FCRPP 16.Notice in dependency, neglect or abuse actions
Last amended February 1, 2020 · Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026
Full Text of FCRPP 16
Amendment History
Kentucky publishes each rule’s amendment record as a “HISTORY” note beneath the rule, citing the Supreme Court order that adopted or amended it and that order’s effective date. It is reproduced verbatim below.
HISTORY: Adopted by Order 2020-1, eff. 2-1-20
Plain-English Summary
A child in a dependency case often has a history spread across several court files. The court may consider findings of fact and orders from any other proceeding involving the child, the parents, or the person exercising custodial control, if it is aware of them — with one condition that matters: to the extent it relies on that material, it must include a copy in the record. Nothing may influence the outcome that the parties cannot see and address.
The notice provision recognises the people who are raising the child day to day. Before any proceeding under the dependency and termination chapters, the state child welfare agency tells the court the names and addresses of the child's foster parents, pre-adoptive parents and any relatives providing care, and the clerk gives written notice to all parties and to those caregivers.
They get an opportunity to be heard and may be cross-examined on what they say. But the rule is careful about status: receiving notice and a right to be heard does not, by itself, make a caregiver a party to the proceeding. And there is a practical shortcut — a parent or custodian who is in court when the permanent custody hearing is set may be handed written notice there, and that is sufficient.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the judge look at our other court cases?
The court may consider findings of fact and orders from any other proceeding involving the child, the parents or the custodian, if it is aware of them — and to the extent it relies on that material it must include a copy in the record.
Do foster parents get notice of hearings in Kentucky?
Yes. The clerk provides written notice to all parties and to the child's foster parents, pre-adoptive parents and any relatives providing care, and they have an opportunity to be heard.
Does being heard make a foster parent a party to the case?
No. The rule states that they shall not be designated as a party solely on the basis of that notice and right to be heard.