Request By:
Hon. Frank H. McCartney
Fleming County Attorney
Courthouse
Flemingsburg, Kentucky 41041
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Elizabeth E. Blackford, Assistant Attorney General
You asked what your duties are with reference to juvenile dependency actions. It is our opinion that you are to perform the same functions you would perform in any other juvenile proceeding.
While dependency actions differ from delinquency or status actions in that they are civil in nature and brought on behalf of the child, rather than against him, the same rules of evidence and procedures are to be applied in dependency actions as would be applied in any other juvenile proceeding. KRS 208.060(5). And, the Department for Human Resources is not authorized to provide its own counsel in dependency actions, though it may do so in support actions. (See KRS 407.250.) Essentially then, if the county attorney does not "prosecute" the dependency action, there would be no one to do so. Therefore, it is our opinion that you, as county attorney, are to perform the same function you would in any other juvenile proceeding.
You also requested that we provide you with a specific list of the duties of the county attorney. We are enclosing OAG 78-407 which deals extensively with the duties of the county attorney. We hope it will prove to be helpful.