Legal Authority/Introductio 

LEGAL AUTHORITY:

• KRS 199.470 Petition for adoption of child-Parties-Residence requirement- Approval of secretary- Exceptions.
• KRS 199.475 Petition by army post resident
• KRS 199.510 Investigation and report.

When any questions arise concerning the legality of any phase of the adoption proceedings, the Office of the General Counsel is consulted through a central office adoption specialist.

Procedure

Central office staff:

1. Forwards the petition to the FSOS with a request that the report to the court be prepared;
2. Notifies the Office of the General Counsel when problems arise with the petition, who then communicates with the family’s attorney to advise a correction or other procedure.

The FSOS:

1. Immediately notifies the judge in writing of the situation when it is determined that the adoptive petitioner does not have standing to petition for the adoption, and, when applicable, of the Cabinet’s inability to complete the report to the court;  
2. Notes the inaccuracy in the cover letter to the judge when other inaccuracies have not been corrected prior to submitting the report to the court.

Practice Guidance

• A petition for adoption of a child placed by the Cabinet and for whom a DPP-195 Adoptive Placement Agreement, has been signed by all applicable parties may be filed when placement occurs or anytime thereafter.
• The petition is filed in the Circuit court in the family’s county of residence.
• The family must:
• Be a resident of Kentucky or have resided in the state for the previous twelve (12) months;
• Have been an army post resident for sixty (60) days prior to filing a petition.  
• When the child is from another state, the proposed adoptive family may elect or be required to finalize the adoption in the child’s sending state.  Applicable services from the Kentucky supervising agency are arranged through the Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children (ICPC) Deputy Administrator.
• Cabinet staff may not assist a family who prefers to file their own petition, rather than to employ an attorney.  However, the SSW may inform the family regarding the Cabinet's role in submission of the court report.
• When a petition is filed for the adoption of a minor child, the clerk of the Circuit court forwards two (2) copies of the petition to central office, where it is reviewed for legal accuracy.