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[Current Status: Withdrawn in January 2001 by PA-01-01]
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Administration on Children, Youth and Families
TO: State Agencies, Administering or Supervising Administration of Title IV-E and IV-B of the Social Security Act and Indian Tribes and Indian Tribal Organizations (ITOs)
Regional Administrators, HDS Regions I - X
Regional Program Directors ACYF Regions
SUBJECT: Allowable Payments in the Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Program
BACKGROUND:
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-272) created the first Federal adoption subsidy program. This program provided Federal assistance to parents who adopt children defined by the State as having "special needs" who are eligible for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The amount of the adoption assistance payment is determined through an agreement between the adoptive parent and the agency, taking into consideration the circumstances of the adopting parents and the needs of the child. The amount may be readjusted periodically to fit the changing needs of the child and the circumstances of the parents. However, in no case may the amount of the adoption assistance payment exceed the foster care maintenance payment which would have been paid during the period if the child with respect to whom the adoption assistance is made had been in a foster family home (section 473(a)(2 of the Social Security Act).
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In Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) programs and foster care maintenance programs administered by the States, payment systems often include provisions for special maintenance items which are included only once or twice a year. For example, in some programs, a special annual allowance for school clothing or school supplies is included in the August or September payment for all school-age children. Other special needs for individual children and families are met as they occur.
The title IV-E adoption Assistance Program different from the AFDC and title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program in that the adoptive family is usually self-supporting and the child is not in the legal custody or under the responsibility of the State agency. In addition, the amount of the adoption assistance payment is not based upon a standard schedule of itemized needs and countable income. Instead, it is determined through a discussion and negotiation process between the adoptive parents and a representative of the State agency. The payment which is agreed upon will, therefore, be expected to combine with the parents' resources to cover the ordinary and special needs of the child projected over an extended period of time. Anticipation and discussion of these needs are part of the negotiation of the amount of the adoption assistance payment and the adoptive parents are free to make decisions about expenditures for the child, once adopted, without further agency approval.
The amount of the adoption assistance payment may not exceed the amount of the foster care maintenance payment that would have been paid for that specific child if the child had been in a foster family home. Although limited by the amount of the foster care maintenance payment, the adoption assistance payment may be used for any need of the child identified by the parents, whether or not it would have been an allowable cost in the foster care program.
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The amount of the adoption assistance payment can be adjusted up to the maximum allowable payment or reduced, with the concurrence of the adoptive parents, when the projected needs of the child change.
LEGAL REFERENCES:
Section 473(a)(1) and Section 473(a)(2) of the Social Security Act (the Act), and ACYF-PA-82-01, dated April 30, 1982.
INTERPRETATION TO:
Question raised by Region VII on behalf of Iowa.
QUESTION:
Could you explain whether special payments of a maintenance nature are allowable over and above the adoption assistance payment in the title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program, as they are in the title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program?
RESPONSE:
In the title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance Payments Program, certain special allowances, in addition to the standard foster care payment, may be made on behalf of a child in care if they are within the definition of foster care maintenance payments found in section 475(4) of the Act. However, in the title IV-E Adoption Assistance Program, which does not include a similar list of standard items to be included in the payment, the child's ordinary and special needs are accounted for during the negotiation of the adoption assistance agreement. Therefore, it should not be necessary for the adoptive parents to return to the agency for special assistance as these needs occur, unless it is to request a change in the adoption assistance payment.
On the other hand, if a State's family foster care payment standard includes provisions for periodic across-the-board" increases (e.g., seasonal increases for clothing) for all children, the State may adjust adoption assistance payments in the same manner, if the adoption assistance agreement includes such a provision. This is is in accordance with section 473(a)(2) with regard to the maximum allowable adoption assistance payment.
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Other "specials" which might be allowable for an individual child in foster care in addition to the standard payment would not be appropriate or allowable for the adopted child since these items would be part of the fixed, negotiated amount agreed to by the adoptive parents and the State agency to cover the ordinary and special needs of the child projected over an extended period of time.
It should be noted that some States may have erroneously claimed FFP under title IV-F for such things as the direct purchase by the State agency of a seeing-eye dog or payment for construction to a foster home for handicap access. These expenditures would not be covered under the definition of "foster care maintenance payments" in section 475 (4) of the Act and are, therefore, not allowable for FFP if paid by the State agency. However, as stated above, the adoption assistance payment may be used for any need of the child identified by the parents. Further, the Act does not prohibit a State from agreeing to make additional payments from State funds to cover such unusual expenses .
Dodie Livingston
COMMISSIONER