[ilselu1]

Hello! New member here.

My wife and I did a "Fost-Adopt" a couple years ago, and are currently getting a certain amount of adoption assistance / subsidy but as our son is getting older (he's 3 now), he's needing more.

I work full time, and my wife just got a full time job a month and a half ago (previously a stay-at-home-mom.) We have gone through 2 day care providers with our son as after a couple weeks, he begins acting out against his female care provider. He'll do everything from blatant disobedience to throwing angry temper tantrums and hitting them. As his parents we have addressed this over time and have got his rage under control, but now that he's older he reverts to this behavior once at his care provider for a couple weeks.

We have been seeing our family counselor, but he's suggesting we take our son to a child psych. to address his specific issues. I know medical should cover this, but now we're looking at going here and there and my wife will be cutting her hours back to take care of our son, and may wind up losing her job all together.

**All that said***
We're looking to adjust our adoption assistance / subsidy. We have to write a letter telling why we think we need more. I'm wondering if I should write an in-depth letter explaining all of the problems we're having, or should I leave it broad and leave out details??..??

Thanks for any help.

BA

[sayoko7]

I have heard that it depends on the county. You might want to document in the letter the frequency of the tantrums, and the time invested in each tantrum. Butte County looks at that information when determining the subsidy.

[ilselu1]

Alright, I'm working on this letter, thanks for the input.

[mommytoEli]

i know this was a while ago, but just in case you haven't figured it out yet, if you need your assistance adjusted in CA before his next increase, which i believe is 5, you need to be able to document the reason, typically in the form of an assessment from a doctor. So if you haven't done so already, schedule an appt to talk to your dr (medical and psych...might actually be time for a psych eval, they are incredibly insightful and helpful in getting the assistance you need for your child's care) about your child's concerns, and have him document it. the increase amount will also depend on how much you are receiving already. it is possible that you may already be receiving the maximum amount.

[ca-bigsister]

My FD qualifies for D-Rate in California which is for kids with emotional problems. I got a referral from SW. A woman came out and did a history, and since FD is on meds, has ADHD, anxiety, ODD, learning disabilities, has been in therapy since 7, sees a therapist and a psychiatrist, it was fairly straightforward. I now get D-rates- I had to go through D-rate training (16 hours) and take 18 hours a year of classes. The money has made a big difference. I still spend more than I get, but now it helps to pay for extracurricular, too, and therapy and tutoring.

[musemoon]

My baby was drug exposed so she was referred to the Regional Center in CA. I know that Regional Center stops at age three and the state takes over. I agree you should get a medical/psychiatric opionion and then call Regional Center and see if they can assist you in getting special help for your child's needs. If you are in RC, then the CA adoption subsidies go up, or if they are diagnosed and being treated for emotional issues.