AN ACT relating to child welfare.

Amend KRS 199.462 to prohibit an individual from being approved to provide foster care or relative caregiver services to a child, be considered a fictive kin placement for a child, or to receive a child for adoption if the individual or an adult or minor child living in the individual's is on the adult or juvenile sex offender registry; amend KRS 199.801 related to placement requirements for children in the custody of the state; amend…

Courts, District Courts, Family Education, Elementary and Secondary State Agencies Corrections Impact Local Mandate

Introduced: February 27, 2026

Last action: April 10, 2026

(Acts Ch.68)

In effect since July 15, 2026

Acts from the 2026 Regular Session that don't carry an emergency clause or set their own effective date took effect 90 days after the session adjourned (Ky. Constitution § 55).

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This bill makes several changes to Kentucky's child welfare laws. It adds new protections for children in foster care, adoption, and relative placements by barring anyone on a sex offender registry from serving in those roles, and it strengthens oversight of suspected child abuse and neglect by expanding who can access abuse reports and review panels. It also increases penalties for child abuse involving controlled substances, creates new safety planning requirements for substance-exposed infants, and…

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