Kentucky Revised Statutes Title XVII. Economic Security and Public Welfare § 200.503.Definitions for KRS 200.501 to 200.509

(1) “Child with a behavioral health need” means a child or transition-age youth with, or at risk of developing, an emotional disability, substance use disorder, or mental, emotional, or behavioral needs;

(2) “Child with an emotional disability” means a child or transition-age youth with a clinically significant disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, memory, or behavior that is listed in the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and seriously limits a child's capacity to function in the home, school, or community;

(3) “Child with a serious emotional disability” means a child or transition-age youth with a clinically significant disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, memory, or behavior that is listed in the current edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and that:

(4) “Least restrictive alternative mode of treatment” means treatment given in the least confining setting which will provide a child or transition-age youth with an emotional disability or serious emotional disability appropriate treatment or care consistent with accepted professional practice. For purposes of this section, least restrictive alternative mode of treatment may include an institutional placement;

(5) “System of care” means a spectrum of effective, community-based services and supports for children and transition-age youth with or at risk of developing behavioral health needs and their families, that is organized into a coordinated network, builds meaningful partnerships with families and youth, and addresses their cultural and linguistic needs, in order to help them to function better at home, in school, in the community, and throughout life; and

(6) “Transition-age youth” means individuals between the ages of sixteen (16) and twenty-five (25).