RELATES TO:
KRS
2.015, 45.237-45.241,
156.496,
194A.005(1),
199.011,
199.462,
199.470-199.590,
205.211,
Chapter 387, 403.270-403.355, 405.024, 527.100, 527.110, 600.020, 605.120,
610.110, 620.020(1), 620.090, 620.140, 620.142, 620.170,
42
U.S.C. 601-
619,
671,
673,
675, D.O. v. Glisson,
847 F.3d 374 (6th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 17-17, 2017 WL 2869916 (U.S. Oct.
10, 2017)
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
194A.050(1) requires the
secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to promulgate,
administer, and enforce administrative regulations necessary to implement
programs mandated by federal law, or to qualify for the receipt of federal
funds and necessary to cooperate with other state and federal agencies for the
proper administration of the cabinet and its programs.
KRS
605.150(1) authorizes the
cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to implement provisions of the
chapter, including
KRS
605.130(7), which authorizes
the cabinet to perform such other services as may be deemed necessary for the
protection of children.
KRS
620.142(5) requires the
cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations developing custodial,
permanency, and service options that shall be available to a relative or
fictive kin caregiver. This administrative regulation establishes the service
array available to a relative or fictive kin caregiver pursuant to
KRS
620.142(1).
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Absent parent search" means
cabinet-initiated efforts to locate a biological or legal parent, or a
relative.
(2) "Cabinet" is defined
by
KRS
194A.005(1),
199.011(3),
and
600.020(7).
(3) "Case permanency plan" is defined by
KRS
620.020(1).
(4) "Child" means a:
(a) Child defined by
KRS
199.011(4) and
600.020(9);
(b) Person age eighteen (18) or older whose
commitment to the cabinet has been extended or reinstated by a court in
accordance with
KRS
610.110(6) or
620.140(1)(e);
or
(c) A person under age
twenty-one (21) who meets the exceptions to the age of majority in accordance
with
KRS
2.015.
(5) "Child Care Assistance Program" or "CCAP"
means Kentucky's child care subsidy program providing families who meet the
eligibility requirements with the financial resources to find and afford
quality child care, as established in 922 KAR
2:160.
(6) "Child who is a candidate for foster
care" is defined by
42
U.S.C.
675(13).
(7) "Fictive kin" is defined by
KRS
199.011(9) and
600.020(28).
(8) "Kentucky Transitional Assistance
Program" or "KTAP" means Kentucky's Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
(TANF) money payment program for a child who is deprived of parental support or
care, as established in
921
KAR 2:006.
(9) "Parent" is defined by
42
U.S.C.
675(2).
(10) "Relative" means an individual related
to a child by blood, marriage, or adoption.
Section 2. Identification of a Relative or
Fictive Kin.
(1) If a relative or fictive kin
placement is in the best interest of a child upon removal from the child's home
of origin, the cabinet shall:
(a) Use an
absent parent search in accordance with 922 KAR
1:140, Section 3, to locate a
relative;
(b) Discuss a prospective
relative or fictive kin placement with the:
1.
Child's parent; and
2. Child, based
upon the age and development of the child; or
(c) Require the parent or other person
exercising custodial control or supervision to provide a list of possible
persons to be considered pursuant to
KRS
620.140(1)(c).
(2) Cabinet staff shall make
reasonable attempts to:
(a) Contact the
relative or fictive kin; and
(b)
Assess the relative's or fictive kin's fitness to serve as a placement resource
for the child in accordance with Section 3 of this administrative
regulation.
(3) The
cabinet shall:
(a) Disclose legal and service
options available to a prospective relative or fictive kin:
1. Who is being assessed as a placement
resource; and
2. Prior to the time
a child is placed in the relative's or fictive kin's home; and
(b) Obtain written acknowledgement
of the disclosure of legal and service options from the relative or fictive
kin.
Section
3. Fitness of the Relative or Fictive Kin.
(1) To support a child's health, safety, and
wellbeing in placement with a relative or fictive kin caregiver, based upon the
legal option selected by the relative or fictive kin, the cabinet shall:
(a) Complete a safety check and review with
consideration given to the relative's or fictive kin's:
1. Willingness and ability to:
a. Protect the child from abuse or
neglect;
b. Participate in the
child's case permanency plan;
c.
Access:
(i) Transportation;
(ii) Telephone;
(iii) Medical and dental services;
(iv) First aid supplies; and
(v) School;
d. Provide full-time care;
e. Provide for the child's sleeping and
eating;
f. Maintain adequate heat
and ventilation in the home;
g. Use
active smoke detectors in the home; and
h. Assure the child's inaccessibility to:
(i) Medication unless an exception consistent
with 922 KAR
1:350, Section 3(12), applies;
(ii) Alcoholic beverages;
(iii) Poisonous materials;
(iv) Firearms or ammunition in accordance
with
KRS
527.100 and
527.110;
(v) Unsupervised contact with the birth
parent, if prohibited; and
(vi)
Cleaning materials unless the materials are age or developmentally appropriate
for the child or the child is supervised; and
2. Understanding of the impact that familial
abuse, neglect, or substance abuse may have on a child and the child's extended
family; and
3. Fitness in
accordance with 922 KAR
1:490; or
(b) Conduct a home study and background
checks in accordance with 922 KAR
1:350 and 922 KAR
1:490 in consideration of
the relative or fictive kin as a prospective foster or adoptive home.
(2) A relative or fictive kin
caregiver who seeks approval as a foster or adoptive parent shall meet the
training requirements established in 922 KAR
1:495.
(3) The cabinet shall:
(a) Document in the case file that the
fictive kin has completed training on the prevention and recognition of
pediatric abusive head trauma in accordance with
KRS
199.462; and
(b) Provide information to the relative or
fictive kin on how to recognize and report child abuse and neglect.
(4) To the extent funds are
available, the cabinet shall make available to a relative or fictive kin
caregiver training:
(a) For foster parents,
adoptive parents, and respite care providers in accordance with 922 KAR
1:495;
and
(b) Developed to address the
needs of relative and fictive kin caregivers, including management of the
relationship with the child's parent.
(5) A relative's or fictive kin's decision to
pursue approval as a foster parent shall not guarantee the cabinet's
approval.
Section 4.
Relative or Fictive Kin Placement Support Benefit.
(1) To the extent that funds are available,
the cabinet shall provide, if requested, a one (1) time relative or fictive kin
placement support benefit:
(a) To facilitate
the cabinet's placement of a child with a nonparental relative or fictive
kin;
(b) If a court of competent
jurisdiction has granted temporary custody of the child to the relative,
fictive kin, or the cabinet due to:
1. Child
abuse or neglect; or
2. The death
of both parents;
(c)
That will provide for a child's immediate needs, such as:
1. Clothing;
2. School supplies;
3. Additional furniture; or
4. A deposit for a larger apartment;
and
(d) That is equal to
or does not exceed the amount for the appropriate number of eligible children
as follows:
Number of Eligible Children
|
Payment Amount
|
1
|
$350
|
2
|
$700
|
3
|
$1,050
|
4
|
$1,400
|
5
|
$1,750
|
6 or more
|
$2,100
|
(2)
(a) The
relative or fictive kin placement support benefit shall be issued by check or
electronic fund transfer directly to:
1. The
relative or fictive kin caregiver with whom the child is placed; or
2. A vendor providing the needed service or
item listed in subsection (1)(c) of this section.
(b) Prior to the provision of the relative or
fictive kin placement support benefit, the relative, fictive kin, or vendor
shall provide tax status and contact information for accounting of the
benefit's disbursement.
(3)
(a) In
accordance with Kentucky's Title IV-A Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
Block Grant state plan, the cabinet shall prioritize a child for the relative
placement support benefit if the child is:
1.
Placed with a relative whose household income is at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty level as determined annually by the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services; or
(b) Pursuant to
42
U.S.C.
601, Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families Block Grant funds shall not be provided to a fictive kin
caregiver.
(4) A
relative or fictive kin caregiver shall not be eligible for an initial clothing
allowance as a foster parent if the relative or fictive kin receives the
relative or fictive kin placement support benefit.
Section 5. Legal Options.
(1) The following legal options shall be
available to a prospective relative or fictive kin caregiver:
(a) Family-arranged care through:
1. A written plan in accordance with 922 KAR
1:330;
2. An affidavit to make
health care treatment and school-related decisions for the child in accordance
with
KRS
405.024; or
3. A power of attorney for temporary
delegation of parental rights and responsibilities in accordance with
KRS
403.352 and
403.353;
(b) Court-ordered custody to the
relative or fictive kin caregiver in accordance with KRS 403.270-403.355,
620.090,
or
620.140(1)(c);
(c) Court-ordered custody to the cabinet in
accordance with
KRS
620.090,
620.140(1)(c),
or
620.170;
(d) Adoption in accordance with KRS
199.470-199.590 or 922 KAR
1:100; or
(e) Guardianship in accordance with KRS
Chapter 387.
(2)
Considerations in assessing the legal options for a relative or fictive kin
caregiver shall include:
(a) The likelihood of
the child's reunification with the child's home of origin, including the
child's permanency goal in accordance with 922 KAR
1:140;
(b) The relationship that the relative or
fictive kin caregiver has with the child's home of origin or parent;
(c) The ability of the relative or fictive
kin caregiver to:
1. Manage parental
visitation; and
2. Ensure the
child's safety;
(d) The
relative or fictive kin caregiver's financial situation and need for additional
resources to support the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the
child;
(e) The level of involvement
and types of services that will be needed from the cabinet for the caregiver
and the child to ensure the safety, permanency, and wellbeing of the child;
and
(f) The level of support and
types of services that will be needed if:
1.
The caregiver assumes legal responsibility for the child; or
2. Reunification with the child's home of
origin is not possible for the child.
(3) Permanency services for a child in the
custody of the cabinet shall be in accordance with 922 KAR
1:140.
Section 6. Service Options.
(1) The array of monetary supports on behalf
of a child placed with a relative or fictive kin caregiver shall include:
(a) The Relative or Fictive Kin Placement
Support Benefit in accordance with Section 4 of this administrative
regulation;
(b) CCAP in accordance
with 922 KAR
2:160;
(c) Child
support if application is made or intergovernmental process applies in
accordance with
921
KAR 1:380;
(e) The Kinship Care Program in accordance
with 922 KAR
1:130;
(f) Health
benefits for the child:
(g) Foster care per diem in accordance with:
1.
b. D.O. v. Glisson,
847 F.3d
374 (6th Cir. 2017), cert. denied, 17-17, 2017 WL 2869916 (U.S. Oct.
10, 2017); and
2. The
terms and conditions specified in the individual agreement between the cabinet
and the foster parent;
(h) Adoption assistance in accordance with
922 KAR
1:050 or 922 KAR
1:060;
(i)
To the extent funds are available, post-permanency services, including:
1. Subsidized guardianship under
42 U.S.C.
671 and
673
once the benefit is available; or
2. Post-adoption placement stabilization
services in accordance with 922 KAR
1:530; or
(j) The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program if application is made and approved in accordance with
921 KAR
3:030.
(2) To the extent funds are available,
effective October 1, 2019, the cabinet shall provide prevention and family
services and programs in accordance with
42 U.S.C.
671(e) to a child who is a
candidate for foster care, including:
(a)
Mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services;
or
(b) In-home parent skill-based
programs.
(3) To the
extent funds are available, the cabinet or its designee shall provide the
following services for a relative or fictive kin caregiver:
(a) A hotline;
(b) Online portal;
(c) Crisis intervention;
(d) Support group;
(e) Advocacy;
(f) Caregiver training;
(g) Community education; and
(h) Referral to community resource or
provider, such as:
1. Family Resource and
Youth Service Centers established in accordance with
KRS
156.496;
2. The Health Access Nurturing Development
Services (HANDS) Program in accordance with
902
KAR 4:120;
3. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
for Women, Infants, and Children or "WIC program" in accordance with 902 KAR
Chapter 18;
4. Kentucky's Early
Intervention Program, First Steps, in accordance with 902 KAR Chapter
30;
5. Mental health programming;
or
6. Caregiver programming made
available through the Department for Aging and Independent Living or its
designee.
(4)
The cabinet shall recover the amount of an improper payment pursuant to KRS
45.23745.241 and
205.211,
including assistance paid pending the outcome of a hearing, from the
claimant-payee.
Section
7. Complaint and Service Appeals.
(1) A relative or fictive kin caregiver may
submit a service complaint or an appeal concerning a protection and permanency
service in accordance with 922 KAR
1:320.
(3) An appeal regarding KTAP shall be made in
accordance with
921 KAR
2:055.
(4)
An appeal concerning the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program shall be
made in accordance with
921
KAR 3:060 or
921 KAR
3:070.