[dadfor2]

well...its been a long two years....and were finally here with legalizing our younger son.

quick run down.....he is on medication, with a dx of PTSD. He is considered special needs.

heres my question, what things should i be asking for?

i have had to fight tooth and nail to get some extra money for him when we got them

we already had paid over 10,000 for his daycare/ preschool due to there was no money from the state to pay...which i just found out that we can try to get that money back.

basically, i know the state doesnt want to give us much....but i want to know what i should be asking for before we sign anything.

is there a list or website that i can find out exactly what we are entitled too.

if its nothing..fine, but every little bit helps. we are applying for PACT money now....something that we should of done when the kids came, but if they dont tell you..then you dont know....

any help would be appreciated.

dadfor2

[riley6]

http://www.nacac.org/stateprofiles/massachusetts.html

I was going to tell you to ask for Title XX (20) money, but in MA there is none. I wonder why?

Make sure the agreement says that the state will pick up any medical or mental health bill not covered by your insurance and medicaid. That's the only way you may get RTC paid for later in life (let's pray it's not needed!) without you having to return your parental rights to the state.

[mj77]

along with what Riley6 mentioned, here are some things to think about when asking for subsidy.

out of pocket expenses for:

therapy,
insurance premiums (if you carry your own insurance, you may want to add the expense of his portion of the premium),
respite,
activities that promote bonding,
alleries that require special products,

Also concider if there were drug effects or exposure, diagnosises, if this child requiring more physical attention from you or a spouse than normal

In our forms it didn't ask us to itemize these costs, however we did in our minds. In some ways it might have looked like we were being picky about the money but we ended up asking for about what we were getting for foster care.

Keep in mind any potential future needs he may have as a result of his past exposures. It is much easier to request the subsidy now then down the road when it could really be needed.

[aMarylandfamily]

If he is classified Title IV (and sometimes that is hard to get our of cw) that is the federal to state reimbursement program which automatically provides for several services such as the medicaid coverage and the application which you should be requested to complete has a section for "other" wherein you identify counseling amounts + medications and with Massachusetts I would definitely add "future mental health needs including but not limited to residential services" ... they will balk at that and note that is for negotiation if the need arrives but it is at least on your paperwork from the get-go.

Hope this helps.

[dadfor2]

thank you all so much...thanks riley, im printing this thread and that website out...so i have an idea of what im looking at.

this has been very helpful...thanks so much

dadfor2

[newMafamily]

Has nothing to do with subsidies but the real long-term issue is getting the kids the help they need and the sooner the better. Depending on his age and problems he might be qualified for an early intervention program. Call your town to see if they have one or how you qualify for one in your town (not just because he is adopted). Generally all kids with needs are qualified regardless of income for these programs. My observation is that in MA they seem to be more generous with services down the line for kids they have diagnosed and intervened with at a young age so regardless of the subsidy you get see if there are any local preschool programs based on his particular needs.

[Kerbchek]

mj77, when you mentioned "out of pocket" expences you may consider when requesting a subsidy, you said something about "activities that promote bonding". What kind of activities would fall under this category and how would a person get the state to pay/reimburse for these activities? Is there paperwork involved... etc... just wondering.

I'm considering activities and there are many things I'd like to do with my "future" children that would cost money. I was wondering about health club/YMCA membership, youth activities such as Tae Kwon Do or other athletic activities that may have fees... or how about a family bowling league...? These activities would seem to foster bonding, and also cost $$$$$$$$...

[HappyMomAnna]

Some of it depends on how the child is classified and what your state guidlines are for subsidies...

Our daughter was identified as "socially at risk" so when we do the subsidy paperwork we are able to include some "social" activities in order to help her develop and maintian friendships and learn to interact with a number of different groups...

We used the childs profile to pull out the key words the state used to place her with us and we focused on what WE thought we would need or could do in order to help overcome the issues we saw....

Some of the subsidy issues are all about the way you ask and the phrasing you use to ask for the subsidy....

[mj77]

The portion of subsidy for "promoting bonding" may be money for mommy-and-me classes. We got a zoo membership to teach our son, and have time where we could spend quality time together doing something he would enjoy. The thing about youth-type activities is that they wouldn't nessisarily involve you, so the bonding part might be difficult to justify.