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620.060 Emergency custody orders.
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The court for the county where the child is present may issue an ex parte emergency
custody order when it appears to the court that removal is in the best interest of the
child and that there are reasonable grounds to believe, as supported by affidavit or
by recorded sworn testimony, that one (1) or more of the following conditions exist
and that the parents or other person exercising custodial control or supervision are
unable or unwilling to protect the child:
(a) The child is in danger of imminent death or serious physical injury or is being
sexually abused;
(b) The parent has repeatedly inflicted or allowed to be inflicted by other than
accidental means physical injury or emotional injury. This condition shall not
include reasonable and ordinary discipline recognized in the community
where the child lives, as long as reasonable and ordinary discipline does not
result in abuse or neglect as defined in KRS 600.020(1); or
(c) The child is in immediate danger due to the parent's failure or refusal to
provide for the safety or needs of the child.
Custody may be placed with a relative taking into account the wishes of the
custodial parent and child or any other appropriate person or agency including the
cabinet.
An emergency custody order shall be effective no longer than seventy-two (72)
hours, exclusive of weekends and holidays, unless there is a temporary removal
hearing with oral or other notice to the county attorney and the parent or other
person exercising custodial control or supervision of the child, to determine if the
child should be held for a longer period. The seventy-two (72) hour period also may
be extended or delayed upon the waiver or request of the child's parent or other
person exercising custodial control or supervision.
Any person authorized to serve process shall serve the parent or other person
exercising custodial control or supervision with a copy of the emergency custody
order. If such person cannot be found, the sheriff shall make a good faith effort to
notify the nearest known relative, neighbor, or other person familiar with the child.
Within seventy-two (72) hours of the taking of a child into custody without the
consent of his parent or other person exercising custodial control or supervision, a
petition shall be filed pursuant to this chapter.
Nothing herein shall preclude the issuance of arrest warrants pursuant to the Rules
of Criminal Procedure.
Effective: March 17, 1998
History: Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 57, sec. 4, effective March 17, 1998. -- Amended
1988 Ky. Acts ch. 350, sec. 46, effective April 10, 1988. -- Created 1986 Ky. Acts
ch. 423, sec. 67, effective July 1, 1987.
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