FRANKFORT, Ky. — Child welfare proponents expressed enthusiasm last spring when Kentucky legislators passed a significant bill aimed at aiding adults who step up to care for young relatives potentially facing abuse or neglect at home. However, their initial excitement has evolved into frustration as the newly enacted law, intended to take effect in July, has been caught in a funding dilemma that has hindered its launch.
The central issue revolves around whether the state can secure the necessary millions of dollars to fulfill the law’s purpose — allowing relatives who assume temporary custody of children to qualify for foster care payments. Kentucky Auditor Allison Ball announced on Wednesday that her office is set to investigate this crucial question.
“We will do everything we can to ascertain the crucial facts needed for Kentucky to move forward with implementation,” Ball informed a legislative group. Around 59,000 children in Kentucky are currently in what is commonly termed kinship care, where minors live with relatives or close family friends rather than their parents.
This legislation aims to rectify what advocates criticized as a significant flaw in the existing support framework. The new law allows relatives an extended period to apply to become foster parents for their young relatives, thereby making them eligible for critical foster care payments to support the children already under their care.
“The core purpose of this bill is to provide caregivers ample time to address the immediate needs of children and to have time to explore and understand placement options,” stated Norma Hatfield, president of the Kinship Families Coalition of Kentucky.
The state Cabinet for Health and Family Services lauded the bill for its intent to assist children in challenging situations by placing them with family or friends. However, the administration of Democratic Governor Andy Beshear pointed out that the projected annual cost for the bill — roughly $20 million — was highlighted well before the bipartisan legislation received final approval in late March. Although Beshear signed the bill, he underscored that lawmakers had yet to sanction the required funding, making implementation impossible without financial backing.
“Lawmakers had the opportunity to provide the necessary funding during the session but opted not to,” remarked Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for Beshear. “It’s straightforward: The state cannot activate programs and policies without the requisite funding.”
Republican state Senator Julie Raque Adams, who spearheaded the measure, previously believed that amendments to the bill had addressed funding issues. Now, as tensions over the situation increase, she along with other legislators is urging the cabinet to explore federal funding avenues or utilize existing state resources.
“For some time, we’ve heard concerns from the legislature regarding the inaction on this issue,” Adams conveyed on Wednesday. “With an independent inquiry now in progress, we trust it will illuminate the facts.”
Republican state Representative Samara Heavrin voiced her dissatisfaction with the Beshear administration for the delay in actualizing the law, describing it as concerning and exasperating. She expressed hope that the auditor’s investigation would clear up the obstacles.
The auditor assured legislators that her office would investigate whether state or federal funding options are available to facilitate the new law. Ball emphasized her desire for collaboration among the Democratic governor’s office and the cabinet throughout this process.
Democratic state Representative Sarah Stalker suggested that lawmakers might need to revisit the current two-year state budget to secure necessary funding for the implementation of the law.
“I am wholeheartedly in favor of securing funding for this,” she affirmed. “This is profoundly important.”
The delay in executing the law has increasingly frustrated child welfare advocates, who just months ago celebrated the bill’s passage as a triumph for the kinship care families in Kentucky.
“We are left questioning whether this is yet another disappointment from our state leaders in prioritizing and supporting children in kinship care,” lamented Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, over the summer.
Hatfield, who is caring for two of her grandchildren, expressed in a widely circulated op-ed that the ongoing delay resembled a game of Whac-A-Mole, where each issue leads to another meeting without producing tangible outcomes. On Wednesday, she welcomed the auditor’s impending inquiry.
“There are numerous families missing out on vital long-term support opportunities as we keep waiting,” Hatfield told lawmakers.