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In an October letter to Ohio Senator Mike DeWine, U.S. Health and Human Services Director Tommy Thompson pledged to reverse the federal Children's Bureau's controversial position on the eligibility of children for adoption assistance who come the care of private agencies through voluntary agreements are subsequently placed for adoption by those private agencies. On January 23, 2001, federal Children's Bureau officials issued a comprehensive Policy Announcement, ACYF-PA-01-01, entitled "Adoption Assistance Eligibility" and quickly sent copies to the individual state agencies. The most controversial portion of PA-01-01 dealt with children who are placed for adoption by private agencies. Although the great majority of special needs adoptions still involve children in the state foster care systems, private agencies have begun to place an increasing number of special needs children since the mid 1980's. A series of federal PIQs issued since that time affirmed that such children were potentially eligible for Title IV-E adoption assistance.
PA-01-01 completely reversed this policy. Citing federal adoption assistance law, the policy announce essentially presents the following argument.
Federal law at 42 U.S.C. 673 (a) (2) (i) states that a child is eligible for adoption assistance if:
at the time adoption proceedings were initiated, met the requirements of section 606(a) of this title or section 607 of this title or would have met such requirements except for his removal from the home of a relative (specified in section 606(a) of this title), either pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement with respect to which Federal payments are provided under section 674 (or 603) of this title or as a result of a judicial determination to the effect that continuation therein would be contrary to the welfare of such child,
"The method of removal," states PA-01-01, "has the following implications for the AFDC-eligible child's eligibility for title IV-E adoption assistance. Unless a child is meets the eligibility requirements for SSI, he or she must not only satisfy the AFDC-relatedness standard but one of the following:
Most children placed by private agencies come into their care through voluntary agreements with the birth mother. At the same time children in the care or custody of private agencies are not eligible for federal IV-E foster care payments. "An otherwise eligible child," states the PA, "must be placed for foster care via a voluntary placement agreement, and have title IV-E foster care maintenance payments paid on his or her behalf pursuant to that voluntary agreement, to be subsequently eligible for adoption assistance.
Therefore, a child must have been under the State title IV-E agency's responsibility for placement and care, or that of another public agency (including Tribes) with whom the title IV-E agency has an agreement at the time of the voluntary placement agreement, to be eligible for a title IV-E foster care maintenance payment and, subsequently, for adoption assistance. Accordingly, children who are removed as a result of a voluntary placement agreement are removed via an avenue for removal authorized by the statute. However, removal is one of two requirements. The second requirement is that the child have title IV-E foster care maintenance payments paid on his or her behalf pursuant to the agreement. Accordingly, children placed pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement under which a title IV-E foster care maintenance payment is not made are not eligible to receive title IV-E adoption assistance.
The Honorable Mike DeWine
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator DeWine:
Thank you for your letter expressing concern about a policy announcement affecting adoption Assistance for children with special needs that was issued January 23, 2001, by the . . Administration on Children, Youth and Families. This policy announcement (ACYF-PA-0l-01) Reversed long standing Departmental policy by prohibiting certain children with special moods from qualifying for adoption assistance payments if their mothers had voluntarily relinquished them to private agencies. I deeply appreciate your bringing this important issue to my attention.
Since the policy issuance, the Department has received expressions of concern from several members of Congress and private agencies. In light of these concerns, I asked Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, to review the new policy.
Following an intensive review, we have concluded. that the eligibility criteria for title IV-E adoption assistance apply to any otherwise eligible child who is relinquished either a public or a private, nonprofit agency. For that reason, the section of ACYF-PA-01-01 related to children voluntarily relinquished to private agencies will be revised to ensure that public and private adoption agencies can participate in the adoption assistance program.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to ensuring that children in need of adoption find adoption find loving and stable homes. I look forward to working with you on this and other issues as we strive to improve the lives of our nation's children. I will also communicate this response to the other members of Congress who expressed concern. Please call me if you have any questions.
Sincerely
Tommy G. Thompson
On November 6, 2001, the federal children's Bureau issued an Information Memorandum, ACYF-CB-IM 01-08, announcing the amendment promised by Secretary Thompson and stipulated that the new policy "should be followed as having been continuously in effect with no break." IM-01-08 further noted the states "must enter into an adoption assistance agreement with the family" in any case where a child adopted after February 18, 2000 had been denied adoption assistance, but would have been eligible under the revised policy. The new policy was to be inserted in Section 8.2B.13 of the Child Welfare Policy Manual dealing with eligibility provsions. .