Adoption Assistance for Children Under the Age of 2
The End of the AFDC "Look Back" Problem
On January 1, 2018, federal Public Law No 115-123 reinstated the obsolete “AFDC Look Back” requirements for children under the age of 2 to obtain eligibility for Title IV-E Adoption Assistance. Think cost considerations. There was no legitimate policy reason. Happily, this unnecessary requirement will terminate on June 30, 2024.
As we discussed in earlier posts, Aid to Families with Dependent Children or AFDC was the nation’s welfare program that was replaced by Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) in 1996. (AFDC was referred to as ADC in Ohio). Strangely and irrationally, the AFDC provisions for July 1996 continued as eligibility requirements for IV-E Adoption Assistance and IV-E Foster Care Maintenance, even though the AFDC program itself no longer existed. The “AFDC Look Back” requirements have been phased out of the adoption assistance program for a number of years, except for children under the age of two, which were resurrected in 2018. Infants still subject to this requirement are classified as “non-applicable” for the purpose of eligibility for adoption assistance.
What is the “AFDC Look Back” Requirement?
The child must be removed from the home of a “specified relative, which includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, first cousins, first cousins once removed, or any relative within the 5th degree of kinship.
Deprivation of Parental Support, which includes”
Death of one or both of the legal parents.
The Absence of a continuing nature of one or more of the legal parents.
Incapacity of one or more of the legal parents. Incapacity may include drug or alcohol dependence or mental illness.
Unemployment of a legal parent.
Need or Income Standard. The child must be removed from a home did not exceed the income limit during the month of removal.
The Need standard is presents a particular obstacle because it has never been increased by changes in the cost of living. The child must have been removed from a home that met the poverty standard for 1996!
Options
Parents adopting children who will not reach the age of 2 during the current Federal Fiscal Year (October 1, 2023 through September 30, 2024) may consider the following options if they suspect that the Need Standard or other “AFDC Look Back” requirement threatens their child’s eligibility for IV-E Adoption Assistance.
a. Finalize the adoption after June 30, 2024. Be sure that an adoption assistance agreement is in place before the date of finalization. The recent news that funding for Ohio Adoption Grants will still be available after July 1, 2024 may make this choice easier. See “Funding for Ohio Adoption Grants Will Be Available in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2025, which begins on July 1, 2024,” January 23, 2024.
b. Consult with the county agency to try and determine if your child meets the AFDC Look Back requirements. Clue: If your child is eligible for Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance, she meets the AFDC requirement. The “AFDC Look Back” rules are archived under Ohio Administrative Code OAC) 5101:2-47-14. You can even submit an application for Title IV-E Adoption Assistance and if your child fails to meet the Need standard or other AFDC related requirement, postpone the adoption and apply again after June 30, 2024.
Remember: Do not apply after finalization.
NOTE: The “AFDC Look Back” requirements can be a particular obstacle in private agency adoptions. A high percentage of private agency adoptions involve special needs children. In the next post, we will add some comments specifically addressed to private adoptions.