[mom2GRLC]

I'm curious how many of you have qualified for a subsidy/medicaid after your adoption was finalized?

Did your child have to be a certian race, age or special medical problem.

I'm asking because we have adopted 3 children through fostercare and are working on our 4th. We have not received a subsidy/medical for any of them after the adoption. It was explained to us that our children would not qualify because they were white, they were young and they didn't have serious medical conditions.

I just got done talking to someone else who has also adopted through fostercare(but a different state) and she said EVERY child that is adopted through fostercare is eligible for both medical and a subsidy until they turn 18. She said that it is a government money...not state money so my children should have qualified for it as well, regardless of adopting through a different state.

I'm just wondering if this is true....and if it is...how would we go about trying to apply for it for our kids now that they have already been adopted?

[Happy123]

I am in Cali and both our adoptions were eligible for a subsidy and medi-cal. We are adopting the infant sibling of our older adopted children and he to will receive medi-cal and a subsidy. I have not met anyone who has adopted who has not gotten a subsidy and medi-cal from the state of Cali. It seems to go by the state and possibly how hard a FP fights for a subsidy.
Happy123

[Bellemom]

Here you have to negociate and each case is different. Our kids qualified as a sibling group, minority and health issues.

[hopetoadoptblog]

It does vary from state to state.

In my state, to qualify for subsidy, they either:

1. Are white over age 5.
2. White, under age 5, as part of a sibling group.
3. White, under or over age 5 with disabilities.
4. Any minority child, infant through 18.

[Singlemom619]

I know facts about California - BUT have read a lot about other states... Here are some websites that have the facts:

http://aaphelp.org/
http://adopt.org/servlet/page?_pagei...chema=PORTAL30
http://www.nacac.org/stateprofiles/california.html

I KNOW that adoption money is federal and I thought I KNEW that all kids get it... If they're "specialized" (maybe that's where the race card comes in?) they can get money on top of the base rate.

[WhoKnew]

We're in CA too, and get MediCal and a subsidy for our white daughter adopted at three with no medical major issues. We were told that all kids adopted from foster care are 'special needs'. I would fight for a subsidy and medical!

[Boulderbabe]

Wow. Almost every child adopted from foster care here qualifies for Medicaid.

My son showed no signs of any developmental delays, but he got a Medicaid card as a subsidy because he was 'at risk' of mental illness (it runs in his bfamily).

Thank god for that Medicaid card. It has really come in handy.

[yanknrebel]

We adopted our daughter at 34 months. SHe is white , very healthy, and recieves both medicaid insurance and we receive adoption subsidies once a month for her. We were not expecting them since she was a healthy not yet 3 year old, was only 1 child and white and healthy. However we were told that since we recieved assistance to pay for the adoption attorney (the state covered his expenses) and because the child could NOT be returned to the bps, was the reason we got adoption subsidies. Now we are awaiting for the appeal process to be over for the twins we are fostering to adopt. They were born at 29 weeks, one had a heart condition, one had a lung problem both due to prematurity at birth. They are white, but the biomom has a LONG history of family members with mental retardation and very low IQs. I am not sure we will be getting subsidies for them, from what the cw has been saying. So who knows?

[LadyBugz]

Can anyone clarify this whole state vs. federal aspect of where the money is coming from? I am understanding from this thread that the money is federal but the dispersment of it is state.

I was told that a child can *apply* for a subsidy under the following conditions (and could still be turned down):
Over age 6
Part of a sibling group
Disabilities
Over age 2/3 (varies) and a minority

I was told here if the child isn't one of those (and disabilities was not the liberal interpretation many of you are suggesting, either), then you aren't even eligible to be considered. But they said to still apply and get denied because they will review it and you could be eligible later if the child had an undiagnosed condition at the time of the adoption that would have qualified him. But if you didn't apply at the time then you can't come back and ask them to review it and start paying the subsidy. Did you follow that jumbled mess? So the fact that the money is federal and all children are eligible is intriguing to me as it is not anything like what I've heard.

[sciencemom]

Hi,
We just went through the adoption process, and our lawyer explained that if there isn't a subsidy agreement (even a deferred medical coverage clause) when you sign the adoption decree you cannot go back and re-negotiate for medical regardless of what may happen, so if they are hesitant to give a subsidy right now, you should still ask for deferred so that you can go back and renegotiate if a situation develops in the future.
We also watched our state change who can be covered under subsidy making it much more rigorous to qualify. This was based on budget strain, so there may be some federal dollars for medicaid, but I think that the "board subsidy" comes directly from the state budget. We moved out of state, and our check still comes from our state of adoption.

[BrandyHagz]

In Illinois - you have to 'opt out' of Medicaid and Subsidy if you don't want it - because its automatic and goes with the child until 18 (or 21, depending on the child's case)...its not something you have to fight for.

[claschober]

I am like some other posters and in CA, and just this week we signed our AAP (adoption assitance papers) and we opted to keep Medical and get the monthly stipend till they are 18. We were told we can opt out like Brandy had said however it's for our kids and we decided to keep it. I hope everything works out for you with your 4th adoption and keep us posted on what happens!

[Cobb]

LadyBugz, Medicaid and subsidy are only federal if the child is IV-E Eligible. Here's some info...

http://www.adopting.org/uni/frame.ph.../title_IV.html

There are several advantages of having funds coming from federal coffers rather than state. Some say that the federal money is more secure (esp. those that live in Missouri... Those that saw their subsidies cut were recieving state funds rather than federal ). There is always a possibility that federal funds will face similar challenges though. Also, it is also much easier to transfer Medicaid from state to state when it's under the federal program... literally a phone call, versus a pile of paperwork for a child that is not IV-E eligible.

Hope the linked info helps...
Cobb

[Sleeplvr]

It varies state by state.
In Georgia to qualify the child has to meet the following criteria.

Georgia's legal definition of special needs is as follows:

A child who is considered special needs is: (a) any child 8 years of age or older; (b) any child of Black heritage, 1 year of age or older; (c) members of a sibling group of three or more; (d) members of a sibling group of 2 where one is over the age of 8 or has another special need; (e) any child with documented physical, emotional, or mental problems or limitations.

[mab_123]

My kids are all white and younger and we qualified for subsidies...Medical and mantance check each month. Of course the check is lower than it was when they were just foster kids but not to much. We also qualify for free childcare for 5 and under. States differ so check it out.