Division of Protection and Permanency

Division of Protection and Permanency

​​​​​​​The Division of Protection and Permanency coordinates the state's child welfare and violence prevention efforts. The division coordinates more than 180 contracts with vendors that provide a variety of services statewide and for specific service regions to enhance family violence prevention and intervention services.

The division provides consultative services and technical assistance to local child protective services offices regarding child and adult protection cases. The division coordinates permanency services including the coordination of state efforts to recruit and certify adoptive homes for children in foster care. The division creates standards of practice for local office operation and implements statewide changes in coordination with state and federal legislation changes. The division also gathers data and creates reports to monitor the state's progress toward federal goals in child welfare services.

Vision Statement

To protect children and vulnerable adults and to promote self-sufficiency and permanency by providing the best regulatory framework and state plan structure possible. Our mission is also to ensure maximum flexibility for interpretation and implementation of policy and procedures, which best meet the needs of the community.


Vision Statement

The Division of Protection and Permanency (DPP) recognizes the importance of a safe, secure and nurturing environment for each Kentucky child, adult and family. Within such an environment, we believe that families and their individual members become the most critical component of a strong society. Our vision is a division that is:

  • Focused on families, children and vulnerable adults
  • Committed to families as partners in decision making
  • Proactive, responsive and accessible to all members of the community
  • Sensitive to cultural and community differences
  • Committed to innovation, continuous improvement, shared accountability and measurable outcomes
  • Community focused and partnership-oriented
  • Recognized as the best human service delivery organization in the nation

Child Abuse and Neglect

The Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect Booklet is designed to provide information for the person who, as a part of his/her job or profession, may encounter situations of child abuse or neglect. It is designed to help you decide when an abused or neglected child needs special protection and what to do about it. As a person who works with children, you are in a key position to be aware of maltreated children. Accordingly, the law places certain responsibilities on you. This booklet will discuss:

  • Definitions of child abuse, neglect and dependency;
  • Kentucky laws addressing these problems;
  • Procedures for making a report;
  • A brief explanation of what happens when a report is made;
  • Some key indicators to look for in recognizing cases of possible abuse and neglect or dependency

The Child Removal Handbook is an informational guide for families with currently active child welfare cases and whose children have been placed in foster care.

Child Welfare Services and Monitoring

As part of state child welfare activities, the department conducts regular self-evaluation of its service delivery and plans for service improvement. Additionally, federal authorities conduct their own review of state service delivery and compliance with federal requirements. Evaluations are based on data-driven analysis of the effectiveness of:

  • prevention services to mediate the risk of child abuse and neglect
  • interventions to reduce the risk of repeat maltreatment for children who have been abused and neglected
  • services to increase safety so that abused and neglected children might be able to remain with their families
  • intervention and permanency to reunify children who enter foster care due to abuse and neglect
  • appropriate placement and permanency services for children who cannot return home

Federal reviews of state child welfare activities are cyclical, recurring at regular intervals. Federal feedback informs state planning for service delivery in the next funding cycle. The process recurs over time building gradual state improvement on federal indicators.

Standards of Practice

Child and Adult Protection Standards of Practice Manual: State adult and child welfare activities are carried out as directed by federal law, state statute, and state regulation.

The department also maintains a written standard of practice manual that contains procedures for carrying out adult and child welfare activities such as investigations, case planning, and placement of children in foster care.

View the Child and Adult Protection Standards of Practice Manual

Social Services Block Grant

The Social Services Block Grant provides funding for which the Department for Community Based Services applies annually in order to provide services in the following areas:

  • Adult and child protection;
  • Home safety services;
  • Juvenile services;
  • Residential treatment; and
  • Staff training.

The department offers these services through it's staff and contracted providers.  If you would like to review the current report and/or submit comments regarding it, please see the contact information in this letter: Social Services Block Grant Legal Advertisement.​

​Health Equity Definition

In DPP, health equity manifests as the inclusion of equity considerations in hiring, policy development, oversight, training/consultation, and disbursement activities.  This includes, but is not limited to, considering the following: 
  • ​Disparate outcomes related to disbursement of federal and state funds;
  • Disparate outcomes related to the safety and physical and behavioral health of adults and children;
  • Explicit inclusion of non-discrimination and equitable outcomes for contracted agencies;
  • Review of bills and new and existing policies through an equity lens; 
  • Routine use of disaggregated data during quality assurance activities, including evaluation of the Department’s progress in helping families overcome poverty and race-based barriers to good health;
  • Stakeholder engagement strategies that meaningfully include impacted communities, youth, and parent voice in decision-making;
Braveman et al. (2017) wrote that “[h]ealth equity means everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible” (p. 2).  They explain, “This requires removing [social and economic] obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences” (p. 2).  They also state that examining “disparities . . . [is] how we measure progress toward health equity” (p. 11)​

​References
Braveman P, Arkin E, Orleans T, Proctor D, and Plough A. What Is Health Equity? And What Difference Does a Definition Make? Princeton, NJ: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2017.





Additional Information

House Bill 1 (RS18) Study Group Reports

Contact Information

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