- The child cannot or should not be returned home to his or her parent(s), AND
- The child has a "factor or condition" (uniquely defined by each state) that qualifies him or her as having "special needs". Depending on the state, this factor or condition may include: Ethnic background, Age, Membership in a sibling group, Medical, physical, or emotional condition or handicap
The factor or condition must prompt the conclusion that the child cannot be place without providing adoption assistance or medical assistance, AND
- An attempt to place the child without adoption assistance was made but was unsuccessful except where it would be against the best interest of the child.
SECOND
Once a child is considered “special needs” there are four ways for a child to be eligible for Title Iv-E adoption assistance. The child only needs to meet one of the criteria
1. Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) Income Guidelines
One way a child can qualify for federal Title IV-E adoption assistance is if the child’s birth family’s income meets the AFDC* income guidelines during the month in which the child was removed from the family and placed in foster care. For instance, receipt of welfare benefits and/or eligibility for Woman, Infant and Children (WIC) may be indicators that the birth family’s income was low enough to qualify for AFDC.
In two cases, the circumstances surrounding the child’s removal from home affect the AFDC eligibility criteria:
If the child was removed from home based on a judge’s ruling (which is called a judicial determination), the judge must also have determined that it was contrary to the child’s welfare to remain in the home and done so in the first court order sanctioning the child’s removal, or
If the child was removed from home based on the birth parents’ voluntary placement agreement, the child must have been already receiving Title IV-E foster care payments to be eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance.
In addition to the income guidelines of AFDC, a child must satisfy the requirements of being a child deprived of parental support. For many children, this means there is only one birth parent in the home when the child is removed and taken into state care.
- Why AFDC Income Guidelines Should Be Eliminated
Many child advocates believe it is wrong for a child’s Title IV-E adoption assistance eligibility to be based on AFDC income guidelines. This method bases a child’s eligibility on a non-existent program that uses outdated 1996 income guidelines. It is also incongruous to use the income level of the child’s parents as the guide for eligibility when those parental rights have been terminated.
It is a matter of justice that all children who have been abused and neglected—not just poor children—should receive the benefits to treat their physical, emotional, and psychological needs. A child’s needs do not change because her parents were near poor or middle class
2. Supplemental Security Income
3. A Child of a Minor Parent in Foster Care
4. Dissolution of a Prior Adoption
- Abandoned Infants and Adoption Subsidy
An anonymously abandoned infant, who is later found and turned over to the state (i.e. Safe Haven baby), is ineligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance because the state will not be able to verify the child’s parent’s financial need and the deprivation of parental support at the time of removal. One exception to this decision is when the abandoned infant has a physical disability. In this case, the child may qualify for SSI, and therefore also qualify for Title IV-E adoption subsidy benefits.
My Questions & Concerns
- What is the purpose of using an adoptive child's birth parent's income to determine if they are eligible for adoption assistance?
- If the birth parent's rights are terminated how can they be a factor in determining adoption assistance?
- Why is this policy using outdated income guidelines from the AFDC which is now a non-existence program?
- Using the AFDC income guidelines also come into play when a child is abandoned. The child is not eligible for adoption assistance because no one knows who the birth parents are. How is that moral to not allow a child to have adoption assistance because of the birth parent(s) whom no longer have rights over the child?
- How many adoptions have been affected by the policy of not receiving adoption assistance because of the birth family's income? How many adoptive families does this policy affect?
- The NACAC website posted that this policy is ridiculous. If this website is a national website how come this policy has not been changed?
- Who came up with the policy that a child may not be eligible for adoption assistance based on the AFDC 1996 Income guideline? What is the purpose of this policy? Has it helped or harmed?
