Adoption Assistance/Subsidy US

Updated August 2012 Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Delaware. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Ana Prosceno… More

Updated April 2015 Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Connecticut. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contacts Sarah Gibson… More

Updated November 2017 Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Colorado. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Constance Vigil… More

Updated July 2017 Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in California. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Marta Platt… More

Updated draft – October 2014 (state review pending) Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Arkansas. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the… More

Updated June 2016 Below you can find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Arizona. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Julie O’Dell… More

Updated May 2016 Below you will find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Alabama. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Jack Eddy… More

Updated April 2016 Below you will find information about the adoption assistance benefits that may be available to families who adopt children from foster care in Alabama. Adoption subsidy policies and practices are, for the most part, dependent on the state where the child was in foster care before the adoption. State Contact Michael Jordan… More

In foster care and adoption in the U.S., many abbreviations, acronyms, and special phrases are used. Below is a brief list of common terms used in adoption assistance and their definitions. Adoption Assistance/Adoption Subsidy Adoption assistance or adoption subsidy is provided to encourage adoption of children who are considered harder to place. Specific benefits should… More

This issue brief from the Donaldson Adoption Institute and NACAC presents research on how adoption assistance benefits increase adoptions from foster care, while saving states money over the cost of keeping children in care. It is designed as a tool for advocates to use in efforts to maintain or improve adoption assistance benefits in their… More

This NACAC report makes the case for improving the federal adoption assistance program. The text dwells on the human benefits of subsidies as well as financial considerations, and outlines three specific recommendations for making the program more effective and useful. May 2008 Click here to download a PDF… More

NACAC has received numerous questions with regard to adoption assistance payments as a source of income in divorce and child support cases. NACAC strongly warns that Title IV-E Adoption Assistance payments were never intended to become “bargaining chips” between divorcing parents. Title IV-E subsidies are the entitlement of the child, not the parents. In a… More

Adoptive parents often ask whether adoption assistance (adoption subsidy) payments are taxable. Many also wonder about claiming their child as a dependent and using the child tax credit. NACAC reviewed related IRS publications, and below we offer our interpretation of these issues. Please know that NACAC is not a tax expert, and these opinions should… More

Adoption assistance agreements should be negotiated and signed prior to the finalization of an adoption. In some cases, parents can go back to the state agency after finalization to obtain assistance, but these requests must go through a state appeal process as a matter of protocol. States must first deny a post-finalization request for adoption… More

Parents adopt children with special needs and sign an adoption assistance agreement with the belief that the benefits (financial and services) will follow the child in most cases until he reaches age 18 or graduates high school. Unfortunately, some state and county agencies are responding to tough economic cutback by altering these agreements. Below we… More

What Are Fair Hearings? An administrative fair hearing (or an adoption assistance appeal) is a process for settling differences between adoption assistance applicants or recipients and the public agency which administers the program. Parents who think that a particular decision is unfair are entitled to request a fair hearing to resolve the dispute. The public… More

  What Is Adoption Assistance or Adoption Subsidy? Adoption assistance is intended to help defray some of the costs for medical coverage, mental health care, and other services necessary to meet the special and ordinary needs of a child who has been adopted from the foster care system. Adoption assistance is an important benefit that… More

Most children adopted from foster care receive adoption assistance as a result of the special needs that make them harder to place for adoption (such as disabilities, behaviors, age, etc.). Before they can receive the assistance, however, their adoptive parents need to negotiate an adoption assistance agreement that outlines what benefits (monthly payments, services, and… More

Summary of State Adoption Assistance Programs This table reflects the basic rates of all states. Access the pdf to view a larger table of state by state occurrences with other criteria such as nonrecurring expenses, subsidized guardianship, residential treatment, subsidy available after age 18, etc. State Date Updated Maximum Basic Rates (per month)    … More