Adoption and Disability

This bill aims to change laws about adoption and what rights parents have in Kentucky, to make sure disabled parents who have adopted children get treated equally.

• Adoption: A legal process where a person or family becomes the forever parents of a child who they did not give birth to. After adoption, the adoptive parents have the same rights and responsibilities as parents who have birthed their child.

This bill:

• stops unfair treatment against disabled parents when it comes to child placement and cases about terminating parental rights.

• Makes courts run tests specific to the parent before they can deny adoption or parental rights just because of a disability.

• Makes sure disabled parents get the support services they need before they could lose their rights to be a parent.

• Clears up how short-term child custody works in adoption cases.

  • Child custody: A legal choice about who takes care of a child and where the child will live. It can be given to parents, adoptive parents, or other caretakers.

• Introduces a new definition for "Disability":

  • A physical or mental impairment that significantly limits major life activities.

  • Covers folks who have had disabilities in the past or those seen as having a disability.

  • Does not count people who are currently misusing drugs or alcohol.

• Makes families do a home study, which is a check done by a social worker or adoption agency to make sure a home is safe for a child before adoption, before an adoption gets the green light.

  • Families making a smaller amount of money can get this study done for free by the state.

  • Families making a higher amount of money have to go through a private office that has a special license.

  • Home study results are good for one year.

• Includes updates that boost protections for disabled parents:

  • They can't just lose their parental rights because of a disability.

  • Before taking away right to parent, the state must:

    • Offer services to help the parent take care of the child.

    • Do a detailed check of what the parent is able to do

    • Keep paperwork that shows these efforts.

• Adds rules for those taking care of children for a short time before adopting them:

  • If a child needs a short-term home before getting adopted, adoptive parents have to turn in paperwork asking to take care of the child.

  • A court hearing must happen within 72 hours.

    • Hearing: A meeting in court where a judge listens to information and makes a choice about things like adoption, custody, or parental rights.

  • The court will check to see if the parent(s) have committed crimes in the past before saying whether its okay.

• Updates when families can argue adoption decisions:

  • Parents and adoptive families can appeal if the state blocks a placement.

  • The state has to show why they said the adoption could not happen.

Right now, Kentucky can't say no to adoption applications based on a person’s race, religion, or ethnicity. If this bill passes:

• Disability can't be the only reason to say no to an adoption.

• Before saying no to an adoption due to a disability, offices have to look into whether support services could help the people applying to care for a child.

If this bill passes, the state has to do a few things if they say no to an adoption just because a potential parent is disabled:

• Confirm that a check was done.

• Consider adaptive services that could help the parent.

• Keep all paperwork about the decision for at least two years.

Right now, parents can lose their rights if they don’t care for the child. But if this bill passes:

• If a parent has a disability, the court first needs to offer support services.

• Parents can push back against having their rights taken away if they show they weren't offered help.

If this bill passes, these changes start right away once the Governor gives it the greenlight.