ADOPTION IN
Kentucky
Domestic Infant Adoptions can be completed through adoption agencies and attorneys. Click here to connect with an adoption professional.
International Adoptions must be completed through adoption agencies and attorneys. You can learn more about international adoption here.
Foster Care Adoptions in Kentucky can be completed through the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (800-232-KIDS).
Gallery of children waiting to be adopted.
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The information contained on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice. Always seek the advice of a licensed and qualified professional. While the content of this website is frequently updated, information changes rapidly and therefore, some information may be out of date, and/or contain inaccuracies, omissions or typographical errors.
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Can I Adopt in Kentucky?
Applicants must be 21 years old. You can be single, married, or divorced. Parents need financial stability and an income large enough to support a growing family. The future home for the child must be safe and secure. Parents must be in good mental and physical health. Parents must have 30 hours of pre-service training in order for the parents to adopt a child. A home study must also be completed.
What Adoption Regulations Exist in Kentucky?
Advertising: No person, corporation, or association is allowed to advertise that it will receive children for the purposes of adoption. Only the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and licensed child-placing agencies shall place a child or act as an intermediary for adoption. § 199.590(1), (3), (5)
Relinquishment: Birth parents must wait at least 72 hours before giving consent. If the secretary must approve an adoption placement, voluntary consent becomes irrevocable 20 days after the placement approval or voluntary consent, whichever comes later. If secretary approval is not required, voluntary consent becomes irrevocable 20 days after the execution of consent. § 199.500
Birth parent expenses: Payment on behalf of the birth mother for the following expenses is permitted: legal fees, placement services, and expenses for the birth parents. No person or agency may pay attorney fees for the birth parents unless approved by the court.
Post-adoption contact agreements: Contact agreements in Kentucky are not legally enforceable.
Birth father rights: Kentucky currently utilizes a paternity registry for unmarried fathers to submit their information in order to receive notice of adoption proceedings. In Kentucky, immediately following the birth of a child in a hospital to unmarried couples written materials and information about genetic testing is passed to the parents. Additionally, parents are required to sign a voluntary acknowledgement of paternity. However, the acknowledgment only becomes official if authenticated by a notary public.
Finalization: Out of 909 adoptions completed in 2014, the average time between TPR and adoption finalization was 12.3 months.
Is Adoption Assistance Available in Kentucky?
Many of the children waiting to be adopted in Kentucky have special needs. Federal (Title IV-E) and state (non-IV-E) programs exist to help adoptive parents meet their child’s needs. In Kentucky, the monthly amount ranges from $690-818 depending upon your child’s age and needs. Medically fragile children are eligible for monthly amounts between $1,217-2,785. For more information please visit NACAC.org.
Can I adopt a Child from another country?
It is always possible to adopt a child from another country, even if you live in the United States. Children under 18 adopted from a Hague Convention country entering the U.S. with an IH-3 visa may automatically receive U.S. citizenship.
Children adopted from a non convention country must qualify as orphans before receiving U.S. citizenship. When U.S. citizens finalize an adoption abroad, they must apply to the USCIS for an IR-3 visa for the child. An IR-3 visa classifies the child as an immigrant and provides the child with citizenship upon arrival in the States.
Kentucky requires parents who adopt internationally to petition the court for validation or to register the foreign adoption decree. Parents must readopt the child if the adoption was not finalized abroad properly. § 199.585(1)-(3)
State Contacts
Gallery of children waiting to be adopted: https://adoption.com/photolisting?page=1&search_type=region&range=UnitedStates
State subsidy contact person:
Diane Underwood
Adoption Branch Manager
Dept. for Community Based Services
275 East Main Street, 3C-E
Frankfort, KY 40621
Phone: 502-564-2147
Fax: 502-564-5995
Email: diane.underwood@ky.gov
Summary
Adoptions in Kentucky can be completed through the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.
Applicants must be 21 years old. You can be single, married, or divorced. Parents need financial stability. The home must be safe and secure. Parents must pass a home study.
No person, corporation, or association is allowed to advertise that it will receive children for the purposes of adoption. Only the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and licensed child-placing agencies shall place a child or act as an intermediary for adoption.
Birth parents must wait at least 72 hours before giving consent. Voluntary consent becomes irrevocable 20 days after the execution in most cases.
The following payments are permitted: legal fees, placement services, and birth parent expenses. Contact agreements are not legally enforceable.
A paternity registry exists in Kentucky. The average time between TPR and adoption finalization in 2014 was 12.3 months.
