[krisrose]

I'm adopting my 12 year old daughter from foster care. The adoption should be finalized around Christmas. I was told that she is not Title IV-E eligible and therefore won't receive a subsidy due to the fact that her father was working when she came into care. I was also told that she is not eligible for a state subsidy because my state has income requirements tied to their subsidy and I make just just a little more than that requirement, which is not much. I was also told she would not be eligible for Medicaid after the adoption.

My question is do I have any other options available to me as far as trying to get her a subsidy? I'm going to adopt her either way but it sure would help with therapy costs and dental issues she has right now. I just want to make sure I explore all my options before I sign off on everything and the adoption is final and I can't go back and change it. Thank you.

[Indy]

I have never adopted from your state, so I really don't have any suggestions.

If I were you, I would go to the NACAC website. Take a look at your state. From the looks of the site, most of the information given to you is correct.

Personally, I would be very careful adopting with no support from the state. At a minimum, I would negotiate Medicaid. I would also work to make sure you have a safety net. Depending on the level of abuse and/or neglect of your daughter, I would also negotiate a safety net.

If your state is still dragging their feet, I would recommend considering subsidized guardianship.

As always...this is just my personal opinion. I have adopted 10 sons from the system. Once you finalize...the state walks away (as it should be). They stick to the letter of the court order and agreement...nothing more! Even the case workers who "love" your child disappear. It is worse than pulling teeth to get them to modify the agreement after finalization.

Good luck.

[kbcouch]

First, your child is automatically considered 'special needs' due to the fact that she is in foster care. Your caseworker should be an advocate for you in helping you to receive some subsidy. If she is in counseling, then there are issues involved that deem her to be more 'special needs'. Based on this, your adoption worker should be pushing for some subsidy. As the previous poster mentioned, definately negotiate Medicaid!

[Happy123]

Try to negotiate a subsidy. We recieve Medicaid, but it really does not help us much. Our dr, psy., does not take it and it usually does not cover their meds. The area that takes the Medicaid is very difficult to get into and not that good. I would write a letter requesting a subsidy based on her current and future needs. Contact your state contact from NCAC, they were very helpful when I spoke with them.
Good Luck,
Happy123

[Hadley2]

Every state has its own definition of "special needs," some more generous than others. Title IV-E is tricky; the child did not qualify for fed dollars during foster care because the parents were supposed to pay support and provide insurance, etc. But if the child is being adopted and there has been a TPR, NOW the child is a "household of one" and should be eligible, kwim? At the least, the child should qualify for Medicaid. ETA: Most states also provide subsidy for special needs children out of state pool funds if, indeed, they are not Title IV-E eligible...NACAC is a good source of info on what is available in your state.

You simply cannot sit back and let them tell you what the child does or doesn't qualify for and how the sytem works in your state. You need to find out for yourself and advocate. Enlist the child's GAL, do all this BEFORE signing the adoption placement agreement and adoption assistance application/agreement. Get your own lawyer if you need to--an extra $1000 now will save a lot later. You will be paying the lawyer and court fees for filing, anyway, so a lawyer you've hired to do that may help with the pre-work for at a lower rate or roll it in.

If you do negotiate an adoption assistance, try to list as many existing, suspected, and possible issues as possible--e.g., unknown prenatal healthcare, suspected drug abuse by either parent, etc.--as many agreements state that assistance will be provided for pre-existing conditions and conditions arising from the child's removal and foster care experience. I don't know how much protection such stuff is in real life (indy would know better), but personally I'm hoping it's better than nothing if you are not sure what is going to come up.

I hope all works well. No matter what we do, it's a leap of love.