610.125 Permanency hearing after custody given to Department of Juvenile
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/ky/610-125A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Justice or cabinet.
(1)If a child has been removed from the home and placed in the custody of the
Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet, a judge of the District Court shall
conduct a permanency hearing no later than twelve
(12)months after the date
the child is considered to have entered foster care, and every twelve
months thereafter if custody and out-of-home placement continues, to
determine the future status of the child. For purposes of this section, a child
shall be considered to have entered foster care on the earlier of the date of the
first judicial finding that the child has been subjected to child abuse or neglect
or the date that is sixty
(60)days after the date on which the child is removed
from the home.
The court shall address the following areas:
(a)If parental rights have not been terminated, whether the child should be
returned to the parent;
(b)Whether the child should be placed for adoption;
(c)Whether the child should be placed with a permanent custodian; and
(d)Whether the cabinet has documented a compelling reason that it is in the
best interest of the child who is age sixteen
(16)or older to be placed in
another planned permanent living arrangement other than those listed in
this subsection. Prior to the approval of this permanency goal, the court
shall:
1. Ask the child about the desired permanency outcome; and
2. Make a judicial determination explaining why, as of the date of the
hearing, another planned permanent living arrangement is the best
permanency goal for the child and provide compelling reasons why it
continues to not be in the best interest of the child to return home,
be placed for adoption, be placed with a legal guardian, or be placed
with a fit and willing relative or fictive kin.
(2)If the cabinet or the Department of Juvenile Justice determines that reasonable
efforts to reunify the child with the child's parent will not be made, the cabinet
or Department of Juvenile Justice shall file a case permanency plan as defined
by KRS 620.230 or case progress report with the court that documents the
reasons for not making reasonable efforts. The court shall hold a permanency
hearing within thirty
(30)days of the filing of the cabinet's or Department of
Juvenile Justice's plan or report with the Court.
(3)The Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet shall inform the court not
less than sixty
(60)days prior to the expiration of the time in which the hearing
shall be held and within the time established in subsection
(1)of this section,
and shall further inform the court of the name and address of the child's foster
parents, preadoptive parents, fictive kin, or relatives providing care to the child;
court-appointed special advocate; and foster care review board member
assigned to the case. For the hearing to be held pursuant to subsection
(2)of
this section, the names and addresses of the persons identified in this
subsection shall be provided in the case permanency plan or case progress
report to be filed with the court. The court shall set a time for the hearing and
notify the child's parent, foster parents, preadoptive parents, fictive kin, or
relatives providing care to the child and who also shall have a right to be heard;
court-appointed special advocate; foster care review board member assigned
to the case; attorney for the child; attorney for the parent, if any; and the
Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet.
(4)The Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet shall present evidence to the
court concerning the care and progress of the child since the last permanency
hearing, including the following:
(a)The length of time the child has been committed to the Department of
Juvenile Justice or the cabinet;
(b)The number, location, and date for each placement during the total period
of the child's commitment;
(c)A description of the services and assistance provided to the parent or
arranged by the Department of Juvenile Justice or the cabinet since the
last case permanency plan or case progress report, and the results
achieved;
(d)A description of the efforts and progress of the child's parent since the
last case permanency plan and case progress report, including the
number and dates of parental visits and the extent, quality, and frequency
of the parent's communication with the child;
(e)The familial and institutional barriers to:
1. Returning the child to the home;
2. Ending the commitment of the child to the Department of Juvenile
Justice or the cabinet; and
3. Delivery of appropriate services needed by the child;
(f)Recommendations of services needed to make the transition from
out-of-home care to independent living for children who have reached the
age of fourteen
(14)years;
(g)An evaluation of the child's current placement and services provided to
the child;
(h)Recommendations for necessary services required to terminate the
commitment of the child to the cabinet, to return the child home, or to
facilitate another permanent placement;
(i)Recommendations as to the permanency goal for the child; and
(j)For a child with another planned permanency arrangement as the child's
permanency goal:
1. The intensive, ongoing efforts to return the child to the home or
secure a placement with a fit and willing relative, legal guardian,
fictive kin, or adoptive parent, including efforts that utilize search
technology to find the biological family;
2. The steps the agency is taking to ensure that the child's foster family
home or licensed child-caring facility is following the reasonable and
prudent parent standard in accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 671; and
3. The cabinet's efforts to ensure the child has regular, ongoing
opportunities to engage in age or developmentally appropriate
activities, including consulting with the child in an age and
developmentally appropriate manner about the opportunities of the
child to participate in the activities.
(a)The child's parent, foster parent, preadoptive parent, fictive kin, or relative
providing care to the child shall have the right to be heard; and
(b)The attorney for the parent, attorney for the child, or court-appointed
special advocate, if deemed appropriate by the court, may present any
evidence relevant to the determination of a permanency goal for the child.
(6)Upon conclusion of the hearing the court shall make a written order
determining the permanency plan for the child.
(7)If necessary, the case may be redocketed for further review of the progress
toward the implementation of the permanency plan established at the
permanency hearing.