Friday, July 9, 2021

The Maximum Amount of Adoption Assistance

 

What is the maximum amount of adoption assistance a child may receive?

Federal law sets the maximum level of Federal Financial Participation (FFP) in adoption assistance.  Federal law at 42 U.S.C. 673 specifies,

. . . . in no case may the amount of the adoption assistance payment made under clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(B) exceed the foster care maintenance payment which would have been paid during the period if the child with respect to whom the adoption assistance payment is made had been in a foster family home.

 

NOTE 1: The "would have been paid" language signifies what foster care payment rate would be if the child were placed in a foster home today.  It is the foster care rate derived from the child's level of care and the child's care needs often change over time.   If this were not the case, adoption assistance agreements could not be amended.  They clearly can be amended.

So, let us suppose a child is receiving $500 in monthly adoption assistance, but the child's care needs and family circumstances change as she grows older and the adoptive parents request an amendment to her adoption assistance agreement.  If the child were placed in foster care at the time the amendment was requested, her foster care payment rate would be $850 per month.  The maximum amount of adoption assistance in the amended agreement would be $850 per month.

Supporting Ohio Rule

Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 5101:2-49-05 (E) states "The maximum amount of the monthly AA payment shall not exceed the current cost of the monthly foster care maintenance (FCM) payment that was paid or would have been paid by the PCSA if the child had been placed in a foster home.


The "would have been paid" language signifies what foster care payment rate would be if the child were placed in a foster home today. 

 Note 1: States are free to spend as much as they want on adoption assistance payments.  Federal law sets a de facto maximum, by specifying that any amount of monthly adoption assistance beyond the child’s foster care maintenance payment would receive no federal funding.

Note 2: The foster care maintenance payment may include the monthly foster board payment + the annual clothing allowance divided by 12 + the annual allowance for personal incidentals divided by 12.  It may even include monthly child care allowances divided by 12 if they are claimed for federal reimbursement as an added expenditure under Title IV-E Foster Care Maintenance.