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The amount of the title IV-E adoption assistance payment cannot exceed the amount the child would have received if s/he had been in a foster family home, but otherwise must be determined through agreement between the adoptive parents and the State or local title IV-E agency. The title IV-E adoption assistance program is intended to encourage an action that will be a lifelong social benefit to certain children. The payment that is agreed upon should combine with the parent(s)' resources to cover the ordinary and special needs of the child projected over an extended period of time. The amount of assistance may be readjusted periodically, with the concurrence of the adoptive parent(s), not to exceed the amount the child would have received if s/he had been in a foster family home.
In determining the maximum amount a child would have received in a foster family home, and thus the maximum amount of adoption assistance, the State may take into consideration its level-of-care rates. In addition, the State may include such items as child care costs, if the State includes such payments across-the-board for children of working foster parent(s), and periodic across-the-board increases in the rates that certain children receive in foster care, such as a school clothing allowance, etc. However, title IV-E adoption assistance cannot include additional payments if they are provided only for an individual child but not available across-the-board in the State's foster care payment rate standard or structure.
A State has the discretion to negotiate an adoption assistance agreement that automatically allows for adjustments to the adoption assistance payment when there is an increase or decrease in the across-the-board foster care board rate. A State also may renegotiate an adoption assistance agreement if the adoptive parent(s) request an increase in payment due to a change in their circumstance and a higher foster care rate would have been paid on behalf of the child if the child had been in a foster family home.
The use of a means test is prohibited in the process of the State selecting suitable adoptive parent(s), or determining the amount of the adoption assistance payment.
After the adoption assistance agreement is signed, the adoptive parent(s) are free to make decisions about expenditures on behalf of the child without further agency approval or oversight. The parent(s) can spend the title IV-E adoption assistance benefit in any way they see fit to incorporate the child into their lives. Since there is no itemized list of approved expenditures for adoption assistance, the State cannot require an accounting for the expenditures.
Title IV-E does not prohibit concurrent receipt of title IV-E adoption assistance and other Federal benefits and does not require that the title IV-E adoption assistance be reduced by the amount of assistance received from other Federal benefits. These other benefits may be considered in negotiation of the title IV-E adoption assistance agreement, but the State must take into consideration the circumstances of the adoptive parent(s) and the needs of the child, and the adoptive parent(s) must concur with the negotiated amount of assistance.
For interstate adoptions, the placing State is responsible for setting the title IV-E adoption assistance payment based on its foster care rate structure. If the placing/paying State's law or policy allows flexibility to pay amounts based upon the foster care board rate in the State in which the child is placed for adoption, this practice would be allowable under title IV-E since the statutory requirement in section 473(a)(3) of the Act would be met.
Questions Specific to Adoption Assistance Rates
(A) Does the State limit title IV-E adoption assistance to no more than a child would have received if s/he had been in a foster family home?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If no, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(B) Does the State determine the amount of title IV-E adoption assistance through a negotiation process with the adoptive parent(s)?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If no, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(C) Does the State use a means test with respect to the adoptive parent(s) to determine the amount of the title IV-E adoption assistance payment?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If yes, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(D) Does the State require an accounting from the adoptive parent(s) for the actual expenditures from the title IV-E adoption assistance payment?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If yes, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(E) Does the State allow the amount of the title IV-E adoption assistance payment to include special allowances that may be available on behalf of a specific child in foster care, but are not available across-the-board?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If yes, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(F) Does the State consider requests from adoptive parent(s) to renegotiate the title IV-E adoption assistance agreement for an increase in a child's title IV-E adoption assistance payment if the child is not receiving the maximum assistance allowed?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If no, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(G) In negotiating the title IV-E adoption assistance agreement, does the State automatically reduce the amount of the title IV-E adoption assistance offered to the family dollar-for-dollar by the amount a child receives as an SSI benefit, or some other Federal benefit?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If yes, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
(H) After the title IV-E adoption assistance agreement is signed and in effect, does the State automatically reduce the amount of title IV-E adoption assistance for any reason, (such as, an increase in the adoptive parent's income, the child's receipt of another public benefit, child's receipt of a trust fund, the adoptive child's income from a job, etc.) other than an across-the-board reduction in the State's foster care board rates, without the concurrence of the adoptive parent(s)?
YESNONEEDS CLARIFICATION
If yes, this is inconsistent with Federal requirements.
Steps to address areas needing clarification:
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List any areas noted above that are inconsistent with Federal requirements:
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Action(s) needed to assure the State's program meets Federal requirements:
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Citations for State laws, administrative rules, policies, etc., used for review of this requirement:
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Legal and Related References for Adoption Assistance Rates:
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