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2017 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 63.2-1300 through 63.2-1303 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 63.2-1300. Purpose and intent of adoption assistance; eligibility.
A. The purpose of adoption assistance is to facilitate
adoptive placements and ensure permanency for children with special needs.
Adoption assistance may include Title IV-E maintenance payments, state-funded
maintenance payments, state special services payments and nonrecurring expense
payments made pursuant to requirements set forth in this chapter.
A B. In accordance with § 473 of Title IV-E of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 673), a child with special needs is a
child who is a citizen or legal resident of the United States who is unlikely
to be adopted within a reasonable period of time due to one or more of the
following factors:
1. Physical, mental or emotional condition existing prior to adoption;
2. Hereditary tendency, congenital problem or birth injury leading to substantial risk of future disability; or
3. Individual circumstances of the child related to age, racial or ethnic background or close relationship with one or more siblings.
C. A child with special needs will be eligible for
adoption assistance if (i) the child is a citizen or legal resident of the
United States; (ii) the child cannot or should not be returned to the home
of his parents; and (ii) (iii) reasonable efforts to place
the child in an appropriate adoptive home without the provision of adoption
assistance have been unsuccessful. An exception may be made to the requirement
that efforts be made to place the child in an adoptive home without the
provision of adoption assistance when it is in the best interest of the
child has developed due to factors such as the development of
significant emotional ties with his foster parents while in their care and
that the foster parents wish to adopt the child.
§ 63.2-1301. Types of adoption assistance payments.
A. Title IV-E maintenance payments shall be made to the adoptive parents on behalf of an adopted child placed if it is determined that the child is a child with special needs as set forth in § 63.2-1300 and the child meets the requirements set forth in § 473 of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 673).
B. State-funded maintenance payments shall may
be made to the adoptive parents on behalf of an adopted child if it is
determined that the child does not meet the requirements set forth in § 473 of
Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 673) but the child is a
child with special needs as set forth in § 63.2-1300. For this
purpose of state-funded maintenance payments only, a A child with
special needs may include shall receive state-funded maintenance
payments if he:
1. A child for whom Was in the custody of a local
board or a licensed child-placing agency at the time of the adoptive placement;
2. Was in the custody of a local board or a licensed
child-placing agency at the time of the adoptive placement and met the
factors set forth in subdivision B 1 or 2 of § 63.2-1300 are present
at the time of adoption but are such factors were not diagnosed
until after the final order of adoption, when and no more than
one year has elapsed from the date of diagnosis; or
2. A child who has lived 3. Lived with his foster
parents for at least 12 months and has developed significant emotional ties
with his foster parents while in their care, when and the foster
parents wish to adopt the child and state-funded maintenance payments are
necessary to enable the adoption.
C. State special Special services payments
shall may be made to the adoptive parents and other persons on
behalf of a child in the custody of the local board or in the custody of a
licensed child-placing agency and placed for adoption, pursuant to this chapter,
if it is determined that for the provision of services to the child that
are not covered by insurance, Medicaid, or otherwise. Special services include
(i) medical, surgical, and dental care; (ii) hospitalization; (iii) individual
remedial education services; (iv) psychological and psychiatric treatment; (v)
speech and physical therapy; and (vi) special equipment, treatment, and
training for physical and mental handicaps. A child is eligible for special
services payments if:
1. The child is a child with special needs as set forth in
§ 63.2-1300; and
2. The child is receiving adoption assistance payments pursuant to subsection A or B; and
3. The adoptive parents are capable of providing the permanent family relationships needed by the child in all respects except financial.
D. Nonrecurring expense payments shall be made to the adoptive parents for expenses related to the adoption, including reasonable and necessary adoption fees, court costs, attorney fees and other legal service fees, as well as any other expenses that are directly related to the legal adoption of a child with special needs, including costs related to the adoption study, any health and psychological examinations, supervision of the placement prior to adoption and any transportation costs and reasonable costs of lodging and food for the child and the adoptive parents when necessary to complete the placement or adoption process for which the adoptive parents carry ultimate liability for payment and that have not been reimbursed from any other source, as set forth in 45 C.F.R. § 1356.41 . However, the total amount of nonrecurring expense payments made to adoptive parents for the adoption of a child shall not exceed $2,000 or an amount established by federal law.
§ 63.2-1302. Adoption assistance payments; maintenance; special needs; payment agreements; continuation of payments when adoptive parents move to another jurisdiction; procedural requirements.
A. Adoption assistance payments may include:
1. Title IV-E or state-funded maintenance payments
that shall be payable monthly to provide for the support and care of the child;
however, Title IV-E or state-funded maintenance such payments
shall not exceed the foster care payment that would otherwise be made for the
child at the time the adoption assistance agreement is signed; and
2. State special services payments to provide special
services to the child that the adoptive parents cannot afford and that are not
covered by insurance or otherwise, including, but not limited to:
a. Medical, surgical and dental care;
b. Hospitalization;
c. Individual remedial educational services;
d. Psychological and psychiatric treatment;
e. Speech and physical therapy; and
f. Special services, equipment, treatment and training for
physical and mental handicaps.
State special services payments may be paid to the vendor
of the goods or services directly or to the adoptive parents.
B. Adoption assistance payments shall cease when the child
with special needs reaches the age of 18 years of age.
However, assistance payments may continue until the child reaches 21 years of
age under the following circumstances:
If it is determined 1. The local department
determines on or within six months prior to the child's eighteenth birthday that
the child has a mental or physical handicap, or an educational delay resulting
from such handicap, warranting the continuation of assistance, adoption
assistance payments may be made until the child reaches the age of 21 years;
or
2. The initial adoption assistance agreement became effective on or after the child's sixteenth birthday and the child is (i) completing secondary education or an equivalent thereof; (ii) enrolled in an institution that provides postsecondary or vocational education; (iii) employed for at least 80 hours per month; (iv) participating in a program or activity designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment; or (v) incapable of doing any of the activities set forth in clauses (i) through (iv) due to a medical condition.
C. Adoption assistance payments shall be made on the basis of an adoption assistance agreement entered into by the local board and the adoptive parents or, in cases in which the child is in the custody of a licensed child-placing agency, an agreement between the local board, the licensed child-placing agency and the adoptive parents. A representative of the Department shall negotiate all adoption assistance agreements with both existing and prospective adoptive parents on behalf of local departments.
Prior to entering into an adoption assistance agreement, the
local board or licensed child-placing agency shall ensure that adoptive parents
have received information about their child's eligibility for adoption
assistance; about their child's special needs and, to the extent possible, the
current and potential impact of those special needs. The local board or
licensed child-placing agency shall also ensure that adoptive parents receive
information about the process for appeal in the event of a disagreement between
the adoptive parent and the local board or the adoptive parent and the
child-placing agency and information about the procedures for revising
renegotiating the adoption assistance agreement.
Adoptive parents shall submit annually to the local board
within thirty 30 days of the anniversary date of the approved
agreement an affidavit which certifies that (i) the child on whose behalf they
are receiving adoption assistance payments remains in their care, (ii) the
child's condition requiring adoption assistance continues to exist, and (iii)
whether or not changes to the adoption assistance agreement are requested.
Title IV-E and state-funded maintenance payments made
pursuant to this section shall be changed only in accordance with the
provisions of § 473 of Title IV-E of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 673).
D. Responsibility for adoption assistance payments for a child placed for adoption shall be continued by the local board that initiated the agreement in the event that the adoptive parents live in or move to another jurisdiction.
E. Payments may be made under this chapter from appropriations for foster care services for the maintenance and medical or other services for children who have special needs in accordance with § 63.2-1301. Within the limitations of the appropriations to the Department, the Commissioner shall reimburse any agency making payments under this chapter. Any such agency may seek and accept funds from other sources, including federal, state, local, and private sources, to carry out the purposes of this chapter.
§ 63.2-1303. Application for adoption assistance payments.
Qualification Eligibility for adoption
assistance payments shall be determined by the local board in response to an
application for adoption assistance submitted in accordance with regulations
adopted by the Board.