Family Based Services include child protection; reunification following out-of-home placement; home safety services; preventative services for families; community-based juvenile services; family preservation services; mental health services through contracts with local comprehensive care centers; self-help services provided through local child abuse councils; and preventative assistance. These services are provided in order to preserve the family unit while keeping safety of all family members as the primary goal.

Child Protective Services are specialized services aimed at safeguarding the rights and welfare of abused, neglected or dependent children; aiding parents or other persons responsible for the care, custody or supervision of children in recognizing and remedying conditions detrimental to the welfare of their children; and identifying conditions that contribute to the neglect, abuse, or dependency of children. Child Protective Services are both preventive and corrective in nature. This includes intake/investigation of reports of neglect, abuse, or dependency and the provision of treatment to those families in need. DCBS staff provides direct in-home services as well as serving in a case manager role and networking community resources. DCBS is mandated to receive and investigate reports of the abuse or neglect of children.

Home Safety Services provide in-home support that prevents the disruption of a family unit or expedites the return of the child by helping parents with general homemaker skills, role modeling, parenting skills, assistance in daily living skills, and direction in utilizing community services.

Preventive Services to families, who do not qualify for services under other program areas, address a family's treatment and access needs before the situation has escalated to become abusive or neglectful. Prevention services also serve to strengthen communities and promote stability and sustainability, with the goal of preventing family separations and poor family outcomes.

Family Preservation provides crisis intervention and intensive (5-20 hours per week) in-home services to families who have children at imminent risk of removal from their home. Family Reunification Services, which follow the same basic model with less intensive in-home services over a longer duration (up to 6 months), facilitate the successful return of children to the home and decrease the likelihood of repeated child placements.

Through implementation of The Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) of 2018, Kentucky is in the process of expanding its Sobriety Treatment and Recovery Teams (START) and Kentucky Strengthening and Empowering Parents (KSTEP) programs. Along with FPP, these programs work with families to mitigate issues when a child is at imminent risk for removal. Kentucky is also in the process of re-implementing High Fidelity Wrap Around services to provide intensive services to both children and families who are at risk for family separation. The advent of FFPSA adds prevention services to Title IV-E of the Social Security Act, which was previously exclusive to adoption and foster care.

In addition to the tertiary prevention services, the Division for Prevention and Community Wellbeing also provides primary and secondary prevention services. These services include Parent Engagement Meetings and other hands-on and in-home services through the Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CBCAP) and Community Collaboration for Children (CCC) grants and provide child abuse prevention awareness and outreach during Child Abuse Prevention month and throughout the year. Kentucky remains committed to prevention services and continues to expand partnerships with national and local organizations that share our mission and goals.

Self-Help Groups provide support and education for parents in crisis or at risk of further abuse or neglect of children.

Juvenile Services in the community provide an array of preventive and treatment services for children adjudicated as status offenders under KRS 630. Because status offender behaviors such as running away from home, being beyond parental control and truancy are most often indicative of prior abuse or neglect of the child, services are targeted at prevention of further abuse or neglect and interventions to curb the child's negative behaviors. Appropriate services may be provided directly by DCBS or arranged through local mental health centers, Family Resource and Youth Service Centers, community partnerships, private child care agencies, and/or other private providers in the community.

Children's advocacy centers provide services to victims of child sexual abuse and their non-offending caregivers.

Adult Services includes protection and self-support. Adult services are directed toward preserving the vulnerable individual's independence to the maximum degree possible and protecting him/her from abuse, neglect or exploitation pursuant to KRS 209. The elements of adult services are: adult protection; adult home safety services which is the direct provision of home safety services to adults at risk or in need of protections; Alternate care (also called placement and movement) which involves assisting individuals with appropriate community and institutional placements; Preventive services for adults which entails assessment, planning, and guidance. Services often involves securing food, shelter, clothing, and medical treatment. Adult Self-Support includes the Community Services Block Grant, which provides funding for emergency needs of economically disadvantaged citizens. This program helps to alleviate the stresses on the family unit resulting from poverty while promoting self-sufficiency.