Ky.gov
Effective: 7/5/2021

10.32 Kentucky Families Adopting From Out-of-State

Legal Authority

Introduction

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​When prospective adoptive parents are considering adoption of a child from another state and request release of their home study, the family's recruitment and certification (R&C) worker informs them that the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) governs preparation and placement of the child. ​

Practice Guidance

  • The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet/CHFS) does not provide case management services to Kentucky families attempting to adopt through licensed private adoption agencies in other states or countries or to Kentucky families initiating adoptions through public adoption agencies in other states or countries. 
  • The Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) does not complete home studies to facilitate placement of, or provide case management services to, children in the custody of a private agency. Public agency home studies shall not be used for private placements. 
  • Families who contact the Adoption Services Branch to inquire about the private adoption process may be provided with a listing of licensed private agencies. ​

Procedure

For any Kentucky family wishing to adopt a child who is legally committed to another state the following procedures are utilized:

  1. The foster/adoptive family submits a CHFS 305 form to the Records Management Section for their home study at: Records Management Section, 3E-G 275 East Main Street Frankfort, Kentucky 40621 
  2. The Records Management Section sends a copy of the adoptive home study to the prospective adoptive parents upon receipt of the home study from the R&C worker. The packet should include the following: ​​​​
  3. A home study; 
  4. Background checks; 
  5. The training record; and 
  6. The most recent re-evaluation. ​
  7. ​The SAFE questionnaires are not to be shared with the family. 
  8. The foster/adoptive family may submit their home study to other state agencies if they are interested in a child committed to that state agency. 
  9. If the family is chosen for adoption of a child committed to another state, a Kentucky SW d​oes not perform any case management duties unless both ICPC offices have approved the placement and the sending state has notified Kentucky of placement. 
  10. Requests for supervision will come to the region from the ICPC office to the centralized intake unit (CI) as a request for supervision and will continue until the adoption occurs or the placement disrupts. 
  11. ​​The ICPC office will notify the courtesy supervision worker and R&C FSOS when the need for supervision is over and the case is closed.​
​

For any Kentucky family attempting to adopt a child who is legally committed to an out-of-state private agency, the Deputy Compact Administrator (DCA): ​

  1. Refers any Kentucky family wishing to adopt a child who is legally committed to a licensed private adoption agency in another state to a listing of Kentucky’s licensed private adoption agencies and assists in guiding the family to the correct interstate process for private adoptions; 
  2. Completes any Regulation 12 adoptions regarding private or independent adoptions in accordance with KRS 615.030; 
  3. Advises that placement cannot be made until both states have signed the ICPC-100A Interstate Compact Placement Request and that the Kentucky private adoption agency worker contacts the ICPC DCA for assistance; and 
  4. Assists local staff by accepting referrals of families who require further information regarding the private interstate adoption process.

Related Information

Services for Kentucky families at the request of out-of-state public agencies:
  • The out-of-state public agency wishing to place a child with a Kentucky family requests that the Cabinet prepare home studies and provide placement, post-placement, and finalization services including the completion of a court report. 
  • All such requests are made by the other state’s ICPC office. 
  • When the child to be adopted has special needs the family must receive training specific to the child’s needs (i.e. training from a medical provider for a child with complex medical needs).
Kentucky families finalizing a private agency out-of-state child adoption:
  • When the family is filing an adoption petition in Kentucky, the Kentucky private adoption agency worker requests a certified copy of the birth certificate, a certified copy of the order terminating parental rights, or the other state’s equivalent, and the out-of-state agency’s notarized consent to the adoption. 
  • After receiving the adoptive petition and the request for preparation of the court report, the Kentucky private adoption agency worker prepares the report to the court and submits the original and one (1) copy to the central office adoption specialist who reviews it, and if the report is complete, submits the original of the report to the appropriate court with an explanatory cover letter. 
  • The sending entity (agency or attorney) is responsible for case closure and sends the ICPC 100B and adoption decree to the KY ICPC office. The KY ICPC DCA also signs the ICPC 100B and is responsible for sending the ICPC 100B and adoption decree to the receiving state to close out the ICPC case.  ​
  • The new birth certificate is requested from the Office of Vital Statistics in the child’s state of birth. The request, accompanied by proof of the adoption (the circuit court clerk’s completed VS-102 form and a copy of the judgment of adoption may have already been sent to the other state’s vital statistics office by Kentucky Vital Statistics) and the appropriate fee, is generally handled by the attorney for the family. 
  • The assistance of the private adoption agency worker and central office staff may be necessary to supply information and the address of the appropriate vital statistics office. 
  • When the child came from a state which allows out-of-state families to finalize the adoption in the child’s state and the family chooses to finalize in the child’s state, the Kentucky private adoption agency worker has little responsibility for finalization. In such cases the Kentucky private agency worker verifies that a copy or notice of the adoption judgment is received by the Adoption Services Branch upon finalization to allow case closure.
Inter-country adoptions:
  • Inter-country adoptive placements occur when a child from another country is being placed with a Kentucky family. 
  • Kentucky licensed private child-placing (PCP) agencies are contacted by the family to arrange for home studies, placement, and after-placement services when the child is committed to an out-of- state or out-of-country licensed adoption agency. 
  • The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is involved in all inter-country placements. USCIS approval is necessary before the child’s exit visa is issued allowing the child to leave the foreign country and enter the United States. 
  • The majority of inter-country adoptions are finalized before the child enters the United States. 
  • When the adoption is finalized in Kentucky, after-placement and finalization services for Kentucky families are the same as for interstate placements and are provided by the private agency. 
  • DCBS is not involved in the facilitation or finalization of inter-country adoptions. ​Kentucky does not issue a new birth certificate for foreign-born children adopted in Kentucky. A VS-54-Record of Foreign Birth is issued in lieu of a birth certificate by the Office of Vital Statistics in Frankfort. A similar form, G-641-Certificate of Birth Data Form is issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. 
  • ​All inter-country adoption petitions are reviewed by the Adoption Services Branch. If a private agency is identified, the petition is sent to that agency requesting a court report. If no agency is identified and the adoption was finalized in an out-of-country, Hague accredited country, a report is sent to the court advising that no report is needed because the adoption is already final and the child is in the country on a full Visa. If no agency is identified and the adoption was not final in a Hague accredited country, a report is sent to the court advising that the Cabinet is not qualified to perform inter-country court reports.

Documents

Revisions