Kentucky auditor sues governor in bid to end dispute blocking kinship care law

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky’s Republican auditor sued Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Thursday, asking a judge to untangle a dispute blocking the implementation of a state law meant to support adults who step up to care for young relatives who endured suspected abuse or neglect at home.

The standoff revolves around whether funds are available to carry out the law’s intent — enabling relatives who take temporary custody of children to later become eligible for foster care payments.

Beshear signed Senate Bill 151 in April 2024 and his administration has praised the measure for seeking to help children in bad situations be placed with relatives or close family friends.

But the governor warned at the time that lawmakers had not approved the necessary funding. A year later, his administration still maintains that nearly $20 million is needed for the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services to put the law into action, the lawsuit says.

In her suit, Auditor Allison Ball says the state Constitution requires Beshear’s administration to “do whatever it takes” to carry out Kentucky laws. The suit asks a state judge to “remind” the administration of that duty.

“As the policymaking body and holder of the power of the purse that determines the proper level of funding to give state agencies to carry out the commonwealth’s laws, the General Assembly says that Governor Beshear and CHFS have more than enough money to carry out SB151 and must do so,” the suit says.

Beshear’s office said Thursday that his administration notified lawmakers on multiple occasions about the costs associated with carrying it out.

“Lawmakers had many opportunities to deliver the funding during both the 2024 and 2025 legislative sessions but chose not to,” Beshear spokesperson Crystal Staley said in a statement.

“It is simple: The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled the state cannot implement programs and policies if it doesn’t have the funding to do so,” she added.

Kentucky lawmakers ended this year’s session weeks ago and aren’t scheduled to reconvene until the 2026 session begins in January.

An estimated 55,000 Kentucky children are currently in what’s commonly called kinship care — when a child is living with relatives or close family friends instead of their parents.

The 2024 measure — which sailed through Kentucky’s Republican-led legislature with overwhelming support — is meant to fix what child welfare advocates say was a flaw in the support system.

The law gives relatives considerably more time to apply to become foster parents for their young relatives, and thus eligible for foster care payments to help support the children already in their care.

Frustration over the dispute resurfaced Tuesday when GOP lawmakers, including state Sen. Julie Raque Adams, the measure’s lead sponsor, called out Beshear’s administration for not implementing the law.

“They don’t even have a program model for SB151, yet they continue to insist it would cost $20 million to implement,” she said. “You can’t assign a price tag to something you haven’t built. The truth is, they have the tools to get started. They just haven’t.”

Ball’s office started an investigation last October to determine whether the health and family services cabinet has the money to carry out the law or whether lawmakers needed to appropriate more funds.

The suit says the probe has stalled because of what it calls the cabinet’s “obstruction,” and it asks the judge to order Beshear’s administration to provide whatever information the auditor needs to complete the review.