Most Parents Adopting Ohio Children in 2023 Are Eligible for One-Time Grants

Post Secondary Education Grants Are Also Included

Governor DeWine recently signed a bill into law that provides three categories of one-time payments to adoptive parents. Ohio House Bill (HB) 45 goes into effect on April 1, 2023, but applies to adoptions finalized after January 1, 2023. According to the law, adoptive parents may receive one of the following grant payments.

1. $10,000 for the adoption of a child

2. $1,500 for the adoption of a child by the child’s foster parents.

3. $2,000 for the adoption of a special needs child from the foster care system.

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services will oversee the program through administrative rules, which should be finalized around the date HB 45 goes into effect.

In order to qualify,

• Adoptive parents apply within one year of the date of their child’s final decree of adoption, and

• The adoptive parents must not have a current claim for an adoption tax credit. HB 45 replaces the previous $10,000 state tax credit.

• Stepparent adoptions are excluded.

It remains to be seen how the one-time grants may affect the negotiation of adoption assistance in 2023. I would suggest to parents that the grants should have little bearing on the negotiation of adoption assistance because:

• They are one-time grants.

• Negotiations for adoption assistance take place prior to adoption, while the grants are post adoption resources.

• The county agencies have no financial responsibility for the grants.

• There is no guarantee that the grants will be available after 2023.

Here is the section of the law pertaining to the adoption grants (Sec. 5101.191)

Adoptiongrantlaw

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Post Secondary Education Grants

Section 5101.2101 of HB 45 provides one-time grants for higher education. The law requires Ohio’s Chancellor of Higher Education to award grants of $2,500 to each Ohio resident adopted on or after January 1, 2023, who is enrolled in a,

1. State university or branch, college, community college or technical school.

2. Private non-profit university or college.

3. For profit university, college or proprietary school.

All types of adoptions, except for stepparent adoptions, are included. a

• Public agency adoption

• Private agency adoptions

• Independent (non-agency) adoptions through an attorney.

• International adoptions.