(1) The court for the county where the child ordinarily resides or will reside or 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.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) Nothing herein shall preclude the issuance of arrest warrants pursuant to the Rules
of Criminal Procedure.
Effective: July 14, 2018
History: Amended 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 159, sec. 20, effective July 14, 2018. -- 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.
Notes of Decisions
Mauldin v. Bearden (2009)
ky · cites it 6×
“Arguably, the ex parte motion for temporary custody could be construed as having initiated a proceeding under KRS 620.060 for an emergency custody order.”
Cabinet for Health & Family v. J.M.G. (2015)
ky · cites it 2×
“KRS 620.060 authorizes the court to issue ex parte emergency custody orders, effective for seventy-two hours, when the court is presented with reasonable grounds to believe that removal is in the best interest of rite child because, among other reasons, "the parents or other…”
Stanton v. Commonwealth (2011)
ky · cites it 2×
“KRS 620.060 provides for an ex parte emergency custody order where removal is in the best interest of the child and one of three statutory grounds exists.”
Robison v. Theele (2015)
kyctapp · cites it 2×
“KRS 620.060(1). In this case, the trial court granted the ex parte motion based on several affidavits averring that the children were well cared for in the home of their grandparents.”
Cole v. Thomas (1987)
kyctapp
“” KRS 620.060; KRS 620.070. To allow great-grandparents to be included within KRS 405.”
R.B. v. S.M. (2019)
kyctapp
“On October 18, 2013, a dependency, neglect, and abuse (DNA) petition was filed in Knox Circuit Court pursuant to KRS 620.060, 2 alleging S.M. ("Mother") had *11 been arrested for driving under the influence while Child, who was five years of age, had been left unattended in…”
R.S. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services (2025)
kyctapp · cites it 5×
“Grandmother contends that in addition to the emergency custody motion’s being a “misfiled pleading,” the family court’s order fails to comply with KRS 620.060. The statute is entitled “Emergency custody orders,” and provides in relevant part that: (1) The court for the county…”
J.A.L. v. Howard (2022)
kyed · cites it 2×
“24]; see also KRS §§ 620.060, 620.090. But the Sixth Circuit has repeatedly recognized that state actors can be held liable for their part in initiating removal proceedings under the Fourteenth Amendment if the plaintiff alleges a bad-faith investigation.”
Curry v. Furnish (2020)
kywd · cites it 2×
“52 Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 620.060(1)(a) – (c) (2017) (amended 2018) (cleaned up).”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(1) — 3 cases
Mauldin v. Bearden (2009)
ky
“Arguably, the ex parte motion for temporary custody could be construed as having initiated a proceeding under KRS 620.060 for an emergency custody order.”
Robison v. Theele (2015)
kyctapp
“KRS 620.060(1). In this case, the trial court granted the ex parte motion based on several affidavits averring that the children were well cared for in the home of their grandparents.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(1)(a) — 2 cases
Curry v. Furnish (2020)
kywd
“52 Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 620.060(1)(a) – (c) (2017) (amended 2018) (cleaned up).”
R.S. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services (2025)
kyctapp
“Grandmother contends that in addition to the emergency custody motion’s being a “misfiled pleading,” the family court’s order fails to comply with KRS 620.060. The statute is entitled “Emergency custody orders,” and provides in relevant part that: (1) The court for the county…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(1)(c) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(2) — 2 cases
Mauldin v. Bearden (2009)
ky
“Arguably, the ex parte motion for temporary custody could be construed as having initiated a proceeding under KRS 620.060 for an emergency custody order.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(3) — 3 cases
Robison v. Theele (2015)
kyctapp
“KRS 620.060(1). In this case, the trial court granted the ex parte motion based on several affidavits averring that the children were well cared for in the home of their grandparents.”
R.S. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Cabinet for Health and Family Services (2025)
kyctapp
“Grandmother contends that in addition to the emergency custody motion’s being a “misfiled pleading,” the family court’s order fails to comply with KRS 620.060. The statute is entitled “Emergency custody orders,” and provides in relevant part that: (1) The court for the county…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(l)(a) — 1 case
Stanton v. Commonwealth (2011)
ky
“KRS 620.060 provides for an ex parte emergency custody order where removal is in the best interest of the child and one of three statutory grounds exists.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 620.060(l)(c) — 1 case
Cabinet for Health & Family v. J.M.G. (2015)
ky
“KRS 620.060 authorizes the court to issue ex parte emergency custody orders, effective for seventy-two hours, when the court is presented with reasonable grounds to believe that removal is in the best interest of rite child because, among other reasons, "the parents or other…”
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