Is there any financial assistance available to families who adopt children with special needs?

December 2005

Is there any financial assistance available to families who adopt children with special needs?

In every state there are children with special needs waiting in foster care for adoptive families. However, cost of care and services is an obstacle to families who want to adopt these children; so many children are not adopted. In adoption services, guidelines for classification of special needs vary by state. Children with special needs range in age from infants to 18 years. In general, children with special needs are those who:

Have a physical or health problem
Are older
Are members of ethnic or racial minorities
Have a history of abuse and/or neglect
Have emotional challenges
Have siblings and need to be adopted as a group
Test positive foe HIV
Have documented conditions that may lead to future problems
Were prenatally exposed to drugs or alcohol

Most recent statistics indicate that there are about 126,000 children that meet the definition of special needs in the foster care system. In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was enacted and provided the first federal subsidies, known as adoption assistance, to minimize the financial obstacles to adoption. Adoption Assistance is available in two forms:

Non-recurring adoption assistance: pays for reimbursement of expenses directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs. The federal maximum for this type of assistance is $2000.00 for each adoptive placement.
Recurring adoption assistance: usually takes the form of monthly payments to eligible parents and may be used for any identifiable need of the child. The monthly payments may not exceed the amount that would have been paid to maintain the child in foster care. Payments may continue until the age 18 or 21 (state specific) if the child has a physical, emotional, or mental disability. While State adoption assistance is not taxable, portions could be taxed if the family cannot prove that the child’s support was more than the amount of assistance received. Families are advised to consult with a tax professional.

For additional general information and state specific guidelines please go to the following website: Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted from Foster Care – A Fact Sheet for Families http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm

To access individual state information on eligibility for adoption assistance, medical assistance, availability of post adoption services, and fair hearings, visit http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_assistance/

(Information obtained from Child Welfare Information Gateway)

Technical Assistance Partnership for Child and Family Mental Health

Child Welfare Frequently Asked Questions

December 2005

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	December 2005 Is there any financial assistance available to families who adopt children with special needs? In every state there are children with special needs waiting in foster care for adoptive families. However, cost of care and services is an obstacle to families who want to adopt these children; so many children are not adopted. In adoption services, guidelines for classification of special needs vary by state. Children with special needs range in age from infants to 18 years. In general, children with special needs are those who: Have a physical or health problem Are older Are members of ethnic or racial minorities Have a history of abuse and/or neglect Have emotional challenges Have siblings and need to be adopted as a group Test positive foe HIV Have documented conditions that may lead to future problems Were prenatally exposed to drugs or alcohol Most recent statistics indicate that there are about 126,000 children that meet the definition of special needs in the foster care system. In 1980, the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act was enacted and provided the first federal subsidies, known as adoption assistance, to minimize the financial obstacles to adoption. Adoption Assistance is available in two forms: Non-recurring adoption assistance: pays for reimbursement of expenses directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs. The federal maximum for this type of assistance is $2000.00 for each adoptive placement. Recurring adoption assistance: usually takes the form of monthly payments to eligible parents and may be used for any identifiable need of the child. The monthly payments may not exceed the amount that would have been paid to maintain the child in foster care. Payments may continue until the age 18 or 21 (state specific) if the child has a physical, emotional, or mental disability. While State adoption assistance is not taxable, portions could be taxed if the family cannot prove that the child’s support was more than the amount of assistance received. Families are advised to consult with a tax professional. For additional general information and state specific guidelines please go to the following website: Adoption Assistance for Children Adopted from Foster Care – A Fact Sheet for Families http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/f_subsid.cfm To access individual state information on eligibility for adoption assistance, medical assistance, availability of post adoption services, and fair hearings, visit http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/adopt_assistance/ (Information obtained from Child Welfare Information Gateway)