Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, March 1, 2024
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 17.554(1) requires the
Sex Offender Risk Assessment Advisory Board to approve providers to conduct
court-ordered comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluations and treatment
of sex offenders. KRS 17.564(1) authorizes the board to promulgate
administrative regulations necessary to carry into effect the purposes of KRS 17.500 to 17.580 and 17.991. This administrative regulation establishes
approval requirements for providers.
Section
1. Definitions.
(1) "Approved
provider" is defined by KRS 17.550(3).
(2) "Board" is defined by KRS 17.550(1).
(3) "Comprehensive sex
offender presentence evaluation" means a comprehensive mental health evaluation
by an approved provider that includes a focus on the clinical data necessary to
address the factors listed in KRS 17.554(2).
(4) "Corrective action plan" means a plan
submitted by the approved provider and accepted by the board or a plan imposed
by the board that requires an approved provider to take specific steps to be in
compliance with this administrative regulation.
(5) "Sex offender" is defined by KRS 17.550(2).
(6) "Victim" is defined
by KRS 17.550(4).
Section
2. Qualifications of Approved Providers.
(1) To qualify as an approved provider, in
addition to meeting the requirements of KRS 17.550(3), an applicant shall:
(a) Have completed forty (40) hours of
specialty training provided or approved by the board under Section 7 of this
administrative regulation including the following:
1. Characteristics and offense patterns of
sex offenders;
2. Treatment
modalities used with sex offenders;
3. Legal and ethical issues in the risk
assessment of sex offenders;
4.
Victim's issues, not to exceed two (2) hours of credit against the total
requirement;
5. Issues related to
the assessment of juvenile and female sex offenders; and
6. Use of the appropriate actuarial or
evaluation instruments;
(b) Be in compliance with the ethical
standards of professional practice as promulgated by the Kentucky licensing or
certifying body under which the applicant has professional status;
and
(c)
1. Have a minimum of:
a. Sixty (60) hours documented experience
conducting sex offender evaluations or completion of a practicum as described
in subsection (2) of this section; and
b. 190 hours documented clinical contact
conducting sex offender treatment or completion of a practicum as described in
subsection (2) of this section;
2. Complete a practicum as described in
subsection (2) of this section;
3.
Have a current approval or certification as a sex offender treatment provider
in another state and be in good standing with that credentialing authority;
or
4. Have had an approval or
certification as a sex offender treatment provider within the last five (5)
years in Kentucky or another state and was in good standing with the
credentialing authority during the period of approval or
certification.
(2) Practicum requirements.
(a) To successfully complete the practicum,
the practicum participant being supervised shall:
1. Have a minimum of 100 hours of
face-to-face supervision by the practicum supervisor, which shall include:
a. Case discussion;
b. Review of reading assignments;
c. Skill building; and
d.
(i)
Supervised actual clinical practice; or
(ii) Review of audio or video recording of
actual clinical practice;
2. Obtain a minimum of sixty (60) hours
experience conducting sex offender evaluations;
3. Obtain a minimum of 190 hours of
supervised clinical experience conducting sex offender treatment; and
4. Participate in the practicum for a minimum
of eighteen (18) months.
(b) A practicum supervisor shall:
1. Have a minimum of 2,000 hours of
experience conducting sex offender evaluations and clinical contact in sex
offender treatment, including a minimum of:
a.
500 hours conducting sex offender evaluations; and
b. 1,500 hours of clinical contact in sex
offender treatment;
2.
Be an approved provider in good standing with the board;
3. Submit a written request to conduct a
practicum for each participant and receive prior approval by the board to
conduct the practicum by:
a. Email to
SORAABoard@ky.gov; or
b. Mail to
SOTP/SORAA Board, Kentucky State Reformatory, 3001 W. Highway 146, LaGrange,
Kentucky 40032;
4.
Directly observe the practicum participant's clinical practice in person or
through video or audio recording;
5. Examine, approve, and sign all
comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluations performed by the practicum
participant;
6. Give written notice
to the board if the practicum supervisor determines that the practicum
participant's performance does not comply with the provisions of this
administrative regulation, 501 KAR 6:200, or 501 KAR 6:220; and
7. Give written notice to the board if the
practicum supervisor stops supervising the practicum prior to its
completion.
Section 3. Duties.
(1) If an approved provider has provided
treatment for a sex offender, the approved provider shall not perform a
comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluation for the sex
offender.
(2) An approved provider
shall:
(a) Submit the first four (4)
evaluations prepared after becoming an approved provider for review by the
board;
(b) Comply with the ethical
standards of professional practice as promulgated by the Kentucky licensing or
certifying body under which the approved provider has professional
status;
(c) Provide the board with
the following contact information:
1. Mailing
address that may be included on approved provider list sent to
courts;
2. Mailing address to be
used by board for contact with approved provider if different than address
included on approved provider list sent to courts;
3. Phone number that may be included on
approved provider list sent to courts; and
4. Email address, if approved provider has
one, that may be included on approved provider list sent to courts;
(d) Provide the board with changes
in the contact information listed in paragraph (c) of this subsection within
thirty (30) days of a change in information;
(e) Notify the board within thirty (30) days
of the occurrence of:
1. Discontinuance of
practice as an approved provider;
2. Being convicted of, pleading guilty to, or
entering an Alford plea for a felony;
3. Being convicted of, pleading guilty to, or
entering an Alford plea for a misdemeanor against a person;
4. A domestic violence order issued against
the approved provider;
5. An
interpersonal protective order issued against the approved provider;
or
6. Suspension, revocation, or
other disciplinary action taken by the licensing or certifying body under which
the approved provider has professional mental health treatment status;
and
(f) Complete eight
(8) hours of continuing education approved or provided by the board by December
31 in each calendar year following the year in which the individual becomes an
approved provider.
1. A minimum of six hours
of the required continuing education hours shall cover one or more of the areas
indicated in Section 2(1)(a)1-6.
2.
The approved provider shall submit continuing education hours earned each year
to the board by January 31 of the year following the year in which the hours
were obtained by:
a. Email to
SORAABoard@ky.gov; or
b. Mail to
SOTP/SORAA Board, Kentucky State Reformatory, 3001 W. Highway 146, LaGrange,
Kentucky 40032.
3. The
board may grant an extension of twelve (12) months in which to complete hours
of continuing education if:
a. Requested by
the approved provider for good cause shown; and
b. A plan to make up uncompleted hours has
not been requested or approved by the board for the approved provider for
either of the two (2) preceding calendar years.
4. To request an extension, an approved
provider shall:
a. Submit a plan detailing how
the uncompleted hours will be obtained within the next twelve (12)
months;
b. Submit a plan detailing
how the next year's eight (8) hours will be obtained within the next calendar
year; and
c. State the reasons for
the request for extension.
5. The extension request shall:
a. Be made in writing;
b. Include the number of hours that need to
be completed for the calendar year;
c. Include proof of any hours that were
completed; and
d. Be postmarked on
or before December 31 of the calendar year for which the hours were
required.
(3) An approved provider shall not:
(a) Identify himself or herself as an
approved provider as credentialed by the Sex Offender Risk Assessment Advisory
Board under the provisions of KRS 17.550 through 17.991 if performing an
evaluation that is not of an individual convicted of a felony sex crime as
defined by KRS 17.500; and
(b)
Refer to an individual being evaluated or treated as a sex offender if the
individual does not meet the definition of a sex offender as established in KRS 17.550.
Section
4. Approval Procedures.
(1) The
board shall approve an applicant as an approved provider if the applicant meets
the applicable qualifications specified in Section 2 of this administrative
regulation and is not otherwise disqualified by the provisions of Section 5 of
this administrative regulation.
(2)
An individual may apply to the board for approval status as an approved
provider by submitting:
(a) A written request
for approval, which shall include the following:
1. Full name;
2. Business address;
3. Home address;
4. Daytime telephone number;
5. Fax number, if available; and
6. Social Security number;
(b) Documentary evidence of the
applicant's qualifications; and
(c)
Evidence that the applicant has remedied the cause for the denial or
revocation, if approval was previously denied or revoked under Section 5 of
this administrative regulation.
(3) The board shall determine that an
application is incomplete if:
(a) The
documentation of qualifications is insufficient to meet the required
qualifications in Section 2 of this administrative regulation;
(b) The board is unable to verify the
authenticity of the documentation of qualifications; or
(c) Any of the information required in
subsection (2) of this section is not submitted.
(4) If the board determines that an
application is incomplete, the board shall specify to the applicant additional
documentation or information that is required or identify the information that
cannot be verified.
(5) The board
shall notify the applicant of its intent to approve or deny the application for
approval in writing no later than 120 days after receiving a complete
application for approval.
(6)
Unless approval has been revoked in accordance with Section 5 of this
administrative regulation, the board shall renew the approval status of an
approved provider upon request if:
(a) The
approved provider submits documentation of completion of at least eight (8)
hours per year of continuing education provided or approved by the board under
Section 7 of this administrative regulation; and
(b) The approved provider continues to meet
the requirements of this administrative regulation and KRS Chapter 17 for
approved provider status.
(7) The board shall maintain a list of
approved providers to be submitted to the Administrative Office of the Courts
annually.
Section 5.
Denial or Revocation of Approval.
(1) The
board shall deny, suspend, or revoke approval if an applicant or an approved
provider has:
(a) Failed to meet the
qualifications for approval set forth in Section 2 of this administrative
regulation;
(b) Failed to be in
compliance with the ethical standards of professional practice as promulgated
by the Kentucky licensing or certifying body under which the applicant or
approved provider has professional status;
(c) A substance use disorder as defined by
KRS 222.005(12);
(d) Falsified any
information or documentation, or has concealed a material fact, in the request
for approval;
(e) Failed to
implement a corrective action plan imposed by the board in accordance with
Section 6 of this administrative regulation;
(f) Three (3) or more evaluations which the
board finds are below standard upon review;
(g) Failed to comply with the comprehensive
sex offender presentence evaluation procedure established in 501 KAR 6:200;
(h) Shown an inability to
conduct an evaluation with reasonable skill;
(i) Accepted a gift or favor from a sex
offender being assessed, from the family of the sex offender being assessed, or
from their agent;
(j) Provided a
gift or favor to a sex offender being assessed, to the family of the sex
offender being assessed, or to their agent;
(k) Failed to comply with an order of the
board; or
(l) Failed to comply with
instructions of the board during an investigation.
(2) The board may deny, suspend, or revoke
approval if an applicant or an approved provider has:
(a) Been convicted of or pled guilty to a
felony criminal offense or a misdemeanor criminal offense;
(b) Has a current active domestic violence or
interpersonal protective order issued against the applicant or approved
provider;
(c) Had a domestic
violence or interpersonal protective order issued against the applicant or
approved provider within the previous three (3) years;
(d) Had a sanction applied against the
applicant or approved provider's mental health professional licensure or
certification at any time in the past two (2) years;
(e) Failed to comply with the duties
established in Section 3 of this administrative regulation;
(f) Less than three (3) evaluations that the
board finds are below standard upon review;
(g) Failed to comply with the treatment
requirements established in 501 KAR 6:220;
(h) Failed to comply with the evaluation
procedure established in 501 KAR 6:200;
(i) Failed to comply with the requirements
established by the board for the practicum or to successfully complete the
practicum, if so required by Section 2 of this administrative
regulation;
(j) Identified himself
or herself as an approved provider as credentialed by the Sex Offender Risk
Assessment Advisory Board under the provisions of KRS 17.550 through 17.991 if
performing an evaluation that is not of an individual convicted of a felony sex
crime as defined by KRS 17.500; or
(k) Referred to an individual being evaluated
or treated as a sex offender if the individual does not meet the definition of
sex offender established in KRS 17.550.
(3) If the board intends to deny, suspend or
revoke approval, it shall:
(a) Serve a notice
of intent to deny, suspend, or revoke approval to the applicant or approved
provider; and
(b) Notify the
applicant or approved provider of the hearing, in accordance with KRS Chapter
13B and KRS 17.560.
(4)
An approved provider who has had approval revoked shall be ineligible to apply
to be an approved provider until the second anniversary of the date the
approval was revoked unless the revocation was for failure to obtain the
required eight (8) hours of continuing education and the required hours have
been obtained.
Section
6. Monitoring.
(1) The board may:
(a) Investigate a formal complaint, verified
by affidavit, concerning an approved provider, if the complaint alleges a
failure to comply with the provisions of this administrative regulation, 501 KAR 6:200, or 501
KAR 6:220;
(b) Refer a
complaint against an approved provider, which relates to an unethical practice
or practice which may be outside the approved provider's scope of practice, to
the appropriate Kentucky licensure or certification board; and
(c) Investigate and evaluate an approved
provider's adherence to the provisions of this administrative regulation, 501 KAR 6:200, or 502 KAR 6:220, on its own initiative.
(2) The board or staff that assists the board
may monitor an approved provider by the following activities:
(a) Interviewing a sex offender or victim, if
consent is given by the sex offender or victim for the interview;
(b) Reviewing evaluation or treatment records
maintained by an approved provider on a sex offender;
(c) Direct observation of the evaluation or
treatment of a sex offender; or
(d)
Interviewing judicial, correctional, or law enforcement officials or other
individuals that interact with an approved provider in relation to
comprehensive sex offender presentence evaluations or treatment of sex
offenders.
(3) If an
approved provider fails to comply with provisions of this administrative
regulation, 501 KAR 6:200, or 501 KAR 6:220, the board shall notify him in writing of
its determination and may:
(a) Require the
approved provider to submit a corrective action plan for approval by the
board;
(b) Impose a corrective
action plan; or
(c) Revoke approval
in accordance with Section 5 of this administrative regulation.
(4) If the board requires an
approved provider to comply with a corrective action plan, it shall review plan
compliance within 120 days.
Section
7. Approval of Specialty Training and Continuing Education.
(1) Specialty training.
(a) Specialty training, as required in
Section 2 of this administrative regulation, shall be approved or provided by
the board based on its nature or relevance.
(b) An applicant seeking approval of a
specialty training course shall submit to the board the following:
1. A certificate of attendance which shall
include the number of hours of training received; or
2.
a. If a
certificate of attendance is not available, an affidavit that includes the
number of hours of education received; and
b. An agenda from the training seminar that
describes topics and length of time spent on each topic.
(c) The board may require the
applicant to provide course materials from the training seminar or additional
information, if it is unable to adequately determine the nature or relevance of
the training provided at the seminar from the materials submitted under
paragraph (b) of this subsection.
(2) Continuing education.
(a) Continuing education, as required in
Section 3 of this administrative regulation, shall be approved or provided by
the board based on its nature or relevance.
(b) An approved provider seeking approval of
continuing education hours shall submit to the board the following:
1. A certificate of attendance that shall
include the number of hours of education received; or
2.
a. If a
certificate of attendance is not available, an affidavit that includes the
number of hours of education received; and
b. An agenda from the seminar, which
describes topics and length of time spent on each topic.
(c) The board may require the
applicant to provide course materials from the seminar or additional
information, if it is unable to adequately determine the nature or relevance of
training provided at the seminar from the materials submitted under paragraph
(b) of this subsection.