(1) The cabinet is autho rized to expend available funds to provide for the board, lodging, and care of children who would otherwise be placed in foster care or who are placed by the cabinet in a foster home or boarding home, or may arrange for payments or contributions by any loc al governmental unit, or public or private agency or organization, willing to make payments or contributions for such purpose. The cabinet may accept any gift, devise, or bequest made to it for its purposes. (2) The cabinet shall establish a reimbursement system, within existing appropriation amounts, for foster parents that comes as close as possible to meeting the actual cost of caring for foster children. The cabinet shall consider providing additional reimbursement for foster parents who obtain addition al training, and foster parents who have served for an extended period of time. In establishing a reimbursement system, the cabinet shall, to the extent possible within existing appropriation amounts, address the additional cost associated with providing c are to children with exceptional needs. (3) The cabinet shall review reimbursement rates paid to foster parents and shall issue a report upon request comparing the rates paid by Kentucky to the figures presented in the Expenditures on Children by Families Annual Report prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture and the rates paid to foster parents by other states. To the extent that funding is available, reimbursement rates paid to foster parents shall be increased on an annual basis to reflect cost of living increases. (4) The cabinet is encouraged to develop pilot projects both within the state system and in collaboration with private child caring agencies to test alternative delivery systems and nontraditional funding mechanisms. (5) (a) The cabinet shall track and analyze data on relative and fictive kin caregiver placements. The data shall include but not be limited to: 1. Demographic data on relative and fictive kin caregivers and children in their care; 2. Custodial options selected by the relative and fictive kin caregivers; 3. Services provisioned to relative and fictive kin caregivers and children in their care; and 4. Permanency benchmarks and outcomes for relative and fictive kin caregiver placements. (b) By September 30, 2020, and annually thereafter, the cabinet shall submit a report to the Governor, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the director of the Legislative Research Commission for automatic distribution to the Interim Joint Committee on Families and Children relating to the data tracking and analysis established in this subsection and post the report to the cabinet website for public view no later th an February 28 of the following year. (6) Foster parents shall have the authority, unless the cabinet determines that the child's religion, race, ethnicity, or national origin prevents it, to make decisions regarding haircuts and hairstyles for foster chil dren who are in their care for thirty (30) days or more.
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