|
lisah,
Well, all money that the state of MO gives out is taken from one pot of money - taxes make up the most of that money, and there's some federal funds thrown in, but all of it gets into one pot and is divvied up by the budget. In order for there to be money for one thing, it has to not be given to something else. Agreed?
To find the specific answer to your question, you'll need to ask some different questions in different areas:
First, find out if any foster parent in MO has had their foster children's monthly subsidy cut becasue the state "was out of money".
Then find out if any adoptive parent of a special needs MO child has had their monthly subsidy cut becasue the state was "out of money".
Also find out if anybody has been told that they were only getting part of the adoption tax credit they qualified for, because the state couldn't afford to give them the whole thing.
That will give you the specific information on whether anyone in MO has lost out on the credit because of other types of adoptions.
But in order to find out if MO adoptions will be able to receive their full funding in the future if international adoption benefits are cut:
Find out if the budgeted amount for adoption tax credits will remain the same, or if the money they save by not reimbursing international adoptions is just going to go somewhere else instead of to MO adoptions.
Find out how many MO adoptions there were last year, and how much higher they expect that number to go next year, and if the budgeted amount will be enough as long as international adoption benefits are cut.
I can probably assure you that there were close to a thousand MO children adopted out of foster care last year, if MO is anything like my own state. That's almost a thousand tax refunds, most costing the state the amount of the full refund. It amounts to a lot of money. Plus the kids who remain in foster care - between their daily needs plus education and medical, that amounts to several thousand dollars per kid per year. That's a huge budget. Money to fund it HAS to come from somewhere. Just like families who have to fund some extra medicine or school tutoring can't always afford to buy a new couch, then states who have to fund some extra foster or state adoption expenses can't always afford to give money to other kinds of adoptions.
The pot for adoption tax refunds is one pot - if there's not enough to go around then *someone* will be cut. Either everyone loses a little, or a few people lose everything.
|