Background
The Cabinet for Health and Family Services filed dependency, neglect, and abuse petitions concerning A.W.’s child and the child’s two older siblings. After hearing testimony from the older siblings, the Carter Family Court found that A.W. had physically abused them and thereby placed the child at risk of abuse or neglect. Following disposition, the court returned custody of the child to A.W. on May 29, 2025.
The Cabinet separately substantiated abuse and neglect incidents and placed A.W. on the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry for seven years. Concerned that the listing could affect her employment as a registered nurse, A.W. asked the family court to shorten the listing period. The court denied that request on August 7, 2025, and later denied her motion to alter, amend, or vacate while incorporating findings from the adjudication. A.W. appealed those rulings and also sought review of the underlying abuse-and-neglect findings.
The Court’s Holding
The Kentucky Court of Appeals held that A.W.’s challenges to the underlying adjudicative findings were untimely. In a dependency, neglect, and abuse case, the dispositional order is the final, appealable order through which a party may seek review of an abuse-or-neglect determination. A.W. did not appeal the May 29, 2025, dispositional order by the June 30 deadline or file a motion that tolled that deadline, so the court declined to consider her challenges to the adjudication.
The court also affirmed the denial of A.W.’s request to shorten her registry listing. Under 922 KAR 1:470, a listed name must remain on the central registry for at least seven years. A.W. identified no authority allowing a family court to reduce that period, and the appellate court found none. The record also did not show that she pursued the administrative appeal process available under 922 KAR 1:480 to challenge the Cabinet’s substantiation decision. The family court therefore did not abuse its discretion.
Key Takeaways
- A party seeking appellate review of abuse-or-neglect findings must timely appeal the final dispositional order in the dependency, neglect, and abuse case.
- Kentucky regulations require a person’s name to remain on the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry for at least seven years, subject to the regulatory conditions governing removal.
- A challenge to the Cabinet’s substantiation decision belongs in the administrative appeal process established by 922 KAR 1:480; the family court had no identified authority to shorten the registry period.
Why It Matters
The opinion underscores that adjudication and disposition in a dependency, neglect, and abuse case are distinct from the Cabinet’s administrative substantiation and registry process. Attorneys must preserve challenges through the correct proceeding and within the applicable deadline.
It also indicates that employment-related consequences do not, without legal authority, permit a family court to reduce the seven-year minimum registry period prescribed by regulation.