Ky.gov
Effective: 7/28/2026

G1.24 Case Transfer

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS/Cabinet) is obligated to ensure uninterrupted service delivery to children, families, and vulnerable adults regardless of where in the state they may reside. Ensuring the best service delivery may require transferring a case across teams or regions. 

Practice Guidance

Additional Context
  • Child and family services cases are opened in the county where the family can receive the most appropriate services. Regional decisions about case responsibility should be guided by an understanding of who is to receive reasonable efforts to: 
    • Prevent removal or 
    • Attempt reunification. 
  • ​Adult services and return-to-commitment cases are opened in the county where the vulnerable adult or young person resides. 
  • When children and parents reside in different counties, onsite services are provided to family members living outside the county with case responsibility, in accordance with SOP G1.11 Onsite Provision of Services.​ 
  • Transfer decision-making should be guided by the target of the agency’s reasonable efforts, whether those efforts are designed to prevent removal, reunify children, or establish permanency. During the transfer process, teams and regions should share cases and work cooperatively to serve the family, with any disagreements being resolved promptly.  Regional leadership is available and should be consulted for any issues related to the appropriateness of case transfer or responsibility. The director of the Division of Service Regions (DSR) is also available for consultation regarding the appropriateness of case transfer across regions if leadership of the involved regions cannot reach an agreement.  
  • In accordance with the family court rules, a case may not be transferred to another court before adjudication. The Office of Legal Services (OLS) is available for consultation if there are delays in getting a court case transferred following adjudication. 
NO LEGAL CUSTODY ESTABLISHED
  • If a child is removed from the custody of parents who are in an existing relationship, then the parents separate and move to different counties; case responsibility remains in the county where the case was initiated. Once custody is awarded to one parent, the case may be transferred to the custodial parent’s county, and onsite services are requested for the other parent as needed.
INPATIENT TREATMENT CENTERS and SHELTERS (Homeless, Domestic Violence, etc.)
  • If the child(ren) resides with the parent(s) while in treatment where the length of stay in the program is longer than six (6) months, the case is transferred to the county where the treatment program is located. 
  • If the child(ren) does not reside with the parent(s) while in treatment, case responsibility remains in the county where the parent lived before entering the facility until it is determined where the parent will reside after their release from the program.
RELATIVE AND FICTIVE KIN PLACEMENT
  • Case responsibility regarding relative and fictive kin cases remains in the county where the custodial parent resides. The case may be shared when the approved relative caregiver resides in another county. The receiving SSW follows procedures outlined in G1.11 Onsite Provision of Service for ongoing service provision to the approved relative caregiver.
ONSITE SERVICES REQUEST
  • The decision for an FSOS to keep a case in a county when the family has moved to another county or region is reviewed with the SRA or designee for approval. It may be necessary to keep the case if a family is transient or their current location is temporary. If onsite services are needed, the SSW assigned to the case follows procedures outlined in G1.11 Onsite Provision of Service 
  • ​When a case does not warrant transfer to another county/region, but assistance is required to provide timely service, the SSW assigned to the case follows procedures outlined in G1.11 Onsite Provision of Service​.
TPR AND ADOPTION
  • Transfers for cases actively involved in the termination of parental rights (TPR) process will be approved/denied on a case-by-case basis. The determination will be made based on where the case is in the TPR process. If there is a disagreement, the SRA will determine transfers within the same region, and the director of DSR will determine if more than one region is involved. 
  • Regions have the flexibility to transfer cases from the ongoing SSW to recruitment and certification (R&C) or the permanency team within the same region at TPR or within three (3) working days of the signing of the DPP-195 Adoptive Placement Agreement. 
  • Regions are responsible for establishing and documenting protocol for case transfer following TPR, including which staff are responsible for completing the presentation summary within the specified timeframes and creation of the agency case. Regional protocols should also establish procedures for a disrupted adoptive placement within the region. Regions are also responsible for developing a plan for disseminating this protocol to field staff. 
  • Regional protocols only apply to cases transferred within the same region. If the adoptive family and home are located in another region, the assigned SSW must follow the procedure detailed under the Procedure section below. 
  • When a TPR occurs involving a child who will be adopted in another region, the assigned SSW notifies the R&C staff assigned to the family in the receiving region at the time of TPR and shares the intent to adopt. 
  • When a child is placed in a private child-placing (PCP) home, and foster parent adoption is planned, the SSW notifies R&C staff in the region where the family resides at the time of TPR, providing the family’s name and agency. This will allow the R&C staff to begin gathering the family’s home study and other required information to finalize adoption promptly. 
  • A joint home visit is completed between the ongoing worker and the R&C worker to assist the child and adoptive family in transitioning to a new worker. The needs of the family, familial issues that may impact permanency (pending marriage/divorce, cohabitating couples), and any services or resources from which the family could benefit are discussed. The home visit may be held in person, by virtual means, or by a combination of these methods (i.e., one worker joins by video conference or conference call while the family and other staff are present at the home​).
  • If any issues or barriers are identified, a plan of action is developed to resolve the identified concerns.  The central office PCP liaison should be notified of any identified concerns associated with the home's approval by the PCP agency.  
  • The ongoing worker and R&C worker should refer to SOP C13.6 Preparing the Child for Adoption when transferring the case and continuously assess the family's needs to ensure a successful adoption. 
  • Cases that are appealed or overturned by the court will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the respective region. 
  • If the adoption is not finalized due to a disruption from the previously identified adoptive home, a case transfer may be negotiated back to the county of origin. 
  • When an adoption is finalized, the subsidy case is maintained by the region that finalized the adoption, which is also the region where the family resides. 
  • ​Should the family move, the subsidy case is transferred to the county where the family resides. The transfer occurs when the worker is notified of the family’s move. Since contact with adoptive families is sometimes limited to yearly contact, an SSW may learn of a family’s move during a time of crisis, such as the family requesting post-adoptive placement stabilization services (PAPSS). The case should not automatically transfer to the new county/region in these situations. The regions should discuss the case, including the family/child(ren)’s needs, and negotiate a plan for transfer that is equitable for both regions but also provides uninterrupted services to the family.
  • If the adoption involves a Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) employee, the subsidy case is maintained by the region where the adoptive parent resides.  To ensure the subsidy case is managed by an unbiased R&C staff, the subsidy case may be transferred to another R&C team within the region.  ​


Procedure

  1. ​​Before transferring a case to another county/region, the SSW visits the family in their home to verify that they have moved and discusses their plans to determine if the move is permanent; 
  2. Once it is confirmed that a family has relocated to a different county/region, the sending SSW notifies the individuals or agencies in the receiving county that will need the family's new information. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:
    1. Children's benefits worker (CBW); and 
    2. Family support staff. 
  3. The sending SSW obtains the current address for the family (this may include living with a friend, relative, or at a shelter) through family support, the post office, driver’s license, school system , or by a home visit; 
  4. The sending FSOS contacts the FSOS for the receiving county to provide notice of the transfer; 
  5. The sending FSOS shares the case with the receiving FSOS so that services may begin for the family members residing in the receiving county; 
  6. The receiving FSOS accepts the shared case in TWIST immediately upon receipt of the request; 
  7. The sending SSW ensures that the following information is up to date in TWIST before transferring to the receiving FSOS: 
    1. Current assessment; 
    2. Case plan; 
    3. Transfer summary screens; 
    4. Court screens; 
    5. Individual information in TWIST of all household members; 
    6. Any information needed to complete an agency case; and 
    7. All tasks. 
  8. The sending SSW ensures that all case information/documentation is uploaded to the electonic case file in TWIST before it is transferred, such as court orders, medical records, or counseling records, etc.; 
  9. The sending SSW prepares a case transfer summary that contains relevant content regarding current risk, areas of concern, relevant features of the child, or children’s level of functioning to include: 
    1. A summary of the following: 
      1. Reason the case was opened; 
      2. Progress on the case plan; 
      3. The family and child(ren)'s level of cooperation; and 
      4. Services offered to all parties. 
    2. Type of case (in-home, out-of-home care (OOHC), status, kinship, adult protective services); 
    3. The grade and school of each child; 
    4. Level of care (LOC) of each child, if appropriate; 
    5. Currently scheduled mental health appointments; 
    6. Currently scheduled medical appointments; 
    7. Upcoming court dates; 
    8. Name and phone number of the onsite worker assigned, if assigned; 
    9. Permanency status and whether the child has been referred to the Kentucky Adoption Profile Exchange (KAPE), if appropriate; 
    10. The agency contact and phone number of each provider to the family and/or child(ren); and 
    11. Collateral contact's name and phone numbers to include the family support worker. 
  10. The sending SSW submits the transfer summary, utilizing the Case Transfer Summary Form as a template if desired, to the receiving county and the sending FSOS for pasting into the TWIST transfer screen;
  11. The sending FSOS completes the request for transfer in TWIST; 
  12. The sending FSOS notifies immediately upon completion of the case transfer screen via email that the case is being sent via TWIST to the: 
    1. Receiving FSOS; 
    2. Receiving service region administrator (SRA) or designee; 
    3. Sending SRA or designee; and 
    4. Any investigative FSOS with overdue investigations. 
  13. Investigative FSOS ensures completion of overdue investigations within ten (10) working days of notice of transfer unless exceptions are granted and documented; 
  14. The receiving FSOS accepts the case transfer within three (3) working days of receipt of the TWIST transfer; 
  15. When TPR has been granted, the SSW or other assigned staff will complete the presentation summary within ten (10) working days and:
    1. Will transfer the agency case to the county of the designated permanency staff or in which the adoptive family resides within three (3) working days of the DPP-195​ being signed;
    2. Will only transfer a case out of the region if there is an identified adoptive home for the child in the receiving region and all familial legal barriers have been resolved (pending marriage/divorce, cohabitating couples); 
    3. May transfer the agency case to the R&C worker in another region thirty (30) days after the presentation summary has been delivered even if the DPP-195 has not been signed, unless there are identified barriers to proceeding with the adoption.
    4. Will follow established regional protocols for transfer of cases within the same region following TPR; and 
    5. Ensure that any child without an identified adoptive home has already been referred to the Child-Focused Recruitment Model (CFRM) team and the Kentucky Adoption Profile Exchange (KAPE)​​​. 
  16. The receiving FSOS can request reconsideration of the transfer via e-mail to the following: 
    1. Sending FSOS; 
    2. Receiving SRA or designee; and 
    3. Sending SRA or designee. 
  17. The receiving FSOS reviews the case file to ensure all required information is present and contacts the sending FSOS to discuss any missing information and to devise a plan for completion; 
  18. The SRA or regional designee for the receiving county settles disagreements about case transfers within seven (7) working days of notice of the disagreement; 
  19. If a dispute between regions cannot be settled, the director of DSR will make the final determination; 
  20. The sending SSW completes any missing required case documentation and ensures that this information is completed no later than thirty (30) calendar days from when the case was shared; 
  21. The sending SSW attends the case planning conference, if a case plan is due within thirty (30) calendar days, to promote a smooth transition, particularly in OOHC cases, and if distance prohibits, is available by conference call or other virtual options; 
  22. The sending SSW attends court (if the case is court active and if the sending SSW is the one who filed the petition) and completes the court report if it is based on the petition filed.​; and 
  23. If a case is being transferred more than forty-five (45) miles away, the sending SSW will maintain the court case, even after the adjudication hearing, until the case is successfully transferred to the new jurisdiction for the receiving county. 

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Documents

Revisions