Plain-language guides
Understand your case.
Understand the paperwork.
Featured guide / Parents’ rights
Understand a DCBS plan
before deciding to sign.
Review the signature language, participation and copy procedures, questions to ask, and routes for raising a disagreement.
Read the parents’ rights guide ↗County contacts / Official filing links
Find DCBS offices,
leadership, and review routes.
A county-by-county public-source directory for Rowan, Bath, Montgomery, and Menifee, with source dates, coverage limits, and links to the Ombudsman and records portal.
Open the DCBS directory ↗Primary law / Official sources
Read the governing framework.
Direct links to Kentucky’s official statutes and regulations. Check current text, amendments, and effective dates before relying on a provision.
Chapter directories include repealed and future-effective provisions; check each section’s status. Research resources do not guarantee access to private records.
01 / Preparation
Identify the record.
Identify the custodian.
- Describe existing records, a clear topic, and a date range.
- Confirm the agency’s current official custodian and designated request address.
- Use your real name and signature, and state an accurate basis for Kentucky residency when required.
- Describe the intended use accurately, including any commercial purpose.
- Retain the exact request and proof of delivery.
A note on accessThis template concerns agency policy records. Confidential DCBS case information and court case records require separate attention to the applicable access rules. Possessing a document does not automatically authorize its publication.
02 / General request template
Editable textA clear starting point.
Replace every bracketed field and check the current law before sending. This template is educational information and is not tailored legal advice.
TO: Records Custodian, Cabinet for Health and Family Services / DCBS
[Verify the current official custodian and designated request address]
RE: Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870–61.884) request
Dear Records Custodian:
Pursuant to the Kentucky Open Records Act, I request copies of these existing, nonexempt records maintained by your agency:
1. Administrative directives, written policy exceptions, and supervisor tracking records concerning [defined topic or case-management parameter], applicable to offices serving Rowan, Montgomery, Menifee, and Bath counties, dated [start date] through [end date].
2. Written communications, internal guidelines, and manuals distributed to caseworkers during that period regarding changes to [identify the relevant provision of 922 KAR Chapter 1 or the specific compliance topic].
This request concerns nonexempt policy and administrative records, not confidential individual child-welfare case files.
I am a Kentucky resident because [accurate basis under KRS 61.870(10)]. The intended use of these records is [accurate description; identify commercial use if applicable].
For noncommercial use, please provide copies in a standard electronic format where maintained electronically, pursuant to KRS 61.874(2), preferably by email or download link. Please advise of fees exceeding $[limit] before incurring them.
Please release reasonably segregable nonexempt portions. If any part is withheld, identify the specific statutory exception and explain how it applies, as required by KRS 61.880(1).
Sincerely,
[Real printed name]
[Signature or electronic signature]
[Contact email]
[Date]
03 / Research organization
Keep the correspondence
with the source.
Log the agency, request description, delivery evidence, response, fees, and records received. A tracking entry documents correspondence; it does not independently establish noncompliance.
Download tracking log .csv ↓04 / Common questions
Know the limits.
Can I request records anonymously?
Must every record be delivered within five days?
KRS 61.880 generally requires a written decision within five days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. That response period does not guarantee delivery of every requested record within five days.
KRS 61.880 · Agency decisions ↗
Can I require paper records to be digitized?
Under KRS 61.874(2), the electronic-format provisions for noncommercial requests concern records maintained electronically. Agencies are not required by that provision to convert paper records into electronic files.
KRS 61.874 · Copies, formats, and fees ↗
Does this give access to confidential child-welfare records?
05 / Official source directory
Go to the primary source.
Check current wording and effective dates. Source links reviewed November 2, 2026.