{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-620.030","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 620.030","heading":"Duty to report dependency, neglect, abuse, human trafficking, or female","body":"genital mutilation -- Husband-wife and professional -client/patient privileges\nnot grounds for refusal to report -- Statewide reporting system -- Exceptions --\nPenalties.\n(1) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is dependent,\nneglected, or abused shall immediately cause an oral or written report, including but\nnot limited to electronic submissions, to be made to a local law enforcement ag ency\nor to the Department of Kentucky State Police, the cabinet or its designated\nrepresentative, the Commonwealth's attorney, or the county attorney by telephone\nor otherwise. If the cabinet receives a report of abuse or neglect allegedly\ncommitted by a p erson other than a parent, guardian, fictive kin, person in a\nposition of authority, person in a position of special trust, or person exercising\ncustodial control or supervision, the cabinet shall refer the matter to the\nCommonwealth's attorney or the coun ty attorney and the local law enforcement\nagency or the Department of Kentucky State Police. Nothing in this section shall\nrelieve individuals of their obligations to report.\n(2) (a) Any person, including but not limited to a physician, osteopathic physici an,\nnurse, teacher, school personnel, social worker, coroner, medical examiner,\nchild-caring personnel, resident, intern, chiropractor, dentist, optometrist,\nemergency medical technician, paramedic, health professional, mental health\nprofessional, peace of ficer, or any organization or agency for any of the\nabove, who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is\ndependent, neglected, or abused, regardless of whether the person believed to\nhave caused the dependency, neglect, or abuse is a parent,  guardian, fictive\nkin, person in a position of authority, person in a position of special trust,\nperson exercising custodial control or supervision, or another person, or who\nhas attended such child as a part of his or her professional duties, shall:\n1. Immediately make an oral or written report, including but not limited to\nelectronic submissions, in accordance with subsection (1) of this section;\n2. Immediately notify the supervisor of the institution, school, facility,\nagency, or designated agent of the person in charge; and\n3. If requested, in addition to the report required in subsection (1) or (3) of\nthis section, file with the local law enforcement agency or the\nDepartment of Kentucky State Police, the cabinet or its designated\nrepresentative, the Co mmonwealth's attorney, or county attorney within\nforty-eight (48) hours of the original report a written report, including\nbut not limited to electronic submissions, containing:\na. The names and addresses of the child and his or her parents or\nother persons exercising custodial control or supervision;\nb. The child's age;\nc. The nature and extent of the child's alleged dependency, neglect,\nor abuse, including any previous charges of dependency, neglect,\nor abuse, to this child or his or her siblings;\nd. The name and address of the person allegedly responsible for the\nabuse or neglect; and\ne. Any other information that the person making the report believes\nmay be helpful in the furtherance of the purpose of this section.\n(b) Upon notification, the supervisor or the designated agent, if any, shall\nfacilitate the cooperation of the institution, school, facility, or agency with the\ninvestigation of the report.\n(c) Any person who knowingly causes intimidation, retaliation, or obstruction in\nthe investigation of the report shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.\n(d) This section sha ll not require more than one (1) report from any institution,\nschool, facility, or agency.\n(3) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is a victim of\nhuman trafficking as defined in KRS 529.010 shall immediately cause an oral o r\nwritten report, including but not limited to electronic submissions, to be made to a\nlocal law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police; or the\ncabinet or its designated representative; or the Commonwealth's attorney or the\ncounty attorney; by telephone or otherwise. This subsection shall apply regardless\nof whether the person believed to have caused the human trafficking of the child is\na parent, guardian, fictive kin, person in a position of authority, person in a position\nof special trust, or person exercising custodial control or supervision.\n(4) Any person who knows or has reasonable cause to believe that a child is a victim of\nfemale genital mutilation as defined in KRS 508.125 shall immediately cause an\noral or written report, i ncluding but not limited to electronic submissions, to be\nmade by telephone or otherwise to:\n(a) A local law enforcement agency or the Department of Kentucky State Police;\n(b) The cabinet or its designated representative; or\n(c) The Commonwealth's attorney or the county attorney.\nThis subsection shall apply regardless of whether the person believed to have\ncaused the female genital mutilation of the child is a parent, guardian, or person\nexercising custodial control or supervision.\n(5) Neither the husband -wife nor any professional -client/patient privilege, except the\nattorney-client and clergy-penitent privilege, shall be a ground for refusing to report\nunder this section or for excluding evidence regarding a dependent, neglected, or\nabused child or the cause thereof, in any judicial proceedings resulting from a report\npursuant to this section. This subsection shall also apply in any criminal proceeding\nin District or Circuit Court regarding a dependent, neglected, or abused child.\n(6) The cabinet shall esta blish and operate a statewide reporting system for the public\nto make reports of child dependency, neglect, and abuse via telephone call or\nwritten report, including but not limited to electronic submissions. The statewide\nreporting system shall operate a twenty-four (24) hour on -call response system that\nincludes but is not limited to a child abuse hotline for the receipt of emergency and\nnonemergency reports of child dependency, neglect, and abuse during and after\nnormal office hours. The cabinet may use contract employees to operate the system.\n(7) The cabinet upon request shall receive from any agency of the state or any other\nagency, institution, or facility providing services to the child or his or her family,\nsuch cooperation, assistance, and information as will enable the cabinet to fulfill its\nresponsibilities under KRS 620.030, 620.040, and 620.050.\n(8) Nothing in this section shall limit the cabinet's investigatory authority under KRS\n620.050 or any other obligation imposed by law.\n(9) Any person w ho intentionally violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty\nof a:\n(a) Class B misdemeanor for the first offense;\n(b) Class A misdemeanor for the second offense; and\n(c) Class D felony for each subsequent offense.","path":["KRS Chapter 620"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=55113","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:08Z","sha256":"c920b1b06e3236c087f2c55b69608d7aff2ed39e846268fa2df363fdec57094b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-620.029","next":"us-ky/krs-620.032"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}