Examining Worksheets for Determining Adoption Assistance Payments. What Do We Need to Know?
Worksheets as the first step in negotiation or a means of avoiding it?
The work group on “Stabilizing and Strengthening” the negotiation of adoption assistance in Ohio is about to look at instrument or worksheets that county agencies present to adopting parents as the first step in determining the amount of adoption assistance the child will receive.
What do these initial worksheets tell us?
Looking at the initial worksheet gives us some clues about the agency’s conception of adoption assistance. For example, does the document encourage parents to discuss family circumstances that affect their capacity fully and effectively incorporate a child into a permanent family? Conversely, does the worksheet focus exclusively on the child’s special needs and ignore family circumstances.
What don’t these initial worksheets tell us?
The completion of a fairly comprehensive worksheet tells us little or nothing about how it will be used.
Will the worksheet function as a first step in negotiation or will it function as a substitute for further discussion and negotiation? In the latter case, an agency committee uses the information on the worksheet to decide the monthly adoption assistance payment, rather than to promote a dialogue with the adopting parents.
If there are no clear references to family circumstances on the worksheet, how is the topic introduced? What does the agency recognize as a family circumstance?
What criteria does the agency employ to propose an amount of monthly adoption assistance payment or increase its initial proposal?
The child’s foster care payment rate?
Information and/or documentation provided by the adoptive parents.
A scoring system based on the completed worksheet?
Does the agency share the criteria with the parents?
How does the agency handle disagreements with the adopting parents on the amount of monthly adoption assistance?
Additional dialogue
Requests for additional information from the parents
Referral to mediation or hearing with no additional discussion or negotiation?
Threat to find another family if agreement cannot be reached?
What is the agency’s approach to the negotiation of an adoption assistance agreement?
Active supporter: Listening empathetically the parents’ story. Looking for valid ways to say “yes” to parents’ requests for assistance. OR
Gatekeeper: Skeptical of parents’ requests for assistance. Looking for reasons to limit parents’ requests for assistance.
Moral of the Story
In examining various approaches to negotiating adoption assistance, the state’s adoption assistance work group, ultimately must recognize:
Negotiating adoption assistance is a procedure directed toward a common end, namely providing a supplemental monthly payment that will enable particular families to effectively integrate and care for special needs children as members of permanent families. Accordingly,
A. It is not sufficient to standardize the process for determining the amount of adoption assistance, unless it results in the common goal of providing sufficient support.
B. Unless shown otherwise, sufficient adoption assistance payments must be equal to, or reasonably close to the child’s foster care payment rate.