Adoption Assistance

 

Adoption Assistance- What is it?

Adoption Assistance programs promote permanency for children with special needs and provide support for adoptive families. Adoption Assistance is designed to provide adoptive families with the medical assistance, financial support, and social services needed to care for eligible children considered difficult to place. The amount and types of assistance is determined individually based on the needs of the child and the resources of the adoptive family. The level of assistance and eligibility determinations will vary by state.

 

Two Types of Adoption Assistance

There are two types of Adoption Assistance programs. One is funded by the federal government and the states, and the other program is funded solely by the states. Both types routinely provide a monthly financial benefit and medical assistance in the form of Medicaid. Medicaid services will vary by states, but some medical services are federally mandated and provided by all states.

 

  1. Title IV-E Adoption Assistance/Federal Program

 The federal program, known as Title IV-E Adoption Assistance, has multiple pathways of eligibility and is available to the majority of youth adopted from state care. Children who have never been in state care who are determined eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are also eligible. A child must be determined to have special needs that present a barrier to their adoption. Adoption Assistance is given to help secure and ensure permanency.

 The determination of special needs is made by the state providing the Adoption Assistance. Elements of the state’s determination of special needs include conclusions that a child cannot or should not be returned to their home, a specific factor or condition exists making it reasonable to conclude that the child cannot be placed without Assistance, and that a reasonable, unsuccessful attempt was made to place the child without Assistance.

 Once a child is determined to be eligible, the adoptive family and the state enter into an Adoption Assistance Agreement. The Agreement is an enforceable contract that details the benefits provided and the age to which they will be provided. The state entering the Agreement is known as the Agreement State. Agreement States must provide Adoption Assistance at least to the age of 18 and, under Title IV-E, can provide it to the age of 21. The extension of Assistance past age 18 is dependent on the individual needs of the child and the state policy of the Agreement State. Children eligible for Title IV-E Adoption Assistance are automatically eligible for medical assistance/Medicaid from the state in which the child resides. This is true even if the state of residence is not the state providing Adoption Assistance aka the Agreement State.

 

  1. Non-Title IV-E Adoption Assistance/State Program (State-Funded Program)

 State Adoption Assistance programs are entirely state-funded and offer financial and medical support to children who are ineligible for the federal (Title IV-E) Adoption Assistance program. The eligibility criteria for the state program often mirrors the criteria for the federal program. They each offer a monthly financial benefit, medical coverage through Medicaid, and provide Adoption Assistance to age 18 at a minimum. A note that Medicaid eligibility for children receiving Non-Title IV-E Adoption Assistance is currently not guaranteed in and across all states. See: Illinois, New Mexico, and Nevada.