The purpose of the adoption assistance program is to encourage the legal adoption of children with special needs who would not be able to have the security of a permanent home without support payments. Applications are made through the Division of Family and Community Services, Resource Development Unit for a determination of eligibility. Once an application for adoption assistance is submitted to the Division of Family and Community Services, the Division will respond with a determination of the child's eligibility within forty-five (45) days.
01.
Determination of Eligibility for Title IV-E Adoption Assistance. Child and Family Services will determine whether a child is a child with special needs. Children applying for adoption assistance benefits must meet Idaho's definition of a child with special needs according to Section 473 (c) of P.L. 96-272 (The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980). There are five (5) ways a child can be eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance:
a. Child is Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) eligible, is in the custody or care of the public child welfare agency or an Indian tribe with whom the state has a IV-E agreement and meets the definition of a child with special needs. For children whose adoption assistance eligibility is based on the child's AFDC eligibility, the child must meet the AFDC criteria at the time of removal from their home.
i. If the child is removed from their home in accordance with the first judicial determination, such determination must indicate that it was contrary to the welfare of the child to remain in the home.
ii. If the child is removed from the home in accordance with a voluntary out-of-home placement agreement, the child must receive at least one (1) Title IV-E foster care payment to be eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance.
b. Child is eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits and meets the definition of a child with special needs.
i. A child is eligible for adoption assistance if, at the time the adoption petition is filed, the child has met the requirements for Title XVI (SSI) benefits;
ii. The circumstances of a child's removal from their home or whether the public child welfare agency has responsibility for the child's placement and care are not relevant.
c. Child has been voluntarily relinquished to a private non-profit adoption agency and meets the definition of a child with special needs.
i. The child must meet the requirements, or would have met the requirements, of the AFDC program as such sections were in effect on July 16, 1996, in or for the month in which the relinquishment occurred, or court proceedings were held that led to the removal of the child from their home;
ii. At the time of the voluntary relinquishment, the court must make a judicial determination that it would be contrary to the welfare of the child for the child to remain in the home.
d. Child is eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance as a child of a minor parent and at the time of the adoption petition the child meets the definition of a child with special needs.
i. The child's parent is in foster care and receiving Title IV-E foster care maintenance payments that cover both the minor parent and child at the time the adoption petition is filed; and
ii. The child continues to reside in the foster home with their minor parent until the adoption petition has been filed. If the child and minor parent have been separated in foster care prior to the time of the adoption petition, the child's eligibility for Title IV-E adoption assistance must be determined based on the child's current and individual circumstances.
e. Child is eligible due to prior Title IV-E adoption assistance eligibility and meets the definition of a child with special needs.
i. A child whose adoption later dissolves or the adoptive parent(s) die, may continue to be eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance in a subsequent adoption.
ii. The subsequent adoption of a child may be arranged through an independent adoption, private agency, or state agency.
iii. No needs or eligibility redetermination is to be made upon a subsequent adoption. The child's need and eligibility remain unchanged from what they were prior to the initial adoption.
iv. It is the responsibility of the placing state to determine whether the child meets the definition of special needs and to pay the subsidy in a subsequent adoption.
02.
Special Needs Criteria. The definition of special needs includes the following factors:
a. The child cannot or should not be returned to the home of the parents as evidenced by an order from a court of competent jurisdiction terminating parents rights or its equivalent; and
b. The child has a physical, mental, emotional, or medical disability, or is at risk of developing such disability based on the child's experience of documented physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, or neglect; or
c. The child's age makes it difficult to find an adoptive home; or
d. The child is being placed for adoption with at least one (1) sibling; and
e. The State must make a reasonable but unsuccessful effort to place the child with special needs without a subsidy, except in cases where it is not in the best interests of the child due to their significant emotional ties with the foster parent(s) or relative(s) who are willing to adopt the child.
03.
Determination of Eligibility for State Funded Adoption Assistance. Children in state custody who meet the special needs criteria found in Subsection 900.02 of these rules and do not meet any of the criteria for Title IV-E adoption assistance found at Subsection 900.01 in these rules, may be eligible for state-funded adoption assistance benefits. If the child is determined ineligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance, the application will be evaluated for a state-funded subsidy.
04.
Interjurisdictional Adoptions. When a child's adoption is arranged through the care and placement of a private non-profit adoption agency in another state and the adoptive family are residents of Idaho, the state of Idaho is responsible for the eligibility determination, negotiation, and payment of any subsequent Title IV-E adoption assistance benefits.
05.
International Adoptions and Adoption Assistance. A child who meets the criteria for special needs under Subsection 900.02 of this rule, who is not a citizen or resident of the United States, and who was adopted outside of the United States or was brought into the United States for the purpose of being adopted, is not eligible to receive adoption assistance. This restriction does not prohibit adoption assistance payments for a child described in this Subsection who is placed in foster care subsequent to the failure, as determined by the State, of the initial adoption of the child by the adoptive parents.
