(1) Whenever the cabinet receives an application for public assistance on behalf of a needy dependent child or reviews the records of those currently receiving public assistance on behalf of a needy dependent child and it appears to the satisfaction of the cabinet that either or both parents have failed to provide support to the child, the cabinet shall take appropriate action under this chapter, or any other appropriate state and federal laws and regulations, to assure that the responsible parent or parents provide support to the child.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section shall not apply if the:

Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 205.725

  • Action: includes all proceedings in any court of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Cabinet: means the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. See Kentucky Statutes 205.010
  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Domestic: when applied to a corporation, partnership, business trust, or limited liability company, means all those incorporated or formed by authority of this state. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Federal: refers to the United States. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010
  • Public assistance: means money grants, assistance in kind, or services to or for the benefit of needy aged, needy blind, needy permanently and totally disabled persons, needy children, or persons with whom a needy child lives or a family containing a combination of these categories, except that the term shall not be construed to permit the granting of financial aid where the purpose of such aid is to obtain an abortion. See Kentucky Statutes 205.010
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes territories, outlying possessions, and the District of Columbia. See Kentucky Statutes 446.010

(a) Cabinet has reason to believe allegations of child abuse or domestic violence and that enforcement of subsection (1) of this section could be harmful to the custodial parent or needy dependent child;
(b) Cabinet believes that enforcement of subsection (1) of this section may not be in the best interest of the needy dependent child; or
(c) Custodial parent is the needy dependent child’s mother, and she did not identify a father on the child’s birth certificate at the time of birth.
(3) As used in KRS § 205.730, 205.735, 205.765, and 205.785, the term “child” includes a child of an individual who is not receiving public assistance and who is eligible to receive child support services in accordance with Title IV-D of the Social Security Act.
Effective: July 14, 2022
History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 19, effective July 14, 2022. — Amended
1986 Ky. Acts ch. 487, sec. 3, effective July 15, 1986. — Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 277, sec. 3, effective June 17, 1978. — Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 343, sec. 5.