[dandbfasd]

Brianna was 3 days old when we picked her up from the hospital as foster parents. We were told that birth mother was an alcoholic and that Brianna was FAS. With minor complications, she developed a Tremor around 6 months and her psychologist said it was FAS related and wrote in her report that we should be subsidized over and above what would be eligible due to her special needs. Long story short, we were denied subsidy given we had no choice since we were adopting her under the age of 3. She is going on 4 and just starting OT for Tremors, but found out there are other issues too. She now needs PT and a speech & lang. evaluation. Our BCBS will only pay so much, plus there are waiting lists for PT and speech. Question- I believe we were turned down state subsidy and Medicaid because our caseworker/ adoptive worker didn't want to fill out necessary paperwork, so is there a way we can fight the system on her Medicaid and subsidy, since it sounds like she should have been considered special needs to begin with? Please help!!! I want to do all that is best for my child and like I said BCBS only pays a small portion. I don't want to go in the poor house because I made the decision to adopted this sweet, precious, FASD baby girl.

[Happy123]

I am under the impression that subsidies should be evaluated, in CA it is every 2 years. But, if the situation changes you have the right to request an increase. I would contact your adoption worker and request an increase based on your documentation. I would gather it all up and call.
Good Luck,
Happy123

[momof9wantingmore]

When our AS was finally diagnosed FAS, after many false diagnosis, I called the post adoption worker and they sent me the forms to fill out outlining what documents I needed to send and where to send it. Within 3 weeks we were assigned a higher rate due to his extra needs.

[dandbfasd]

She only recieved Medicaid and subsidy when she was a foster child. It all stopped when the adoption was final. If she were over 3 years old or had a special need, the adoption worker said she would have been eligible. So we get nothing right now. Do you think I can get the state to check into it again?

[momof9wantingmore]

I would definately give it a try. We were told when we finalized our adoptions, that if anything ever changed (ie new diagnosis caused by any prenatal exposure) that we should apply for an increase in subsidy to cover the increased expenses. Our son has FAS as a diagnosis, but also has many other issues related to his exposure to drugs and alcohol in utero. Sometimes these issues do not show up until the child is school age. For our son these issues did not seem to be a problem until age 5, with behavior, motor delays and academic issues. I say look into it because treating these issues can be expensive.