{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-620.050","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 620.050","heading":"Immunity for good -faith actions or reports -- Investigations --","body":"Confidentiality of reports -- Exceptions -- Parent's access to records -- Sharing\nof information by children's advocacy centers -- Confidentiality of interview\nwith child -- Exceptions -- Confidentiality of identifying information regarding\nreporting individual -- Internal review and report -- Waiver -- Medical\ndiagnostic procedures -- Sharing information with relatives -- Interaction\namong siblings who are not jointly placed.\n(1) Anyone acting upon reasonable cause in the making of a report or acting under\nKRS 620.030 to 620.050 in good faith shall have immunity from any liability, civil\nor criminal, that might otherwise be incurred or imposed. Any such participant s hall\nhave the same immunity with respect to participation in any judicial proceeding\nresulting from such report or action. However, any person who knowingly makes a\nfalse report and does so with malice shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.\n(2) Any employee or designated agent of a children's advocacy center shall be immune\nfrom any civil liability arising from performance within the scope of the person's\nduties as provided in KRS 620.030 to 620.050. Any such person shall have the\nsame immunity with resp ect to participation in any judicial proceeding. Nothing in\nthis subsection shall limit liability for negligence. Upon the request of an employee\nor designated agent of a children's advocacy center, the Attorney General shall\nprovide for the defense of any  civil action brought against the employee or\ndesignated agent as provided under KRS 12.211 to 12.215.\n(3) 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(4) Upon receipt of a report of an abused, neglected, or dependent child pursuant to this\nchapter, the cabinet as the designated agency or its delegated re presentative shall\ninitiate a prompt investigation or assessment of family needs, take necessary action,\nand shall offer protective services toward safeguarding the welfare of the child. The\ncabinet shall work toward preventing further dependency, neglect,  or abuse of the\nchild or any other child under the same care, and preserve and strengthen family\nlife, where possible, by enhancing parental capacity for adequate child care. If an\noral or written report, including but not limited to electronic submission s, alleging\nthat a child is dependent, neglected, or abused is made pursuant to this section, and\nthe cabinet determines that the report does not meet criteria for an investigation, the\ncabinet shall refer the family to appropriate community -based child an d family\nservice agencies for services to preserve and strengthen family life in accordance\nwith the requirements in 42 U.S.C. sec. 5106a.\n(5) The report of suspected child abuse, neglect, or dependency and all information\nobtained by the cabinet or its delegated representative, as a result of an investigation\nor assessment made pursuant to this chapter, except for those records provided for\nin subsection (6) of this section, shall only be divulged to:\n(a) Persons suspected of causing dependency, neglect, or abuse;\n(b) The custodial parent or legal guardian of the child alleged to be dependent,\nneglected, or abused;\n(c) Persons within the cabinet with a legitimate interest or responsibility related\nto the case;\n(d) A licensed child -caring facility or child -placing agency evaluating placement\nfor or serving a child who is believed to be the victim of an abuse, neglect, or\ndependency report;\n(e) Other medical, psychological, educational, or social service agencies, child\ncare administrators, corrections personn el, or law enforcement agencies,\nincluding the county attorney's office, the coroner, and the local child fatality\nresponse team, that have a legitimate interest in the case;\n(f) A noncustodial parent when the dependency, neglect, or abuse is\nsubstantiated;\n(g) Members of multidisciplinary teams as defined by KRS 620.020 and which\noperate pursuant to KRS 431.600;\n(h) Employees or designated agents of a children's advocacy center;\n(i) Those persons so authorized by court order;\n(j) The external child fatality and near fatality review panel established by KRS\n620.055;\n(k) A person, agency, or organization engaged in a bona fide research, quality\nimprovement, or evaluation project having value as determined by the cabinet.\nThis paragraph shall not limit the authority of the cabinet to decline to share\ndata in cases where it deems a research, quality improvement, or evaluation\nproject lacks sufficient merit or value, or where it deems the perceived risks to\nbe unacceptably high. Data sharing shall be driven by the aims of advancing\nhuman knowledge, complying with federal requirements, and facilitating\nfuture planning for programs that support families, serve maltreated children,\nor inform the development of policy. Data may be shared under this paragraph\nonly when the following conditions are met:\n1. The person, agency, or organization enters into a data -use agreement\nwith the cabinet and complies with the data security and privacy\nconditions outlined by the Office of Data Analytics within the cabinet;\n2. Any confidential information provided for a research, quality\nimprovement, or evaluation project under this paragraph shall not be\nredisclosed. The cabinet shall not share personally ident ifiable\ninformation under this paragraph, except in cases where the information\nis essential to the completion of the project. As used in this\nsubparagraph, \"personally identifiable information\" means the current\ndefinition promulgated by the United States  National Institute of\nStandards and Technology at the time of data sharing; and\n3. If a research, quality improvement, or evaluation project results in the\npublication or public dissemination of related material, confidential\ninformation provided for a re search, quality improvement, or evaluation\nproject under this subparagraph shall not be disclosed in the results; or\n(l) The Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman established pursuant to KRS\n43.035.\n(6) (a) Files, reports, notes, photographs, records, elect ronic and other\ncommunications, and working papers used or developed by a children's\nadvocacy center in providing services under this chapter are confidential and\nshall not be disclosed except to the following persons:\n1. Staff employed by the cabinet, law  enforcement officers, and\nCommonwealth's and county attorneys who are directly involved in the\ninvestigation or prosecution of the case, including a cabinet\ninvestigation or assessment of child abuse, neglect, and dependency in\naccordance with this chapter;\n2. Medical and mental health professionals listed by name in a release of\ninformation signed by the guardian of the child, provided that the\ninformation shared is limited to that necessary to promote the physical\nor psychological health of the child or to treat the child for abuse-related\nsymptoms;\n3. The court and those persons so authorized by a court order;\n4. The external child fatality and near fatality review panel established by\nKRS 620.055;\n5. The Commonwealth Office of the Ombudsman established pursuant to\nKRS 43.035; and\n6. The parties to an administrative hearing conducted by the cabinet or its\ndesignee in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B in an appeal of a cabinet-\nsubstantiated finding of abuse or neglect. The children's advocacy center\nmay, in its sole discretion, provide testimony in lieu of files, reports,\nnotes, photographs, records, electronic and other communications, and\nworking papers used or developed by the center if the center determines\nthat the release poses a threat to the safety or  well-being of the child, or\nwould be in the best interests of the child. Following the administrative\nhearing and any judicial review, the parties to the administrative hearing\nshall return all files, reports, notes, photographs, records, electronic and\nother communications, and working papers used or developed by the\nchildren's advocacy center to the center.\n(b) The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as to contravene the\nRules of Criminal Procedure relating to discovery.\n(7) Nothing in t his section shall prohibit a parent or guardian from accessing records\nfor his or her child providing that the parent or guardian is not currently under\ninvestigation by a law enforcement agency or the cabinet relating to the abuse or\nneglect of a child.\n(8) Nothing in this section shall prohibit employees or designated agents of a children's\nadvocacy center from disclosing information during a multidisciplinary team\nreview of a child sexual abuse case as set forth under KRS 620.040. Persons\nreceiving this information shall sign a confidentiality statement consistent with\nstatutory prohibitions on disclosure of this information.\n(9) Employees or designated agents of a children's advocacy center may confirm to\nanother children's advocacy center that a child h as been seen for services. If an\ninformation release has been signed by the guardian of the child, a children's\nadvocacy center may disclose relevant information to another children's advocacy\ncenter.\n(10) (a) An interview of a child recorded at a children 's advocacy center shall not be\nduplicated, except that the Commonwealth's or county attorney prosecuting\nthe case may:\n1. Make and retain one (1) copy of the interview; and\n2. Make one (1) copy for the defendant's or respondent's counsel that the\ndefendant's or respondent's counsel shall not duplicate.\n(b) The defendant's or respondent's counsel shall file the copy with the court clerk\nat the close of the case.\n(c) Unless objected to by the victim or victims, the court, on its own motion, or\non motion of the attorney for the Commonwealth shall order all recorded\ninterviews that are introduced into evidence or are in the possession of the\nchildren's advocacy center, l aw enforcement, the prosecution, or the court to\nbe sealed.\n(d) The provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as to contravene the\nRules of Criminal Procedure relating to discovery.\n(11) Identifying information concerning the individual initiati ng the report under KRS\n620.030 shall not be disclosed except:\n(a) To law enforcement officials that have a legitimate interest in the case;\n(b) To the agency designated by the cabinet to investigate or assess the report;\n(c) To members of multidisciplinar y teams as defined by KRS 620.020 that\noperated under KRS 431.600;\n(d) Under a court order, after the court has conducted an in camera review of the\nrecord of the state related to the report and has found reasonable cause to\nbelieve that the reporter knowingly made a false report; or\n(e) The external child fatality and near fatality review panel established by KRS\n620.055.\n(12) (a) Information may be publicly disclosed by the cabinet in a case where child\nabuse or neglect has resulted in a child fatality or near fatality.\n(b) The cabinet shall conduct an internal review of any case where child abuse or\nneglect has resulted in a child fatality or near fatality and the cabinet had prior\ninvolvement with the child or family. The cabinet shall prepare a summary\nthat includes an account of:\n1. The cabinet's actions and any policy or personnel changes taken or to be\ntaken, including the results of appeals, as a result of the findings from\nthe internal review; and\n2. Any cooperation, assistance, or information from any agency of the state\nor any other agency, institution, or facility providing services to the\nchild or family that were requested and received by the cabinet during\nthe investigation of a child fatality or near fatality.\n(c) The cabinet shall submit a re port by September 1 of each year containing an\nanalysis of all summaries of internal reviews occurring during the previous\nyear and an analysis of historical trends to the Governor, the General\nAssembly, and the state child fatality review team created und er KRS\n211.684.\n(13) When an adult who is the subject of information made confidential by subsection\n(5) of this section publicly reveals or causes to be revealed any significant part of\nthe confidential matter or information, the confidentiality afforded by subsection (5)\nof this section is presumed voluntarily waived, and confidential information and\nrecords about the person making or causing the public disclosure, not already\ndisclosed but related to the information made public, may be disclosed if discl osure\nis in the best interest of the child or is necessary for the administration of the\ncabinet's duties under this chapter.\n(14) (a) As a result of any report of suspected child abuse or neglect:\n1. Photographs and X-rays;\n2. A comprehensive urine drug s creen using confirmatory methodology\nthat shall include the following synthetic opioids:\na. Buprenorphine;\nb. Fentanyl;\nc. Methadone; and\nd. Xylazine; or\n3. Other appropriate medical diagnostic procedures;\nmay be taken or caused to be taken, without the c onsent of the parent or other\nperson exercising custodial control or supervision of the child, as a part of the\nmedical evaluation or investigation of these reports.\n(b) These photographs and X -rays, comprehensive drug screens, or results of\nother medical diagnostic procedures may be introduced into evidence in any\nsubsequent judicial proceedings or an administrative hearing conducted by the\ncabinet or its designee in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B in an appeal of a\ncabinet-substantiated finding of child abuse or neglect.\n(c) The person performing the diagnostic procedures, taking photographs or X -\nrays, or administering the comprehensive drug screen shall be immune from\ncriminal or civil liability for having performed the act. Nothing herein shall\nlimit liability for negligence.\n(15) In accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 671, the cabinet shall share information about a\nchild in the custody of the cabinet with a relative or a parent of the child's sibling\nfor the purposes of:\n(a) Evaluating or arranging a placement for the child;\n(b) Arranging appropriate treatment services for the child; or\n(c) Establishing visitation between the child and a relative, including a sibling of\nthe child.\n(16) In accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 671, the cabinet shall, in the case of siblings\nremoved from their home who are not jointly placed, provide for frequent visitation\nor other ongoing interaction between the siblings, unless the cabinet determines that\nfrequent visitation or other ongoing interaction would be contrary to the safety or\nwell-being of any of the siblings.\n(17) This section shall not be interpreted as prohibiting the Commonwealth Office of the\nOmbudsman from reporting pursuant to KRS 43.035 on de -identified information\nmade confidential by this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 620"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57454","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T21:00:08Z","sha256":"d994d70024416aa43275e76e07d64a5074e7703ca578187fd958dd9c313800c4","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-620.048","next":"us-ky/krs-620.051"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}