A New Series on the Negotiation of Adoption Assistance In Ohio

Part 1 Introduction

After discussing aspects of Ohio’s Adoption Subsidy program for a couple of years, a review might be helpful. Over the following weeks, I am going to try to walk readers through a series of interconnected posts on the negotiation of the federal Title IV-E Adoption Assistance program in Ohio, from both a policy and practice perspective. In the end, the sum of individual posts will collectively add up to a comprehensive guidance document that will be of use to adoptive families and advocates. At least, that is my hope. I encourage readers to contact me with questions as we proceed. Also, I have no news to report right now and can’t think of anything else to say.

The observations that follow are based on my ongoing contact with adoptive families as they dance through the negotiation process with Ohio county agencies. As such, they reflect common practices and patterns, not universal ones. For some agencies and parents, the negotiation process may be quite satisfactory. The guidance to follow focuses on common problems and obstacles, knowing that they do not necessarily apply to all Ohio agencies and to all negotiations. We will start with some basic Q and A.

Question: Is the negotiation of adoption assistance (subsidy) benefits required by federal law.

Yes. The text of the law can be located at 42 United States Code 673. NOTE: Links to laws, policies and other documents are underlined.

Question: What are distinctive requirements for the negotiation of adoption assistance as set forth in federal law?

Federal law anticipates,

1. A detailed discussion of the supplementary support that, when combined with the adoptive parents’ resources, will enable them to provide and sustain a healthy, permanent family for their adopted child. As part of that discussion, the law prescribes,

2. A consideration the the child’s needs. Section 8.2D.4, Question 1 of the federal Child Welfare Policy Manual explains that the concept embraces a child’s overall needs and includes anticipated as well as current needs, and both ordinary as well as special needs. This comprehensive view of needs reflects the overriding goal of integrating the child into a permanent family. Parents are naturally concerned with providing food, shelter and clothing as well as any therapy a child might need. But needs must should not be discussed in a vacuum.

3. A consideration of the family’s circumstances. Federal law and Section 8.2D.4, Question 3 of the federal Child Welfare Policy Manual emphasize the inclusion of the adoptive parent’s (family’s) overall circumstances as part of the negotiation of an agreement for a monthly adoption assistance payment.

   The term family circumstances includes any factor or situation that affects the parents’ capacity to meet the child’s needs and to provide a permanent family. Leaving a job to meet a child’s extensive care needs is a common example. A single adoptive parent’s need for child care is another. Living on a fixed income, the number and ages of other children in the home, any and all of these can affect the effective incorporation of an adopted child into a family.

   When parents contact me about adoption assistance, they express concerns related to providing a permanent family for their child, which makes them consistent with the goals of federal law. Their reasons for seeking adoption assistance inevitably fall into the categories of their child’s needs or their family circumstances. Most parents have an intuitive grasp of the way the negotiation process is supposed to proceed, but are often unaware of it. Approaching adoption assistance negotiation with the confidence that you are on the right track, does not guarantee success, as we will see, but it is a major step forward.

Question: Are these requirements consistently applied in Ohio?

Implementation has improved somewhat in recent years as county agencies have internalized the idea that some form of negotiation is required in determining the amount of adoption assistance. Unfortunately, there are still a number of obstacles that impede the consistent application of federal law in Ohio.

The federal law itself provides guidance for negotiating adoption assistance, but does not contain a quantitative formula for settling disagreements. As we will discuss, federal funding for adoption assistance is available up to the foster care payment rate a child would receive were he or she in a foster home at the time of the negotiation. But that foster care payment rate sets the maximum for a monthly adoption assistance payment, it is not required. Negotiating parties can disagree about what amount of monthly adoption assistance payment best reflects he child’s needs and family circumstances.

In order to deal with this issue, some states with state administered child welfare systems have set adoption assistance payments rates at or near the child’s foster care rate. A child’s adoption assistance payment reflects his or her foster care payment, which is related to the child’s level of care. Ohio’s county administered child welfare system makes such an arrangement virtually impossible.

Next: Continuation of A New Series on the Negotiation of Adoption Assistance in Ohio. Part 2, Obstacles to Conformity with Federal Law.