To afford protection to children involved in independent adoptions, all persons other than a licensed child placing agency who wish to place or receive a child must make a written application to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS/Cabinet) secretary. Additionally, no petition for adoption can be filed in Kentucky, unless prior to the filing of the petition, the child sought to be adopted has been placed for adoption by a licensed child- placing agency or by the Cabinet, or the child has been placed with the written approval of the CHFS secretary or designee. The Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) also applies to non-relative independent adoptions if either the placing parent(s) or the proposed adoptive parents are residents of another state.
There are two types of independent adoptions in Kentucky: relative and non-relative. All relative adoptions are exempt from the requirement of needing CHFS secretary approval. KRS 199.470(4) defines relative adoption as: A child sought to be adopted by a blood relative, including a relative of half-blood; first cousin; aunt; uncle; nephew; niece; a person of a preceding generation as denoted by prefixes of grand, great, or great-great; stepparent; stepsibling; or fictive kin.
Although employees of the Department for Community Based Services (DCBS) may be either a placing or a receiving parent, they cannot act as intermediaries or assist in any way with the arrangement of an independent placement. Also, Kentucky licensed child-placing agencies are forbidden by administrative regulations from facilitating an independent placement.
With the provisions of
KRS 199.470, independent adoption home studies are completed by DCBS staff for applicants whose total gross income is equal to or less than two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty guidelines (please refer to Health and Human Services Federal Poverty Guidelines). These guidelines must be multiplied by two point five (2.5) to meet the two hundred fifty percent (250%) requirement unless the applicant submits a written request for the home study to be conducted by a licensed child-placing agency or institution. Applicants whose total gross income exceeds two hundred fifty percent (250%) of the federal poverty guidelines will be referred to a list of licensed child-placing agencies that can complete their home study. (please refer to Kentucky Licensed Private Adoption Agencies)