve (12)\nmonths in duration, and:\n1. Shall include:\na. An individualized plan for the child and his or her parent,\nguardian, or other person exercising custodial control or\nsupervision to address the needs of the child and the family;\nb. A requirement that the child regularly attend school or participate\nin a specifically identified educational program agreed upon by the\nchild, the court -designated worker, and the parent, guardian, or\nother person exercising custodial control or supervision that\nincludes monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure\ncompliance;\nc. A plan for monitoring the child's and family's progress and\ncompletion of the agreement, and for communication between the\nfamily and the court-designated worker; and\nd. For a child against whom a complaint alleging habitual truancy\nhas been filed under KRS 159.140(3)(b), a requirement that if the\nchild is absent from school without excuse for eight (8) days\nduring one (1) schoo l term, as defined in KRS 158.070, following\nthe establishment of a family diversion agreement, the family shall\nimmediately be considered to have failed to complete the family\ndiversion agreement and subsection (10)(b)2. of this section shall\nimmediately apply; and\n2. May include:\na. Referral of the child, parent, guardian, or other person  exercising\ncustodial control or supervision of the child, orthe family unit, if\nappropriate, to any or all of the following:\ni. A public or private entity or person for the provision of\nidentified services to address needs identified through the\nfamily screening;\nii. A community service program within the limitations\nprovided under KRS 635.080(2);\niii. School-based resources such as mental health services,\nfamily resource and youth service centers, or other available\nservices and programs;\niv. A restorative justice program; or\nv. Any other available and appropriate program or service;\nb. Restitution, limited to the actual pecuniary loss suffered by the\nvictim, if the child has the means or ability to make restitution;\nc. Notification that the court-designated worker may apply graduated\nsanctions to the child or parent, guardian, or other person\nexercising custodial control or supervision for failure to comply\nwith the family diversion agreement; and\nd. Any other provisions agreed upon by the court -designated worker,\nthe child, and the parent, guardian, or other person exercising\ncustodial control or supervision.\n3. Prior to developing the family diversion agreement, the court-designated\nworker shall contact the school district that the child attends to obtain\nbackground information from school personnel regarding family\nbackground, education records, any services previously provided, and\nany recommended trauma informed strategies.\n4. a. Upon developing a family diversion agreement, the court -\ndesignated worker shall electronically notify the director of pupil\npersonnel at the school district that the child attends that the child\nhas entered into a family diversion agreement, including the date\nof the agreement, and provide summary information regarding the\nchild to be given to the individuals specified in this subparagraph.\nThe summary information shall include the:\ni. Child's name;\nii. Underlying charge for which diversion was granted;\niii. Date the child was placed on diversion; and\niv. Anticipated end date of the diversion period.\nb. The summary information shall be accessible to the county\nattorney, who shall be provided the summary information and who\nmay share that information with any law enforcement officer who\nspecifically requests that information and wh o has a legitimate\nreason, related to his or her employment, to receive the\ninformation.\nc. The summary information shall be accessible to the superintendent\nof the public school district in which the child is enrolled, or the\nprincipal of any private elem entary or secondary school that the\nchild attends, subject to the following:\ni. A superintendent receiving the information pursuant to this\nsubparagraph may share the information with the director of\npupil personnel and any school resource officer or any o ther\ncontract employee hired to provide security services for the\nschool that the child attends; and\nii. A principal of a private school receiving the information\npursuant to this subparagraph may share the information\nwith any person who provides security  services for the\nschool that the child attends;\n(10) (a) If a child and his or her parent, guardian, or other person exercising custodial\ncontrol or supervision successfully completes the family diversion agreement,\nthe underlying complaint against the ch ild shall be dismissed and further\naction related to that complaint shall be prohibited. Upon completion of the\nfamily diversion agreement, the court -designated worker shall electronically\nnotify the director of pupil personnel at the school district that the child\nattends, including the date the agreement was successfully completed.\n(b) 1. If a child fails to appear for a preliminary intake inquiry or declines to\nenter into a family diversion agreement, then:\na. For a public offense complaint, the matter s hall be referred to the\ncounty attorney for review and possible formal court action; and\nb. For a status offense complaint filed against a student from a\nschool:\ni. Without a SOAR Program, the court-designated worker shall\nrefer the matter to the county attorney for review and further\naction;\nii. With a SOAR Program, the court -designated worker shall\nrefer the matter to the RISE team; and\n2. a. If a child and his or h er parent, guardian, or other person\nexercising custodial control or supervision fail to complete a\nfamily diversion agreement, then the court-designated worker shall\nreview the case to determine the primary reason for the failure.\nb. If the court -designated worker determines that the primary reason\nfor the failure is lack of involvement by:\ni. The parent, guardian, or other person exercising custodial\ncontrol or supervision, then the court -designated worker\nshall refer the case to the cabinet and shall sha re the results\nof the family -based screening tool with the cabinet at the\ntime of the referral. The cabinet shall conduct an\ninvestigation of suspected dependency, neglect, or abuse of\nthe child as required by KRS 605.130 and notify both the\ncourt-designated worker and the county attorney of its\nplanned course of action and recommendation of how to\nproceed; or\nii. The child, then the case shall be referred to the county\nattorney, and if a petition is filed, the child may request that\nthe court dismiss the c omplaint based upon his or her\nsubstantial compliance with the terms of diversion;\n(11) If the county attorney refers a complaint for habitual truancy to the court, the\ncounty attorney shall electronically notify the director of pupil personnel at the\nschool district that the child attends that the complaint has been filed, including the\ndate of the filing;\n(12) If a complaint is referred to the court, the complaint and findings of the court -\ndesignated worker's preliminary intake inquiry and any family asse ssment\nconducted pursuant to subsection (9) of this section shall be submitted to the court\nfor the court to determine whether process should issue; and\n(13) At any stage in the proceedings described in this section, the court or the county\nattorney may re view any decision of the court -designated worker. The court upon\nits own motion or upon written request of the county attorney may refer any\ncomplaint for a formal hearing.","path":["KRS Chapter 610"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57482","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:07Z","sha256":"372bd4961c70262420f068d3a9f5bb67069c88fb711a9d821d125a850261979e","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-610.020","next":"us-ky/krs-610.033"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}