Contact:
Mara Powell
mpowell@kyyouth.org

Statement from Dr. Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates

LOUISVILLE, KY – Kinship families across the Commonwealth are giving three cheers for the approval of the updated KTAP regulations, which boost supports for the first time in decades.

The Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP) is a vital support that helps Kentucky families in deep poverty and kinship caregivers overcome barriers to employment, such as a lack of training or child care, and meet their basic needs through direct cash assistance. While KTAP is critical for many of our vulnerable Kentucky families, the regulations are decades old with no updates that account for inflation over the last 27 years.

As a result, the Department of Community Based Services (DCBS) filed several regulations to modernize the program – and the Kentucky General Assembly has approved some of those updated regulations, including:

  • Doubling the KTAP benefit amount to better reflect cost of living and inflation.
  • Increasing KTAP’s income limit, asset limit, and standard of need so more low-income families can access the program. The increase in income limits would allow a family of four who makes up to $1,315 a month to qualify for KTAP.
  • Strengthening the supportive services offered by the Kentucky Work Programs by increasing the amount available for transportation, vehicle repairs, and educational bonuses, as well as allowing funds to be used for necessary health care costs, such as glasses, dentures, and hearing aids.

The Cabinet for Health and Family Services has stated that families using or applying for KTAP should expect to see these changes go into effect next month. If you have any questions, please contact your local DCBS office.

Additionally, CHFS has filed several other regulations to modernize the KTAP program so it better meets the needs of today’s families and workforce, and we hope the General Assembly will act quickly to approve those this session. We are also encouraged by DCBS’s call to remove the child support cooperation requirements for kinship caregivers, and we call on both CHFS and General Assembly to move quickly to address this barrier that keeps so many relative caregivers from applying for KTAP.

Thank you, DCBS, for pushing these much needed and long-awaited improvements to KTAP and thank you to our General Assembly for ensuring they became a reality for families in need across the Commonwealth.

Stay up-to-date on Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children priorities and bills that are good for kids on our Kentucky General Assembly Bill Tracker.

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About Kentucky Youth Advocates
Kentucky Youth Advocates believes all children deserve to be safe, healthy, and secure. As THE independent voice for Kentucky’s children, we work to ensure policymakers create investments and policies that are good for children. Learn more at www.kyyouth.org.