Policy Research Articles and Reports

Two Adoptive Families Win Appeals in Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court

[Added: July 1999]

Adoptive families won Title IV-E adoption assistance appeals in separate 1999 decisions rendered by the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania. Both cases have significant policy implications for families across the country. The decisions, Barczynski v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare and Kathy-Jo Gruzinski v. Pennsylvania Department Of Public Welfare are reproduced in full in the "Legal Information" section of this site.

In Barczynski v. Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the court ruled that child was not required to be placed by an adoption agency if he met the basic eligibility requirements for Title IV-E adoption assistance. This opinion is reinforced by a 1999 letter from Carol Williams, Deputy Commissioner of the Children's Bureau to Dr. Rita Laws. Commissioner Williams letter is also reported in full in the "Policy Research and Analysis" section of this site.

The Gruzinski family won the initial hearing only to have it reversed by the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare. Gruzinski v. Pennsylvania Department Of Public Welfare re-affirmed federal PIQ 87-05, which holds that in case of relative adoptions, the child need not be in the care of an agency if she meets the remaining eligibility requirements for Title IV-E adoption assistance. The court also awarded retroactive payments to the Gruzinskis back to 1989.