Administrative Regulations Notice
January 2025
922 KAR 1:360 & E, Private Child Care Placement, Levels of Care, and Payment, was filed as an emergency amendment to immediately increases the per diem rate for level 2 and level 3 private child placing therapeutic foster care. This amendment aims to better support foster families and care providers serving vulnerable populations of children and youth with complex needs.
Written comments for the emergency administrative regulation amendment may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through March 31, 2025. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by March 17, 2025, a public hearing shall be held on March 24, 2025, at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom.
Written comments for the ordinary administrative regulation amendment may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through April 30, 2025. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by April 14, 2025, a public hearing shall be held on April 21, 2025 at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom.
December 2024
The Department for Community Based Services filed the proposed ordinary administrative regulation amendments with the Legislative Research Commission on Dec. 11, 2024. The administrative regulations will be published online at: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/.
922 KAR 2:020, Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) improper payments, claims, and penalties, is being amended to make technical corrections in reference to other amended regulations, and their corresponding sections. This administrative regulation establishes procedures for improper payments, claims, and penalties used by the cabinet in the administration of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).
Written comments may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through Feb. 28, 2025. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by Feb. 17, 2025, a public hearing shall be held on Feb. 24, 2025, at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom. August 2024
922 KAR 1:470, Central registry, and 922 KAR 5:120, Vulnerable adult maltreatment registry and appeals, are being amended as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 145 from the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly, codified as KRS 216.2955. This legislation allowed health facilities and health care providers enrolled in Medicaid to submit a prospective or current employee to a check of the child abuse and neglect registry or vulnerable adult maltreatment registry. The amendment to 922 KAR 5:120 also includes notice of a pending appeal for a vulnerable adult service provider query submitted to the vulnerable adult maltreatment registry.
921 KAR 3:030, (SNAP) Application process, is being amended to make a federally-required update to the nondiscrimination statement on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program application and to make other amendments to the application form relating to drug treatment, drug felony, and criminal convictions consistent with KRS 205.2005 and federal law.
Written comments may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through October 31, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by October 14, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on October 21, 2024, at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom.
July 2024
922 KAR 1:490, Background checks for foster and adoptive parents and relative and fictive kin caregivers, is being amended to include background check provisions for independent non-relative adoptions and independent relative adoptions. KARES applicants no longer have to present the DPP-164 when submitting documentation for a fingerprint check. This amendment includes that foster and adoptive applicants shall undergo a child abuse and neglect check and sex offender check every year. The amendment to this administrative regulation also increases the administrative fee for the fingerprint-based background check from up to twenty-five (25) dollars to up to thirty (30) dollars to reflect a $2 per check increase required by the third party provider. A fee notice will be sent to affected entities.
922 KAR 2:160, Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), is being amended for compliance with federal rules and updated changes to the federal Child Care and Development Fund. This includes presumptive eligibility, which gives applicants three months to submit all documentation aside from an ID. Temporary circumstances and the addition of a new child to the household shall result in a household having their eligibility adjusted for twelve months. The amendment also includes that a child shall be eligible to receive CCAP as a part of protective or preventive child welfare case and co-payments will be waived, recognizing that child care provides reliable supervision and protective factors for children. The amendment clarifies that a foster parent’s income is excluded from the eligiblity determination if other eligibility requirements are met. Program co-payments are being minimally increased, except in specific circumstances when co-payments are waived.
Written comments may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through September 30, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by September 16, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on September 23, 2024.
The Department for Community Based Services filed the below ordinary and emergency administrative regulation amendments relating to relative and fictive kin caregivers of children in state custody with the Legislative Research Commission on July 1, 2024. The administrative regulations will be published online at: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/001/.
This amendment establishes separate standards for relative or fictive kin foster or adoptive parent applicants, different from those for nonfamilial applicants. This will result in relative and fictive kin caregivers having a more streamlined process to become foster or adoptive homes for children in state custody who are kin to them. This will also result in a less burdensome process for department staff reviewing and approving applicants. 45 C.F.R. 1355.20 was amended to allow states to establish licensure or approval standards for relative or fictive kin foster family homes that are different from non-relative (nonfamilial) homes - non-safety requirements and training are allowed to be waived for relative and fictive kin applicants. “Child specific” language is also being deleted from the administrative regulation as these foster homes will be referred to as relative or fictive kin foster homes, consistent with other administrative regulations. This amendment does not have a cost associated as it waives non-safety requirements and trainings for relative and fictive kin foster and adoptive applicants.
This amendment is deemed to be an emergency pursuant to KRS 13A.190(1)(a)1., as supporting relative and fictive kin caregivers and reducing administrative burdens for front-line social workers (which results in decreasing their workload) is necessary for the health, safety, and welfare of children in the state’s custody. The emergency amendment is effective immediately and the ordinary version will replace the emergency version in approximately six (6) months.
Written comments on the emergency amendment may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through August 31, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by August 19, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on August 26, 2024, at 9am using Zoom.
Written comments on the ordinary amendment may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through September 30, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by September 16, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on September 23, 2024.
June 2024
The Department for Community Based Services filed the attached proposed ordinary adoption assistance administrative regulation amendments with the Legislative Research Commission. The administrative regulations will be published online at: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/001/.
922 KAR 1:050 and 1:060 establish adoption assistance programs funded through general funds and Title IV-E federal funds, respectively. The proposed amendments update Title IV-E eligibility criteria for youth recipients of adoption assistance beyond age 18. The amount of nonrecurring adoption expenses that the cabinet may cover is being increased from $1,000 to $2,000 for the adoption of a special needs child. Conforming amendments are being made between these administrative regulations and the subsidized permanent custody program, including requiring contact with the adoptive family on an annual basis while the family continues to receive financial assistance and establishing criteria for a reduction in the assistance amount.
Written comments may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through August 31, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by August 19, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on August 26, 2024, at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom.
May 2024
The Department for Community Based Services filed emergency and ordinary child care administrative regulation amendments with the Legislative Research Commission (attached). The administrative regulations will be published online at: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/.
922 KAR 2:090, child-care center licensure, was filed as an emergency amendment in order to meet an imminent deadline for the promulgation of an administrative regulation established by state statute, as House Bill 491 passed as emergency legislation in the 2024 Regular Session of the General Assembly. This amendment exempts instructional programs from child care licensure if statutory criteria are met. An ordinary version of the amendment was also filed that includes the amendment in the emergency version, but also includes amendments necessary to ensure compliance with federal child care rules.
An amendment to 922 KAR 2:120, child-care center health and safety standards, was also filed to address Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) non-compliance issues identified during a recent federal monitoring visit. The amendment adds requirements for the prevention and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions and response planning; identification of and protection from vehicular traffic; shaken baby syndrome, head trauma, and child maltreatment prevention training; and handling and storage of hazardous materials and biocontaminants disposal.
The emergency administrative regulation is effective immediately and the others will go through the full regulatory process before becoming effective.
Written comments regarding the emergency amendment may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov or me through July 31, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by July 14, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on July 22, 2024, at 9am using Zoom.
Written comments regarding the ordinary amendments may be submitted to CHFSregs@ky.gov through August 31, 2024. Upon request made to CHFSregs@ky.gov by August 19, 2024, a public hearing shall be held on August 26, 2024, at 9 a.m. Eastern time using Zoom.
Mission
The mission of the Department for Community Based Services is to build an effective and efficient system of care with Kentucky citizens and communities to:
- Reduce poverty, adult and child maltreatment and their effects;
- Advance person and family self-sufficiency, recovery and resiliency;
- Assure all children have safe and nurturing homes and communities; and
- Recruit and retain a workforce and partners that operate with integrity and transparency.
Our Vision
A human services system of care that operates with integrity and loyalty to a code of ethics requires courage to take responsibility for providing the highest quality of service to the vulnerable.
The Department for Community Based Services is an innovative, solutions-focused learning organization built on a foundation of transparency in action and with accountability for results. Both in the organization and among our partners, we thrive on a culture of respect for diversity of opinion that is nurtured through open communication.
Highly performing and committed, we are unified in our goal of excellence in achieving outcomes for those we serve with the level of quality we would demand for our own families.