Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
The public children services agency (PCSA)
is to determine
a child is eligible for AA if, prior
to the finalization of the adoption, the PCSA finds all of the following:
(1) The adoptive
parent(s) has an approved homestudy in accordance with Chapter 5101:2-48 of the
Administrative Code. If the adoptive parent(s) resides in another state, then
the adoptive homestudy
is to be valid in the adoptive state of
residence.
(2) The child has been
matched with an adoptive parent(s) in accordance with rule
5101:2-48-16 of the
Administrative Code. If the child is placed for adoption in Ohio from another
state, the Ohio agency
is to use the other state's documentation to meet
the matching requirements except as specified in paragraph (C) of this
rule.
(3) The child meets the
requirements of a child with special needs as described in rule
5101:2-49-03 of the
Administrative Code.
(4) The child meets the
age requirement as described in rule
5101:2-49-04 of the
Administrative Code.
(5) The child
is
a citizen or legal resident of the
United States and will be adopted in the
United States.
(6) The agency placing
the child made a reasonable but unsuccessful effort to place the child with an
appropriate adoptive parent(s) without adoption assistance, as supported by
facts specified in the child's case record as described in paragraph (A)(3) of
rule 5101:2-49-03 of the
Administrative Code.
(B)
The child
is to also meet one of the four adoption
assistance eligibility requirements:
(1) The
child, at the time of the initiation of adoption proceedings, was in the care
of a PCSA, PCPA or tribe pursuant to:
(a) A
judicial determination to the effect that it was contrary to the child's
welfare to remain in the home ; or
(b) A JFS 01645 "Agreement for Temporary
Custody of Child" or JFS
01666 "Permanent Surrender of Child. " For any child that enters care through a JFS 01645 or JFS
01666 there does not have to be a foster care maintenance (FCM) payment made
under the voluntary agreement.
(2) The child meets all medical and
disability requirements for supplemental security income (SSI). For the
purposes of determining whether an applicable child is eligible for AA through
the SSI criteria, the Title IV-E agency may make the determination that the
child meets the medical or disability requirements for SSI benefits.
(3) The child is a child of a minor parent.
The child was residing with the minor parent and the minor parent was removed
from a specified relative with one of the following:
(a) A judicial determination that it was
contrary to the welfare for the minor parent to remain with the specified
relative; or
(b) A JFS 01645 or JFS
01666. No FCM payment is
needed to cover both the minor parent and the
child of the minor parent.
(4) The child was in receipt of AA in a prior
finalized adoption, currently meets the definition of special needs as set
forth in rule
5101:2-49-03 of the
Administrative Code, and finalizes the new AA agreement by the end of the month
of the child's eighteenth birthday pursuant to rule
5101:2-49-04 of the
Administrative Code.
(C)
A child in an independent adoption is eligible for AA, only if the child meets
the requirements of a child with special needs as described in rule
5101:2-49-03 of the
Administrative Code, and the child is eligible for SSI, or is a child in a
subsequent adoption if the child received AA in a prior finalized
adoption.
(D) For all children that
are deemed eligible for AA, the Title IV-E agency is responsible for ensuring
that background checks be conducted prior to adoption finalization and/or the
issuance of a monthly AA payment. The background checks
are to
reveal that the prospective adoptive parent(s) has not been convicted of any of
the prohibited offenses in accordance with rules
5101:2-48-10 and
5101:2-48-11 of the
Administrative Code.
(E) The PCSA
is to
use the Ohio statewide automated child welfare
information system (SACWIS) to determine adoption assistance
eligibility.
(F) A child from an
international adoption, that is not currently in the custody of a PCSA or PCPA
or tribe, is not eligible for AA.
