Proposal
to Amend OAC Rule 5101:2-49-05
Note: Underlined portions denote new proposed language. Strikethroughs indicate deletion of current language.
Proposed
Amended Language
(A) The amount of the Title IV-E
adoption assistance (AA) payment is determined by negotiation and mutual
agreement between the adoptive parent(s) and the public children services
agency (PCSA). Negotiations shall be
based on the needs of the child and the circumstances of the adoptive
family. Amendments to existing
adoption assistance agreements as described in OAC 5101:2-49-12, shall follow
the same negotiation process and the same negotiation criteria as the initial
adoption assistance agreement.
(D)
The maximum amount of the AA payment eligible for federal
financial participation (FFP) shall not exceed the cost of the foster care
maintenance (FCM) payment which was paid or would be paid if the child for whom the AA payment is made is
was placed in a foster home suitable to the child's level of
care as provided in paragraph (E).
(E) To determine the amount the FCM
payment would have been if the child had been placed in a foster home operated
by the PCSA, the PCSA
shall:
(1) Determine the monthly foster care board rate in
effect for a the foster home the in which the child was placed or
would be placed of by the PCSA completing the AA agreement at the time the most current
agreement or modification/amendment to an existing agreement is signed being negotiated and completed.
Reason: Dan Shook of ODJFS has stated his opinion that no adoption assistance payment may exceed the payment rate of a "county agency" foster home. To avoid dramatic reductions in future adoption assistance payments support this rule change.
